Vivid Seats (NASDAQ: SEAT) showed robust financials in the second quarter of 2023, claiming a new quarterly record for GOV (gross order value) and raising its guidance for the year. The resale marketplace reported a marketplace GOV of $953.7 million in the second quarter, up 17% from the same span in 2022. Income, revenue, and Adjusted EBITDA were all up as well.
Beyond the strong sales figures, Vivid Seats also announced plans to purchase the leading ticket resale marketplace in Japan, and touted strategic partnerships with high profile organizations.
“It is an exciting time for Vivid Seats. We set a new quarterly record for Marketplace GOV and delivered solid profitability that is enabling compelling investments,” said Stan Chia, Vivid Seats CEO. “I’m thrilled to announce that we’ve expanded our TAM internationally with a definitive agreement to purchase Wavedash, the leading secondary ticketing marketplace in Japan. We are also excited to have entered into several strategic partnerships including with the Colorado Rockies, the L.A. Dodgers and the L.A. Chargers. Through partnerships such as these, we craft unique and premium experiences that drive differentiation, higher brand awareness and affinity, and ultimately contribute to higher customer repeat rates.”
Vivid Seats saw its strongest growth in its net income reporting, which ballooned by 59% compared to the second quarter of 2022, reaching $38.3 million compared to $24.1 a year ago. Revenue was up 12% to $165.4 million, while its Adjusted EBITDA had a more modest gain of 2% to $31.1 million.
“Widespread strength in both live event supply and demand continued in the second quarter,” said Lawrence Fey, Vivid Seats CFO. “Our 17% year-over-year Marketplace GOV growth is a testament to solid Vivid Seats execution against a healthy market backdrop. We are again raising our 2023 guidance and now expect both Marketplace GOV and Adjusted EBITDA to grow by double digits for the year. Our acquisition of Wavedash for approximately $61 million in cash* will expand profitability and reflects the strategic optionality that our cash flow and robust balance sheet enable as we seek opportunities to maximize long-term shareholder returns.”
Due to the strong figures in the quarter, the company raised its estimates for the year. It now projects
- Marketplace GOV in the range of $3.4 billion to $3.6 billion (increased from $3.15 billion to $3.4 billion)
- Revenues in the range of $630.0 million to $650.0 million (increased from $605.0 million to $630.0 million)
- Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $125.0 million to $135.0 million** (increased from $115.0 million to $130.0 million)
Additional details are available below:
Key Performance Indicators (‘000s)
| Three Months Ended June 30, | Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| Marketplace GOV(1) | $ | 953,739 | $ | 814,817 | $ | 1,809,267 | $ | 1,556,955 | |||
| Total Marketplace orders(2) | 2,627 | 2,410 | 4,902 | 4,429 | |||||||
| Total Resale orders(3) | 76 | 67 | 163 | 135 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA(4) | $ | 31,077 | $ | 30,329 | $ | 73,512 | $ | 51,341 | |||
| (1) | Marketplace Gross Order Value (“Marketplace GOV”) represents the total transactional amount of Marketplace segment orders placed on our platform in a period, inclusive of fees, exclusive of taxes, and net of event cancellations that occurred during that period. Marketplace GOV was negatively impacted by event cancellations in the amount of $11.7 million and $23.8 million during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively, and $14.7 million and $49.5 million during the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively. |
| (2) | Total Marketplace orders represents the volume of Marketplace segment orders placed on our platform in a period, net of event cancellations that occurred during that period. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, our Marketplace segment experienced 29,351 and 49,831 event cancellations, respectively, compared to 35,916 and 127,316 event cancellations during the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively. |
| (3) | Total Resale orders represents the volume of Resale segment orders in a period, net of event cancellations that occurred during that period. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, our Resale segment experienced 827 and 1,512 event cancellations, respectively, compared to 711 and 3,270 event cancellations during the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively. |
| (4) | Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). We believe Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our results of operations, as well as provides a useful measure for making period-to-period comparisons of our business performance. Refer to the “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section below for more information and a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to its most directly comparable GAAP measure. |
