Sportradar earnings fell short of expectations, but it was those allegations about ‘illegal operators’ that the analysts wanted to ask about
Switzerland-based sports data services supplier Sportradar Group AB released Q1 2026 earnings today that missed on all key metrics. However, revenue was up on the same period last year, from €311 million ($364 million) to €346.5 million this quarter.
The numbers missed analyst forecasts. Still, the results were overshadowed by accusations from short-seller research firms Muddy Waters and Callisto, which claimed that a large proportion of the company’s business depends on customers in unregulated ‘shadow’ markets.
The company had brought forward its earnings release date to address the allegations head-on, as management attempted to do on the conference call earlier today.
Muddy Waters and Callisto Research are alleging that a large chunk of Sportradar’s revenue originates from illegal gambling markets. Shareholders were hyper-focused on management’s response, which took center stage during the call.
Sportradar strongly denies that it works with illegal operators, as alleged by Muddy Waters in an extensive report that involved sending undercover investigators to meet management.
CEO Carsten Koerl Rejects Allegations, Castigates Short Sellers
On the earnings call, CEO Carsten Koerl pushed back with an impassioned defense of the company’s compliance standards, framing the allegations from Muddy Waters and Callisto Research as a coordinated attempt to manipulate the stock price.
“We have one of the most rigorous compliance processes in a complex, highly regulated industry. The allegations that we knowingly serve illegal operators are entirely false and demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of our business model. We only work with licensed operators in regulated territories.”
Sportradar did actually have some good news for shareholders with the announcement of a buyback program, involving a new $250 million enhanced open-market share repurchase, bringing the total authorization to $1 billion.
The revamped program is a major move to undergird the stock price, which has collapsed by 16.5% since last Wednesday, when the latest round of allegations was leveled at Sportradar. The stock, which reports in euros, is listed on the Nasdaq and currently trades at $13.93.
But as the call demonstrated, there was no getting away from the negative news flow that erupted last week. In a clear strategy to get ahead of the accusations, by bringing forward the Q1 results and by the robust defense emanating from management, CEO Koerl addressed the reports’ focus on his personal history and alleged ties to Russian markets.
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check and LLP and Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP are two of the securities fraud law firms known to be investigating whether Sportradar failed to disclose these alleged reputational and compliance risks.
Again, Koerl was forceful in his rebuttals:
“I take these reports as a personal attack. To see so many false, misleading, and defamatory statements about myself and this business is alarming. These are largely repackaged, tired stories that have been debunked for years, now being used to create panic for the benefit of short sellers.”
IMG Arena Integration a Temporary Drag on Bottom Line
During the Q1 2026 conference call, management spent a significant amount of time discussing the IMG Arena integration, as this quarter was the first to reflect the comprehensive impact of the acquisition on Sportradar’s financial statements.
Management’s comments focused on three primary areas: revenue contribution, the temporary “drag” on the bottom line from integration costs, and the expectation for margin expansion in the latter half of 2026.
On revenue, CEO Carsten Koerl highlighted that the IMG Arena portfolio was the primary driver behind the 20% growth in Betting & Gaming Content revenue, reaching €232.2 million.
Management noted that the inclusion of IMG’s “fast-path” data and streaming rights has allowed Sportradar to upsell existing clients and win new “all-in” contracts, particularly in the tennis and golf sectors where IMG has a dominant rights position.
While revenue was up, the leadership team admitted that the IMG Arena costs were the main reason the company swung to a €6 million net loss for the quarter.
…But Synergies Expected to Emerge in Second Half of 2026
CFO Craig Felenstein explained how the Q1 results included higher depreciation and amortization (D&A) and finance costs directly tied to the acquisition.
Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter, which grew 12% to €66 million, was partially weighed down by the inclusion of expensive sports rights licenses that were previously on IMG Arena’s books. Plus, there were some “one-off” restructuring costs incurred as a result of the IMG Arena integration.
The key takeaway from the call was that while the integration is “operationally complete,” the financial synergies are expected to start to emerge in the back half of this year.
Koerl reiterated that the integration is the cornerstone of their goal to expand adjusted EBITDA margins by 200 to 225 basis points for the full year.
In some significant corporate leadership news, Sameer Deen has been made the new COO. Deen’s appointment was described as a strategic move in which he will initially focus on overseeing the final stages of squeezing operational efficiency from the IMG integration.
Playradar Brand Being Positioned for Prediction Markets Assault
In other business developments, the launch of Playradar, the company’s dedicated iGaming brand, is seen as a critical pivot toward higher-margin revenue streams that can offset the cyclicality of sports rights costs.
In that context, Koerl noted that the prediction market audience often sits between a sports fan and a trader. Playradar’s products are designed to “bridge the gap,” converting prediction-market-style engagement into higher-margin casino revenue.
“We are building a new category of immersive gaming… Playradar allows us to take the excitement of a prediction—which is the heart of sports—and deliver it with the frequency and mechanics of the gaming world.”
Looking past the as-yet-unproven allegations against the company and its management, Shareholders will be encouraged by the guidance.
Felenstein said the company was sticking with its guidance for 2026 revenue growth of 235 to 25%, “as we expect synergies from IMG and our new iGaming initiatives to accelerate in the second half.”
Still, during the Q&A, analysts from Stifel, Jefferies, and others quizzed the team on whether customer net retention would hold up in the face of the loss of “gray market” clients if a regulatory crackdown impacted future growth.
In response, Koerl emphasized that Sportradar’s growth is driven by its expansion in regulated US and European markets, not the “shadow” markets alleged in the reports.
Sportradar (SRAD) Quarterly Results: 2025 – 2026 (Q1)
| Quarter | Metric | Actual Results | Consensus Forecast | Beat / Miss | % Variance |
| Q1 2026 | Net Revenue | €346.52M | €361.66M |  Miss |
-4.19% |
| EPS | -€0.02 | €0.05 | Miss |
-140.00% | |
| Adj. EBITDA | €66.00M | €69.20M | Miss |
-4.62% | |
| Q4 2025 | Net Revenue | €368.89M | €369.30M | Miss |
-0.11% |
| EPS | €0.01 | €0.09 | Miss |
-88.89% | |
| Adj. EBITDA | €89.00M | €88.10M |  Beat |
+1.02% | |
| Q3 2025 | Net Revenue | €292.05M | €295.11M | Miss |
-1.04% |
| EPS | €0.07 | €0.08 | Miss |
-12.50% | |
| Adj. EBITDA | €85.00M | €83.15M | Beat |
+2.22% | |
| Q2 2025 | Net Revenue | €317.79M | €312.07M | Beat |
+1.83% |
| EPS | €0.15 | €0.04 | Beat |
+275.0% | |
| Adj. EBITDA | €64.00M | €61.80M | Beat |
+3.56% | |
| Q1 2025 | Net Revenue | €311.00M | €304.83M | Beat |
+2.02% |
| EPS | €0.01 | €0.04 | Miss |
-75.00% | |
| Adj. EBITDA | €59.00M | €56.90M | Beat |
+3.69% |
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