Golf has seen a resurgence in popularity in the last few years. With remote work increasing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more people now have the free time to spend a few hours on the course. In fact, first-time golfers hit an all-time high of 3.2 million in 2021, even higher than the 2.4 million in 2000, when Tiger Woods was attracting people to the sport.
All these new golfers have benefited companies like Callaway Golf (ELY +4.30%), which owns its namesake equipment company, Topgolf driving ranges, and the TravisMathew apparel brand. Here are three reasons Callaway can drive great returns for your portfolio this decade.
1. Topgolf expansion
Callaway acquired Topgolf in early 2021 for $2.6 billion, issuing approximately 90 million shares to fund the purchase. Management is excited about Topgolf's future because of the greenfield expansion opportunity ahead of it. The driving range and entertainment concept will have only 81 owned locations and five licensed locations open globally at the end of 2022, but management thinks there is an opportunity to eventually have 450 locations in cities around the world.
Topgolf is projected to produce $1.56 billion in revenue this year, or $18 million per location. This astounding number shows the popularity of the Topgolf concept. With same-venue sales rising at a high single-digit rate, I think Topgolf could be on track to average $25 million in revenue per location this decade. At 200 locations, that would equate to $5 billion in annual revenue.
With 32% unit-level profit margins, $5 billion in revenue can create tons of value for Callaway shareholders, especially with the stock's market cap only at $4.6 billion right now. But that's not the only club in Callaway's bag.
2. Highly profitable Toptracer segment
Topgolf is more than just its driving-range centers. The company is also the leading ball-tracking software provider with its Toptracer technology. Callaway makes money by selling Toptracer licensing subscriptions to third-party driving ranges, which then sell access to Toptracer to their golfers. Management thinks it can sell to 8,000 driving range bays annually from 2022 to 2025. So far, it is beating this pace with more than 2,000 bays installed last quarter.
With more than 610,000 driving range bays as an addressable market, Toptracer has a long fairway on which to grow its licensing business this decade. It will likely not bring in as much revenue as Topgolf, but it should have extremely high margins and durable recurring revenue.
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3. Growth of apparel/lifestyle
Lastly, investors should be excited about Callaway because of its fast-growing apparel and lifestyle business. It owns brands like TravisMathew, Jack Wolfskin, and Ogio to go along with its own Callaway apparel.
The apparel segment is set to bring in $1 billion in revenue this year. TravisMathew is the big growth driver here: Its revenue is expected to hit more than $300 million this year compared to just $61 million in 2017. With TravisMathew's growing retail locations, expansion into women's lines, and international growth, Callaway thinks this brand alone can eventually reach $1 billion in revenue. This growth is a bonus to go along with Topgolf and Toptracer.
There's a lot to like about Callaway's business right now, and we didn't even include its legacy golf equipment business, a market share leader. At a market cap of just $4.6 billion, Callaway looks set to accumulate solid returns this decade if it can execute on its Topgolf, Toptracer, and apparel strategies.
