Genius Sports Posts $77M Q2 Loss on Legend Costs, Raises Full-Year Outlook

Genius Sports (GENI ) reported a second-quarter net loss of $76.7 million on August 6, 2026, a 42% widening from the $53.9 million it lost in the same period a year earlier, driven almost entirely by the cost of buying and financing Legend, while revenue climbed 65% and the company raised its full-year guidance.

The loss is not the operating story. Genius Sports posted Q2 group revenue of $195.5 million, beating its own $185 million guidance, and group adjusted EBITDA of $52.6 million against a $45 million target, according to the company’s earnings release. The gap between the widening GAAP loss and the improving operating line is the Legend acquisition, which closed on May 1, 2026.

“We continue to realize the benefits of the infrastructure we’ve spent years building,” said Mark Locke, Genius Sports founder and CEO. “Advertisers are placing greater value on our combination of official data and audience, prediction markets are opening an entirely new avenue for growth, and our core Betting business continues to outperform.”

Why the loss widened

The Legend deal hit the income statement from three directions in the quarter. Genius booked $28.9 million in non-recurring transaction expenses, $13.8 million in net interest expense from the term loan it took on to fund the purchase, and an $8 million loss on the fair-value remeasurement of contingent consideration. Together those three items account for roughly $50.7 million, more than the entire year-over-year increase in the net loss.

The deal itself was valued at up to $1.2 billion when it was announced on February 5, 2026: $900 million payable at closing ($800 million in cash and $100 million in stock) plus an earnout of up to $300 million tied to profitability and cash-flow thresholds over the two years after closing. Genius said at announcement it would fund the deal with an $850 million Term Loan B issuance; the Q2 cash-flow statement shows $825 million in actual long-term debt proceeds, which now sits on the balance sheet as $754 million in long-term debt and generates the quarterly interest expense.

There was also a $27 million swing in foreign currency. The year-ago quarter included a $27 million foreign currency gain; this quarter’s gain was just $36,000. That swing alone accounts for most of the remaining deterioration in the bottom line.

What the operating business did

Beneath the acquisition noise, both segments grew. Betting technology, content and services — the core data business that supplies sportsbooks — rose 27.5% year-over-year to $117.4 million, driven by price increases on contract renewals and expansion of value-added services. Media technology, content and services, the division Legend now sits in, jumped 192.8% to $78.2 million.

Group adjusted EBITDA rose 54% to $52.6 million, a 26.9% margin. The company said the margin came in 258 basis points above what its guidance implied, citing early Legend synergies, execution across the combined media business, and incremental contribution from prediction markets.

The prediction-markets contribution is new. After the quarter closed, Genius signed partnership deals with both Polymarket and Kalshi, the two largest prediction-market platforms, to supply official data, content, integrity services and marketing solutions. Gaming.net covered the Polymarket deal announced on August 4, 2026 and the Kalshi agreement announced on August 5, 2026.

Raised guidance

Genius lifted its full-year 2026 outlook across the board. Group revenue guidance moved to $1.005 billion to $1.025 billion, up from the prior $990 million to $1.010 billion. Adjusted EBITDA guidance rose to $285 million to $295 million from $270 million to $280 million, implying a margin of roughly 28.6% at the midpoint. The company also expects to end 2026 with approximately $260 million in cash, which implies more than $100 million of total cash flow in the second half of the year.

For the third quarter ending September 30, 2026, Genius guided to approximately $260 million in revenue and $85 million in adjusted EBITDA.

The Legend acquisition is the reason the full-year numbers look the way they do. When the deal was struck, Genius projected the combined business would generate approximately $1.1 billion in 2026 revenue and $320 million to $330 million in adjusted EBITDA on an annualized pro forma basis. The raised guidance still sits below that pro forma target, reflecting the fact that Legend only contributed two months of the second quarter.

By the numbers

• Q2 2026 group revenue: $195.5 million, up 64.7% year-over-year, vs. guidance of $185 million
• Q2 2026 net loss: $76.7 million, vs. $53.9 million in Q2 2025
• Q2 2026 adjusted EBITDA: $52.6 million, up 54% year-over-year, vs. guidance of $45 million
• Q2 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin: 26.9%, down from 28.8% in Q2 2025
• H1 2026 revenue: $383.5 million, up 46% year-over-year
• H1 2026 net loss: $132.2 million, vs. $62.1 million in H1 2025
• Raised FY2026 revenue guidance: $1.005 billion to $1.025 billion
• Raised FY2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance: $285 million to $295 million
• Legend deal value: up to $1.2 billion ($900 million upfront plus up to $300 million earnout)
• Cash and equivalents at June 30, 2026: $155.1 million, down from $280.6 million at December 31, 2025
• Long-term debt at June 30, 2026: $754.4 million (zero at year-end 2025)

What happens next

Genius reports third-quarter results in November 2026, with the quarter itself ending September 30, 2026. The company has already guided Q3 to approximately $260 million in revenue and $85 million in adjusted EBITDA — a quarter in which Legend will contribute a full three months for the first time.

The Legend earnout runs for two years from the May 1, 2026 closing, with up to $300 million payable in cash or stock depending on whether the acquired business hits profitability and cash-flow thresholds. The first measurement period runs through April 2027.