- Versant reported total revenue of $1.7 billion on earnings of $1.99 per share. Wall Street was expecting revenue of $1.62 billion on earnings of $2.16 per share, per Yahoo Finance.
- Versant sold SportsEngine to PlayMetrics for an undisclosed amount after a strategic review. It also acquired the AI-powered financial insights platform StockStory.
- Shares of the company jumped over 7% in pre-market trading following the results
Shares of Versant climbed over 7% in pre-market trading on Thursday as the company’s platforms revenue climbed 9.5% to $192 million in its first quarter, driven by growth at Fandango and GolfNow.
Content licensing and other revenue was also a bright spot, jumping 113.5% to $121 million, which was driven by an agreement for “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and other titles.
But it wasn’t enough to offset declines in the pay TV business, with linear distribution revenue falling 7.3% to $1.01 billion and ad revenue dropping 5.2% to $368 million. That, combined with higher standalone company costs and interest expenses tied to its separation from Comcast, prompted total profits for the quarter to tumble 22.1% to $286 million, or $1.99 per share, with total revenue declining 1.1% to $1.7 billion.
Looking ahead, Versant is aiming for half of its growth to come from pay TV and half to come from its digital, platform, subscription, AVOD and transactional businesses. More than half of Versant’s pay TV subscribers are governed by agreements extending through 2028 and beyond.
“We are executing our strategy by extending the reach of our brands, deepening our connection with audiences, and scaling our digital platforms,” Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said in a statement.
Lazarus added that the growth in its platforms business reinforces the company’s confidence in evolving the business over time and delivering long-term shareholder value.
MS Now direct to consumer, Fandango AVOD services on track for 2026 launches
Versant’s MS Now direct-to-consumer service and ad-supported Fandango at Home offering remain on track to launch in 2026.
Executives told analysts on Thursday that they have not settled on pricing for the MS Now service, while Fandango at Home will be free with advertising. They also expect an increase in selling, general and administrative costs to support the development of its DTC offerings.
“Our goal is to continue to build scale and expand our audiences. We hope that comes with with a large base of subscribers,” Lazarus said during the company’s earnings call. “Where we’ll gauge ourselves is, how do revenues look across all of our various forms of distributing content?”
Versant execs say will be be ‘very disciplined’ around M&A, sports rights
Lazarus also said the company would be “very disciplined” around M&A and that they’d be focused on a “very vertical strategy” across the linear landscape and deals that help diversify its revenue streams.
Versant after said it would sell SportsEngine to PlayMetrics for an undisclosed amount following a strategic review of the asset.It also acquired the the AI-powered financial insights platform StockStory in April, which will strengthen CNBC’s ability to provide real-time, data-driven insights to investors.
Lazarus also said that the company would “selectively look” at contracts for sports rights. It’s portfolio includes an 11-year WNBA media rights deal through 2036, a six-year USGA agreement for coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open through 2032, a multi-year deal for League One Volleybally, Premier League, NASCAR, WWE, PGA Tour, Pac-12 football and basketball and A-10 basketball
“I do think there will continue to be opportunity for us to build upon our sports portfolio, being judicious with our capital,” Lazarus said.
Versant enters $100 million accelerated share repurchase program
During the first quarter, Versant repurchased approximately 2,694,125 shares of Class A common stock, with a remaining authorization of approximately $900 million as of March 31. It will enter into a $100 million accelerated share repurchase agreement, which it expects to complete in the second quarter.
Chief Financial Officer Anand Kini said the move underscores the company’s confidence in the business and its commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
“We don’t view these capital allocation decisions within this framework as static, but rather like we make those decisions in context of the market environment and opportunities we see to add value,” he said. “That’s going to be our approach going forward.”
