Formula One Group (NASDAQ:FWONK) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Formula One Group (NASDAQ:FWONK) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript May 7, 2026

Formula One Group beats earnings expectations. Reported EPS is $0.22, expectations were $-0.06.

Operator: Welcome to Liberty Media Corporation’s 2026 Q1 Earnings Call. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, we will conduct a question and answer session. As a reminder, this conference will be recorded today, May 7. I would now like to turn the call over to Hooper Stevens, SVP, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Hooper Stevens: Thank you very much for joining us this morning for Liberty Media’s first quarter 2026 earnings call. As we get started, I’d like to remind you that this call includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual events or results could differ materially due to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those mentioned in the most recent Forms 10-Ks and 10-Q filed by Liberty Media with the SEC. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this call and Liberty Media expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Liberty Media’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any statement is based.

On today’s call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures for Liberty Media, including adjusted OIBDA and constant currency for MotoGP. The required definitions and reconciliations for Liberty Media are on Schedule 1 and MotoGP Schedule 2 and can be found at the end of the earnings press release issued today and available on our IR website. Speaking on today’s call, we have Liberty’s President and CEO, Derek Chang; Liberty’s Chief Accounting and Principal Financial Officer, Brian Wendling; Formula One’s President and CEO, Stefano Domenicali; and MotoGP’s CEO, Carmelo Ezpeleta. Other members of management will also be available for Q&A. With that, I will turn it over to Derek.

Derek Chang: Thank you, Hooper, and good morning, everyone. When we spoke with you in February, we framed 2026 around three priorities: sustaining Formula One momentum, positioning MotoGP for long-term growth, and remaining disciplined and opportunistic with our capital. Our framework remains intact, and we are seeing good progress across the portfolio. We delivered strong financial results this quarter at both F1 and MotoGP. Starting with Formula One, the sport continues to demonstrate the strength and resilience of its global platform. We made the difficult but appropriate decision together with the FIA and local promoters not to proceed with the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix in April given the situation in the Middle East.

The well-being of everyone in F1 comes first. We will always manage the calendar with that principle in mind. While that creates a near-term financial impact, it does not change our confidence in the long-term trajectory of the sport. We will be thoughtful in our approach, and we will continuously evaluate the calendar this year. As Stefano mentioned to Bloomberg News last week, it might be possible to reschedule one race toward the end of the season. Formula One remains supported by strong fan demand, deep commercial partner interest, attractive media rights dynamics, and a stable long-term foundation with the new Concorde Agreement. The early season has also reinforced the value of the investments being made around the fan experience and distribution.

In the U.S., Apple’s first season as our exclusive media rights partner is underway and the initial results have been promising. Our partnership with Apple and its tech-forward platform is already delivering early innovative enhancements to our F1 product, with multi-view, data feeds, and onboard features creating a more engaging viewing experience for our fans. Viewership increased through the first three races of the year. Fan engagement is up, we are attracting a younger and more female audience, and we are seeing expanded reach across the Apple ecosystem. Alongside Apple, we rolled out a series of dedicated marketing activations that significantly amplified the Miami race across both the city and the country, including nationwide Apple Store retail “pit stops,” Apple Maps integration, and the launch of new original F1 programming over race weekend.

We are extremely pleased that the high energy from our U.S. fan base and the broader race week has become a meaningful cultural and commercial moment for the sport in the U.S. At MotoGP, the first full season under Liberty ownership is giving us even greater conviction in the opportunity. The sport is delivering compelling racing, with the calendar evolving to expand its global footprint, including the return to Brazil this year. We are also beginning to broaden the ecosystem around MotoGP through initiatives like the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup, which brings a distinctive new format and lifestyle brand into the MotoGP weekend experience. The broadcast of the U.S. Grand Prix on FOX delivered an average audience of 500 thousand, an increase over last year on cable and an increase from the last time it was on broadcast in 2023.

