Genius Sports (NYSE:GENI) management used a company call to detail its planned acquisition of Legend, describing the deal as a “transformational transaction” that accelerates the company’s strategy to monetize sports data and fan attention across betting, media, advertising, and broader fan engagement channels.
Management reiterated long-term strategy and provided updated financial expectations
CEO Mark Locke opened by referencing the company’s Investor Day vision and financial targets. He said Genius Sports previously outlined 2028 goals of $1.2 billion in revenue, $365 million of adjusted EBITDA, and 60% free cash flow conversion. Locke said the business “finished 2025” with estimated group revenue of $669 million and $136 million of adjusted EBITDA, representing 31% revenue growth and a 20% adjusted EBITDA margin, along with record free cash flow generation. He highlighted the media segment as the highest growth segment, reporting 37% year-over-year growth in 2025.
Looking further out, Locke said Genius believes the acquisition will help it reach $1.6 billion of revenue by 2028 at an approximately 35% adjusted EBITDA margin and free cash flow conversion of over 60%, exceeding prior targets.
What Genius said it is buying: Legend’s “AI-powered” performance media network
Locke described Legend as a global digital sports and gaming media network “built to monetize attention,” centered on an AI-powered platform intended to capture real-time user intent and convert it into revenue. He said Legend owns media brands including Covers.com and Casino.org, and also provides hosted solutions for major media names and syndication for publishers such as Sports Illustrated and Yahoo Sports.
Management emphasized that Legend is designed around “moments of intent,” comparing its model to retail media networks. Locke said that once a player is converted through Legend, revenue is generated from the player’s lifetime spend, creating what he characterized as long-term, predictable revenue with minimal incremental cost.
Genius positioned the deal as expanding its ability to participate economically across both sports data and iGaming content, while strengthening its “picks-and-shovels” approach to the sports betting ecosystem.
Scale, engagement metrics, and integration into FanHub
Locke said Legend generated more than 320 million annual visits in 2025 from 118 million unique visitors, with an average 75% return rate and about nine minutes per session on its owned and operated properties. He added that engagement depth translates into more than $2 in revenue per unique visitor, which he compared to typical digital publishers monetizing under $0.50 per unique visitor.
Genius said Legend’s platform, data, audience, and inventory will be “fully activated” within Genius’s FanHub platform, which management described as its unified activation platform for media and advertising. Locke said the goal is to monetize Legend’s owned and partner inventory through one system across sportsbooks, gaming, and broader brand advertising, while strengthening the company’s value to agency partners such as PMG and Publicis.
Expanded market opportunity, including iGaming and prediction markets
Management highlighted iGaming as a particular strength of Legend and said the transaction expands Genius’s addressable market, especially in North America, which it called Legend’s largest market. Executives also pointed to emerging gaming categories, including prediction markets. Locke said Legend has a history of identifying and monetizing new categories early and described prediction markets as creating demand for education, comparison, and decision support that attracts marketing spend.
In Q&A, Locke said Genius had already described prediction markets as an opportunity at its Investor Day and stated the company was already generating revenue from market makers and benefiting through its ad tech business. He said the combined sports data and fan data would deepen relationships and improve returns on marketing spend, supporting growth “alongside our league partners.”
Deal structure, financing, and leverage expectations
CFO Brian described the acquisition as consistent with the company’s Investor Day framework and said standalone Genius was performing “exactly as we outlined” in December. He said that on a 2026 annualized basis with Legend, Genius expects $1.1 billion of revenue, approximately a 30% adjusted EBITDA margin, and approximately 50% free cash flow conversion.
Brian also noted a change in how free cash flow conversion will be presented going forward: the 2026 and forward metrics will exclude interest and be based on unlevered free cash flow. He added that even on a levered basis, management expects free cash generation to be ahead in 2026 and “materially ahead” by 2028.
Management laid out transaction economics and financing details, including an earnout structure and committed debt financing:
- Upfront consideration: $900 million at close, comprised of $800 million in cash and $100 million in stock.
- Earnout: Up to $300 million, split evenly across year one and year two post-close, tied to profitability and cash flow metrics and payable in cash or stock at Genius’s discretion.
- Financing: Committed debt financing led by Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank; at closing, Genius expects to incur $850 million of secured debt and keep its revolver undrawn.
- Leverage: Pro forma leverage expected to be below 3x, with a path to reduce leverage by more than half by 2028, driven by growth.
Locke said Genius reviewed nearly 100 opportunities over the last 18 months and selected Legend because it met strategic fit, integration, and economic criteria. He also said the company intentionally kept dilution minimal and expressed confidence in reducing leverage through growth.
About Genius Sports (NYSE:GENI)
Genius Sports is a global sports technology company that specializes in collecting, analyzing and distributing real-time sports data and video streams. The firm provides official data feeds, live video streaming solutions and digital engagement tools to sports leagues, federations, broadcasters and betting operators. By integrating data directly from sporting events through its network of field officials and proprietary technology, Genius Sports ensures accuracy and integrity for partners who rely on up-to-the-second information.
The company’s product suite includes a cloud-based platform for data capture and distribution, an integrity services offering designed to identify and mitigate match-fixing risks, and a suite of commercial products that power odds creation, in-game betting markets and fan engagement experiences.
