The Braves’ latest financial results show an increase in revenue, an increase in expenses and a decrease in profits for the July-through-September quarter.
Atlanta Braves Holdings Inc., the publicly traded company that includes the baseball team and mixed-use development The Battery Atlanta, disclosed Wednesday that it generated total revenue of $290.7 million during the quarter, up 7% from the same period last year.
That increase was more than offset by a jump in expenses, however, resulting in a 22% drop in operating profit before depreciation and amortization to $31.4 million for the quarter.
Profits “decreased in the third quarter due to increased baseball operating costs,” the company said. “Baseball operating costs increased due to higher major league player salaries as well as increases in MLB’s revenue sharing plan, minor league team and player expenses and concert related expenses.”
Of the $290.7 million in revenue during the quarter, the Braves said $273.3 million came from baseball sources (ticket sales, concession sales, advertising sponsorships, suite rentals, broadcast rights, etc.) and $17.4 million from The Battery (primarily rental income).
“Baseball event revenue increased primarily due to new sponsorship agreements and contractual rate increases on season tickets and existing sponsorship contracts,” Braves Holdings said. “This was partially offset by reduced attendance at regular season home games.”
Also, the team had four more home games in the third quarter of 2024 (41) than in the same period of 2023 (37).
Braves Holdings was split off from Liberty Media as a separate public company last year. The Braves are one of the few pro sports franchises with publicly traded stock, requiring the disclosure of financial information that other teams keep secret.
Combined with results previously disclosed for this year’s first and second quarters, Braves Holdings’ revenue through the first three quarters of the year total $610.6 million, up 7% from $572.9 million through the first nine months of 2023.
“As it relates to revenue growth, we believe we have obviously a very substantially well-performing business,” Braves president and CEO Derek Schiller said on a conference call with investment analysts Wednesday. “…One of the things that we are trying to do each and every year is grow top-line revenue. We are constantly striving to increase the amount of revenue coming into the business. That is a key metric and one we have been doing successfully over the years if you look at our history and the growth rate.”
According to figures previously disclosed, the Braves generated full-year revenue of $262 million in 2016, their last season at Turner Field; $386 million in 2017, their first season at Truist Park (then named SunTrust Park); $442 million in 2018; $476 million in 2019; $178 million in 2020, the pandemic-shortened season without fans in the stands; $568 million in the World Series championship year of 2021; $589 million in 2022; and $641 million in 2023.
Along with revenue, operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) is the most commonly cited metric for measuring the financial performance of pro sports franchises. The Braves’ adjusted OIBDA fell from a profit of $40.3 million in the third quarter of 2023 to $31.4 million in the third quarter of 2024.
After deductions for depreciation and amortization ($18.7 million) and stock-based compensation ($6.3 million), the Braves showed operating income of $6.4 million for the third quarter, down from $15.7 million in the same period last year.
The latest financial disclosures also show Braves Holdings carried debt of $640 million as of Sept. 30.
The Braves said they brought in $144 million in local and national broadcasting revenue through the first nine months of this year, up 4% from the same period last year, despite the bankruptcy proceedings involving the company that owns the regional sports networks that carry the team’s games in the Southeast.
However, Schiller cautioned the analysts on Wednesday’s call: “While the pending bankruptcy proceedings of Diamond Sports Group LLC has not previously had a material unfavorable impact on the (Braves’) revenue, and the company has received scheduled payments to date, we cannot currently predict whether such bankruptcy proceeding is reasonably likely to have a material unfavorable impact on our revenue in the future.”
Schiller added: “We’re not just waiting for (Diamond’s) bankruptcy to be defining what might happen, but also studying what are the potential opportunities for us. And so for us we are going to be prepared for any eventual outcome. No matter what happens, we think we are in a very enviable position.”
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