We have also seen our social media followers in the U.S. increase 16% since January 2025, which is an encouraging indicator of growing engagement in the U.S. market. The strength of MotoGP is its compelling identity: fierce racing, extraordinary athletes, passionate fans, and a unique culture. Liberty’s role is to help provide the commercial focus, operational support, and long-term investment discipline that can allow that identity to reach a broader global audience. That means building capabilities carefully, strengthening the event experience, improving fan engagement, expanding commercial partnerships, and sharing learnings across the portfolio where they are relevant. Following the Liberty Live spin-off, our portfolio is centered around two world-class sports with strong brands, valuable global rights, and multiple long-term growth levers.

We will remain thoughtful in our capital allocation approach as we support our operating companies as they invest in growth, and we will evaluate additional opportunities to deploy our capital. Brian will cover the financial results in more detail. Stefano and Carmelo will provide a deeper dive on Formula One and MotoGP. We remain confident in the strategy we laid out earlier this year: Formula One has a proven global platform with significant momentum; MotoGP has meaningful long-term upside; and Liberty is well positioned as we build the next chapter of growth. Now I will turn it over to Brian.

Brian Wendling: Thanks, Derek, and good morning, everyone. As a reminder, each quarter in 2026 for the Formula One business will reflect an incomparable race count and mix with the exception of the fourth quarter. Additionally, due to our decision to not hold the Saudi Arabian and Bahrain Grands Prix in April, results in the first quarter reflect a 22-race calendar this year. The second quarter will be the most impacted with only five races expected to be held this year versus nine races held during 2025. The change in the race calendar did affect pro rata recognition of revenue and team payments in the first quarter. We expect the largest impact from not holding the two races in April to be from the loss of race promotion revenue, followed by hospitality, and some minimal impacts to race-specific sponsorship revenue.

We do expect relatively limited impact to sponsorship revenue as we anticipate the ability to offset some of that exposure with other races later in the season. On the expense side, we will not recognize most of the expenses related to the disrupted races, and the net impact to F1 will flow through the team prize fund calculation. Similar to revenue recognition, projected team payments in each quarter will be recognized pro rata over 22 races instead of 24. Now looking at the results for the first quarter, most of the strong growth in Q1 year-over-year results is due to one more race being held in the first quarter compared to the prior-year period, the change in the pro rata season-based revenue recognition, and underlying growth in the business.

2026 held three races compared to two in the first quarter of last year, with Japan included in the current-year period but not in the prior year. For the first quarter, revenue grew 53% and adjusted OIBDA grew 102%, driven by the extra race held and growth across all revenue streams from underlying contractual fee increases. Media rights and sponsorship revenue growth was driven by the calendar variance related to recognition of season-based revenue, with three out of 22 races recognized in the quarter (approximately 14% of season-based revenue) compared to two out of 24 races (approximately 8% of season-based revenue) recognized during the prior-year period. Sponsorship revenue also increased due to revenue growth from new sponsors, including Standard Chartered.

Other revenue grew due to higher hospitality, freight, and travel revenue from one additional event held. Hospitality revenue growth was also driven by strong underlying Paddock Club performance and other premium product growth. Licensing revenue and revenue generated after the reopening of Grand Prix Plaza in Las Vegas in January also contributed. Adjusted OIBDA increased during the first quarter driven by strong revenue growth discussed above, outpacing expense growth. Increased operating expenses included higher team payments and expenses associated with hospitality, freight, and travel costs from the additional race held, as well as an increase in new premium product offerings and higher freight, travel, commission, and other partner servicing costs.

The increase in SG&A expense was primarily due to unfavorable currency exchange rates and higher personnel and technology costs, offset by lower marketing expenses. Team payments as a percent of pre-team share adjusted OIBDA were 51.7% for 2026. For the full year, we continue to expect to see an average of roughly 200 basis points improvement in leverage, in line with the average we have seen over the past four years. After 2026, for the remainder of the term of the new Concorde Agreement, we expect the payout percentage to remain relatively stable. A reminder that team payments are best analyzed on a full-year basis due to the quarterly fluctuations in team payments as a percent of adjusted OIBDA. Now looking at MotoGP, we closed the acquisition on July 3 of last year.

