What happened
Shares of live sports streamer fuboTV (FUBO +0.00%) jumped in early trading Thursday. Powered by a new buy rating from Barrington Research, the stock is up 11.5% as of 11:20 a.m. EST.
So what
For the benefit of investors who may not yet have encountered it, Barrington begins with a short sketch of what fuboTV does, describing it as an over-the-top multichannel video programming distributor (MPVD) with an "exceptionally intense" sports focus, reports StreetInsider.com today. Already, explains the analyst, fuboTV is outgrowing its competition, cable and satellite sports channels and rival streamers alike. "fuboTV's positioning offers a very attractive proposition, especially for sports fans," notes the analyst, and this is paying off in the form of rapid growth.
Moreover, Barrington sees this growth continuing as new revenue streams come online, buttressing subscription revenue with "advertising revenues and ancillary sources, the latter including high-margined service and content offerings plus participation in sports-related gambling revenues that is now in the process of being created beginning with some key acquisitions."
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Now some might say that sports and gambling go together like fire and nicotine, but from a pure investing perspective, Barrington sees this as a potential strong revenue driver for fuboTV. Up 235% already over the past 12 months, the analyst forecasts fuboTV stock hitting $40 within a year. Even after today's strong run-up, that leaves perhaps another 19% worth of gains to be had -- if the analyst is right.
So is it? Well currently, fuboTV isn't a profitable company, and it's burning cash like mad -- $72 million in trailing negative free cash flow. That being said, it's still early innings in this game, and sales are still surging rapidly as the service rolls out. Through the first three reported quarters of 2020, fubo's revenue rushed ahead 19-fold in comparison to the same period from 2019.
At this point, it's far too early to say the company won't turn profitable, and free cash flow positive, as revenue rapidly rises to the point where it can cover the company's costs, and Barrington, for one, foresees a clear path to positive EBITDA and positive free cash flow.
