Vivid Seats (NASDAQ:SEAT) had its first earnings report as a public company Monday, and reported “record-setting results” as the live entertainment industry continues to rebound from COVID. The report was the companies first since its merger with Horizon Acquisitions was completed this fall to bring the company public.
“The record-setting results we saw in the third quarter are a great way to mark our first reported results as a public company. Live events have come back stronger than expected as fans returned to support their favorite sports teams and artists. We are committed to delivering fans an exceptional experience so they can get out and do what they love,” said Stan Chia, Vivid Seats CEO.
“We are continuing on our mission to help everyone “Experience it Live.” In our third quarter, we launched our new brand coupled with new features and enhancements to our industry leading loyalty program, Vivid Seats Rewards. Every fan now earns 10% in value on every ticket purchased along with the opportunity to earn additional lucrative and unique perks. We are excited to launch our new brand and loyalty program as we enter a period where we expect a full slate of live events with significant pent-up demand ready to be unleashed,” Chia concluded.
On the quarter, Vivid Seats reported revenues of $139.5 million and a marketplace gross order value of $713.1 million. Its EBITDA was reported as $42 million in the quarter. Beyond being light years ahead of the comparable quarter last year (which was during a period of extremely limited live event attendance), the company claimed the results marked the highest single quarter results for Marketplace GOV, Revenues, and Adjusted EBITDA in the company’s history.
“In our third quarter we carried forward our positive momentum with robust financial results and quarter-over-quarter growth for Marketplace GOV, Revenues, and Adjusted EBITDA,” says CFO Lawrence Fey. “We continued to generate cash from operations which, coupled with the proceeds from the business combination, leave us with cash in excess of debt and significant financial flexibility.”
Vivid Seats stock price was buoyed by the positive news, jumping as high as $15.26 in pre-market trading as the results were announced, but settling back closer to its previous close of $13.25 as trading got underway Monday morning. By mid-day Monday, it was up to $13.48.
News of the company and several of its white label website partners reaching a multi-million dollar settlement with New York Attorney General Letitia James last month don’t appear to have negatively impacted the company stock price. In the settlement, Vivid Seats’ white label website program (Ticket Fulfillment Services, L.P.) and its largest affiliates – RYADD, Inc., Denver Media Holdings, LLC, Event Ticket Sales, LLC, Internet Referral Services, LLC, and Theatreland, Ltd – agreed to pay out $4.4 millions in refunds to New York consumers that it had attempted to provide as credit vouchers good for future purchases during the peak of the COVID shutdown and the related cash crunch that hit business in ticketing. Vivid Seats itself settled a class action related to withheld refunds for $7.5 million earlier this year.
The full earnings report from Vivid Seats is available here (PDF)