Our financial results prior to the date of acquisition are presented on a pro forma basis as though the transaction occurred on 01/01/2024, and the trending schedule will be posted to our website after the 10-Q is filed, including results in U.S. GAAP for historical periods. The majority of MotoGP’s revenue and costs are euro-denominated and as such are subject to translational impacts from foreign exchange fluctuations. In the following discussion of results, I will focus on constant currency results. Year-over-year comparisons are impacted by the mix of races and MotoGP flyaway races generally carry higher costs including freight, travel, and ERDA fees. MotoGP held three races in the first quarter both this year and the prior year. Revenue increased at MotoGP during the first quarter due to the race mix and increased sponsorship revenue, slightly offset by a small reduction in media rights revenue.

Adjusted OIBDA also grew during the first quarter as revenue growth outpaced expense growth. Cost of MotoGP motorsport revenue increased due to the impact of higher freight expenses from race mix and increased fuel costs. Looking briefly at Corporate and Other results for the quarter, revenue was $6 million, which relates to rental income generated by the Grand Prix Plaza in Las Vegas. Corporate and Other adjusted OIBDA was a loss of $7 million and includes Grand Prix Plaza rental income and corporate expenses. At quarter end, Liberty Media had cash and liquid investments of $1.3 billion, which includes $862 million of cash at F1 and $186 million of cash at MotoGP. Total principal amount of debt was approximately $5 billion at quarter end, which includes $3.3 billion of debt at F1 and $1.2 billion of debt at MotoGP, with just under $500 million at corporate.

F1’s $500 million revolver and MotoGP’s €100 million revolver both remain undrawn. At quarter end, Liberty Media’s net leverage was three times. As a result of not holding two races in the Middle East in April at F1, we expect a modest increase in trailing twelve-month leverage during the second quarter of this year. F1 and MotoGP are in compliance with their debt covenants at quarter end. And with that, I will turn it over to Stefano to discuss Formula One.

Stefano Domenicali: Thanks, Brian. The 2026 season is off to a captivating start as we kick off this next chapter in F1’s history with new regulations, new teams, and new winners on the podium. Congratulations to Kimi Antonelli who became the youngest driver in F1 history to lead the World Championship, taking three consecutive race wins after winning the Chinese, Japanese, and Miami Grands Prix. As you know, we made the decision not to go ahead with the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as planned in April to ensure the safety and security of everyone in the sport during a very fluid and uncertain time. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have been fantastic long-term partners and we look forward to being back with our fans there as soon as we can.

We were extremely excited to be back racing in Miami last weekend, and 2026 has represented the start of an incredible new era for our sport. The first four races of the season have all sold out, social media engagement is up year on year, and early TV data shows growing audiences worldwide. Fan research also indicates a very positive response to the on-track spectacle with particular appreciation for the level of action, racing battles, and overtakes. In Miami, we saw sellout crowds along with the exciting new activation with Apple, our new U.S. media rights partner. Engagement remains robust this season. We have welcomed 1.3 million attendees to date with all four races selling out and the Australian Grand Prix setting a new attendance record.

The Paddock Club is already sold out for nearly all of our remaining races this season. With over 65 thousand tickets sold to date, this figure is already in line with our 2025 total Paddock Club attendance. To accommodate demand, we are increasing Paddock Club capacity this season at Silverstone, Austin, and Monza, and our promoters are working to increase capacity at other circuits. Our successful collaboration with Soho House and “House 4040” is also expanding and will feature at nine race locations this year, up from five after the launch last year. House 4040 is already sold out at eight races so far. In addition, our collaboration with Gordon Ramsay continues to grow with a new paddock-based premium offering operating in Shanghai, and we are looking into opportunities to roll out the experience at other locations, potentially starting with the United States Grand Prix in Austin.

