FOS PM: On’s Record $307M Quarter – Front Office Sports

On reported a 66.6% year-over-year increase in second-quarter revenue to a record $307.4 million, while net income increased from $14.9 million to $51.7 million.

The company — backed by Roger Federer — saw global revenue spikes, with wholesale net sales growing 70.1% and direct-to-consumer sales increasing 60.8%.

• Net sales in North America ballooned 102.5% to $191.5 million.
• In Europe, revenue increased 17.5% to $87.8 million.
• Revenue in Asia-Pacific grew 52.2% to $18.9 million.

Revenue for shoes increased 68.2% to $295.7 million, apparel jumped 31.3% to $9.7 million, and accessories hiked 51.9% to $1.9 million.

On’s success extends beyond financials. Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu was outfitted with On Cloudspikes when he won the men’s 3,000-meter race, taking his first Diamond League victory.

“In the past few weeks, On athletes have shown incredible performances, leading to not only our first Diamond League victory, but also our first Commonwealth Games and World Championship medals,” Caspar Coppetti, co-founder and executive co-chairman, said.

In June, the company signed four NCAA athletes and Olympic marathon runner Nicolas Navarro to its roster.

Looking On

In July, On entered an agreement with FC Basel as the club’s new shoe partner and announced a new sports bra line. The company has also delivered its first fully recyclable, subscription-based running shoe to “early subscribers” of its Cyclon program.

On raised its revenue outlook and now expects net sales of at least $1.2 billion for FY2022.

On a September 2020 earnings call, Peloton co-founder and former CEO John Foley vowed that the connected fitness company “won’t cut corners when it comes to product quality or delivery standards.” 

Now, in an effort to return to profitability, current CEO Barry McCarthy told Bloomberg that Peloton could soon offer a bike that won’t require professional delivery and setup — one of the cost-cutting measures the company has explored. 

“We’ve been working on it for a while, and it’s a real thing,” McCarthy said. “We’ll continue to cost-reduce the hardware, and we will engineer it so that you can assemble it, so that we can ship it via FedEx.”

• McCarthy announced the measures in a letter to employees stating Peloton would fully outsource delivery and setup. 
• Employees who handled the task previously were among the nearly 800 layoffs, which McCarthy noted would cut delivery costs in half. 

Do-it-yourself bike assembly would also make it easier for Peloton to push into new markets — a logistical challenge with the two bikes the company currently offers, which require professional assembly. 

Row Row Row

Peloton is nearing the release of its long-anticipated rowing machine.

“We’re hopeful to have it for the holiday season,” McCarthy said.

The company is also exploring another revenue stream: allowing people to access its classes and other content on competitors’ workout machines.

WWE reported $328.2 million in second-quarter revenue, a 24% year-over-year increase and a record for WWE’s second quarters. Net income increased to $49 million from $29.2 million.

The revenue increase was partially attributed to more sales for tickets and licensed products. Revenue for live events reached $41 million, up from $9.2 million last year, and revenue for consumer products increased 96% to $44.1 million.

Media revenue increased 4% year-over-year to $243.1 million. WWE entered a five-year deal with NBCUniversal in 2021 for a reported $1 billion.

The entertainment company recorded a number of milestones during the quarter.

• All WWE premium live events, including WrestleMania, posted record viewership.
• WWE and Fox’s Blockchain Creative Labs launched its inaugural NFT sale, which sold out within 24 hours.
• WWE announced 15 college athletes for its second “Next In Line” class.

In July, WWE launched a digital platform for e-commerce and licensed merchandise with Fanatics. 

Probing Questions

On July 22, Vince McMahon resigned as WWE’s chairman and CEO amid allegations of sexual harassment, affairs, and hush-money settlements. WWE’s investigation — which cost $1.7 million in Q2 — found $19.6 million in “unrecorded expenses” between 2006 and 2022. WWE anticipates $10 million in related costs for the rest of the year.

The earnings release also notes that the company revised its financial statements for the years ended Dec. 31, 2019, 2020, 2021, as well as the first quarter of 2022 “based on certain findings during the investigation.”