Live audiences across our top 40 markets are up year over year relative to 2025 across the first three races, driven by strength in key markets including Brazil, Italy, and China. This season, we returned to global TV free-to-air in Brazil. In China, we kicked off our new media rights deal with CCTV and have seen more extensive coverage. The live broadcast of the Chinese Grand Prix attracted 1.9 million viewers in China, a plus 60% decrease year over year in one of our key growth markets. Our YouTube content generated almost 600 million views through the Japanese Grand Prix, up 46% relative to last year. We grew our following nearly 20% year over year with over 120 million social media followers as of April. Commercially, we continue our momentum across renewals and new partnerships.

We are delighted to welcome Apple TV as our new U.S. media rights partner this season. Through its extensive ecosystem, Apple TV has allowed Formula One to reach a large U.S. audience. The first three races delivered higher average viewership across track sessions relative to last season, and we are pleased that strong momentum carried into Miami. Our fans are collectively also tuning in for longer with total viewing hours increasing relative to linear last year. The average viewer of F1 content on Apple is both younger and more female. The sport is featured extensively within the Apple ecosystem and externally through innovative partnerships with Nex and Tubi, just to name a couple. Our broadcast of the Miami Grand Prix at IMAX theaters was extremely well received and continues to highlight the new ways we and Apple are bringing the sport to fans.

We continue to see major brand alignment between our two iconic global brands as we take a more forward-looking approach to how fans discover and consume Formula One. Globally, our F1 TV product continues to perform well, with F1 TV revenue increasing 28% year over year. We were delighted to announce yesterday our five-year renewal with Sky in the UK through 2034 and Italy through 2032 inclusive. That will take us into the next decade with our incredible and long-term partner. The depth and quality of the programming and content Sky delivers has been impressive and helped to engage and grow our fan base in both the UK and Italy. In the UK, total viewing under Sky has increased by 90%, with female viewership more than doubling and under-35 viewership growing 120% since becoming the exclusive home of F1 in 2019.

In Italy, we have seen a 25% increase in viewership this season, in part driven by the strong performance of Ferrari and Kimi Antonelli. Sky has been a trusted partner of F1 with world-class coverage and we are delighted to extend our partnership into the future. Internally, we remain active in our negotiations and renewals, recently renewing with beIN in Pan-Asia and with Foxtel in Australia. We are also thrilled to announce we will be returning to race at Turkey’s Istanbul Park next year for the first time since 2021, under a new five-year agreement. The return to the Turkish Grand Prix will be exciting for the F1 fans, drivers, and teams. Formula One continues to grow strongly in Turkey, where the sport now reaches more than 19 million fans, and almost half of the fan base is under 35.

We are also seeing strong momentum on digital and social platforms, with Instagram followers growing by 30% year on year. We also officially began the 2026 public sales cycle for our fourth edition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix today. Following last year’s sellout and ahead of our public on-sale, demand indicators were very strong with deposits for this year’s race at record levels. We have maintained our sponsorship momentum with an active quarter of renewals and new partnerships. We entered into a new multiyear agreement with FanDuel as a best way to reinforce our desire to enter the betting space regionally. We have also signed Marsh as our official risk partner and official insurance broker partner. We have also extended our Salesforce partnership, all effective this season.

Our momentum continued to accelerate across our other revenue streams, including licensing and hospitality. We have announced our multiyear extension with Fanatec, our sim racing hardware company, and relaunched our Esports Championship, hosting two live events to date and one in our new on-site facility, Abigail. We are fully leaning into our first full year of partnership with Disney, including the successful launch of the Disney and F1 “Fuel the Magic” campaign in the Asia-Pacific region. At the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix, we launched specialty F1 Disney stores in the fan zone, driving overall retail sales during the quarter up 125%, with China retail sales growing nearly 80% year over year. We reopened our Grand Prix Plaza site in Las Vegas in January and the early performance has been encouraging.

Average weekly attendance this year is nearly at peak levels from 2025, with private events occurring weekly. Demand for F1 Drive has also been particularly strong with multiple sold-out weekends. We remain focused this season on cultivating and fueling fandom with our always-on strategy, bringing the creativity, thrill, and excellence of our ever-evolving sport and entertainment platform to the fans. While we have grown so much in such a short amount of time, we believe we are just at the beginning of what is possible for Formula One. The momentum we see across all our business continues at a remarkable pace, and the foundation we are building today will create enduring value for our partners, shareholders, and our fans for the years to come.

Avanti Tutta, full speed ahead as always. And now I will turn the call to Carmelo to discuss MotoGP.

Carmelo Ezpeleta: Good morning, and thank you, Stefano. We have a strong start to the beginning of our season with compelling storylines on track and continued momentum across the business. With Liberty Media’s continued support, we are confident in achieving the long-term strategic vision of our sport and are encouraged by the early progress to date. As you have seen, we have made a decision to postpone our Qatar Grand Prix to November given the ongoing situation in the Middle East. We look forward to returning to the region soon. On track, the racing remains as competitive as ever. While Marco Bezzecchi continues to lead the Riders’ Championship, we have already seen seven riders across five different teams on the podium this season, highlighting the unpredictability and excitement that define our sport.

We welcomed more than 720 thousand fans across our first four races, including a record of 228 thousand fans in Jerez. We also returned to Brazil this season after a 20-year hiatus in the country, with the circuit seeing a swift integration and delivering an exciting race weekend. Brazil is one of our most engaged markets, with over 80% of fans consuming MotoGP content weekly. Across the Sprint and Grand Prix in Brazil, our broadcast audience surpassed 1.6 million viewers on average. We look forward to returning next year alongside our returns to Buenos Aires and Adelaide, both at new circuits in or near city centers, bringing the thrill of MotoGP racing closer to our fans. We continue to track brand awareness and engagement through our Fan Insights platform, which will support our commercial evolution and localized content initiatives in growth markets, including the UK and USA.

We ended the quarter with nearly 62 million social media followers across our owned platforms. Video reels across our digital platforms, excluding VideoPass, increased almost 40% on the same period in 2025. We also continue to make progress with our commercial partners. We have extended our partnership with ServusTV in Austria to broadcast our rights through 2030. Starting with the Jerez Grand Prix this season, we also expanded our partnership with Quint through an exclusive multiyear agreement. With Quint’s invaluable experience, our focus is on scaling our hospitality offering, enhancing the premium hospitality experience with the VIP Village, and driving further mix shift improvements toward high-end customers and partners. We are encouraged by the strong start to the year and the quality of demand we are seeing across our portfolio, with double-digit growth in ticketing volume and sustained momentum across all regions as we roll out new innovations across our hospitality product suite.

We look forward to continuing to update the investor community on our progress. Now I will turn the call back over to Derek.

Derek Chang: Thank you, everyone. We appreciate your continued interest in Liberty Media. And with that, we will open the call up for Q&A. Operator?

Q&A Session

Operator: Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer session. Our first question is from the line of Sean Diffely with Morgan Stanley. Please proceed with your questions.

Sean Diffely: Great. Thanks very much, team. Two, if I may. First on sponsorships and second on capital allocation. Congrats on the success that you have seen on the sponsorship side. I think over the last few years, adding new sponsors has really driven a lot of this, and you continue to do that with Standard Chartered and Marsh. But it also seems like you are gaining traction on the renewal side with upgrades like Salesforce and others. I was hoping you could talk about the balance of new and existing partners going bigger and any categories or verticals that you think you are still under-penetrated in. And then second question, Derek, you had mentioned evaluating avenues for capital deployment to deliver long-term value to shareholders.

I was hoping you could elaborate a bit on that. What is your framework for determining what those could be and how should we think about your approach to investing in the core businesses you have, potential M&A, or capital return? Thanks.

Derek Chang: Sure. Thanks, Sean. Let me take the second one first, then I will hand it over to Stefano. On capital allocation, we have been pretty clear in recent history that the primary focus has been to de-lever, which we clearly are in the process of doing, as well as looking at strategic investments and, ultimately, the thought of capital return to shareholders. I do not think we are in a position right now to say we are pursuing one over the other. Our options are on the table and it is something that we are looking at on a regular, frankly daily, basis. We are very focused on the performance of our operating companies and leaning into those and continuing the strong performance we have seen there, which puts us in this position to be able to have the question that you have asked.

In the very near term, we are very bullish on our businesses and where we see them going. We cannot control every macro factor out there, so to some extent, we are being a little bit conservative right now to make sure that we understand the implications of other events that are happening out there. On the sponsorship side, I will let Stefano talk about the mix of renewals and new sponsors and where he sees that going.

Stefano Domenicali: Thanks, Derek, and thanks, Sean, for the question. If I go back a couple of years, we always said that our duty is to make sure that what we are offering is solid and genuine. Only solidity and genuineness have allowed us to be stronger in this momentum. No one would have thought that, for example, in the big category of programming, there would be someone who really wants to invest in our platform to develop their business. It is true that now we see potential to keep growing because we have done a lot of new steps in terms of creative activations that allow us to offer something new in the market to different partners. On the other side, we have moved from what was normally considered B2B partners also to B2C.

We have seen that in the last couple of extensions, renewals, or new entries. It is clear that the category of high-tech is where we can find other opportunities in the future, even if the big partners we have now are very, very locked down in the future in order to prevent others to come in. It is a great situation. For us now, it is really a matter of keeping growing, keeping offering something new to partners, and keeping the momentum of what we can offer in a very genuine way. That has been a successful strategy that we will continue. As you said, we are also in the process of acting on renewals much more in advance before the expiry date. That means everyone believes in us, and we take that home as a great responsibility.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of David Karnovsky with JPMorgan. Please proceed with your questions.

David Karnovsky: Hi, thank you. Maybe just starting on the Sky agreement announced yesterday. You did have some time on this one in both Italy and the UK, so interested in why now is a good moment to execute on a deal with what I think is your largest media partner rather than waiting and testing the open market in a few years. And does this agreement have any current economic impact, or is this just about locking up future terms?

Derek Chang: Sure. Hey, David, thank you for the question. There are no current implications as a result of the deal. One thing to think about is whether it is sponsors, media partners, or local promoters, what we are really asking a lot of these partners to do as they partner with us is to invest in the product. In order to do that, you want them confident with the relationship and where things are going to be on a longer-term basis. Sometimes we enter these discussions early to facilitate exactly that. You see that in a lot of the local promoter deals that Stefano and I have done in recent history, really to facilitate increased investment in infrastructure, hospitality, things like that. It is a similar concept here as these partners continue to work with us to build the next generation of what the viewing experience is like. I will let Stefano elaborate.

Stefano Domenicali: Thanks, Derek. I would add, first of all, let me thank Dana Strong and all the team at Sky for the tremendous job they have done since the first day with us. This is an extension of an incredible deal that will cover very important areas where our plans are very solid: the UK, Ireland, and Italy. It will have an impact that is long term, because as Derek was saying, the financial implication up to the end of the 2028 expiry has not been touched. We are just looking ahead with a more and stronger financial and technical contribution. They are already very focused on delivering extra content, not only using the traditional broadcasting operation. They have a big voice in influencing a great demand that is growing in these markets, and we want to recognize that.

We believe that, being a worldwide sport, we can really understand where the shifting between traditional broadcast and streaming is moving. In the markets where we have extended the agreement with Sky, the situation we are having will be the best even mid- and long-term. In other markets, the situation could be different because we are understanding other opportunities that we can take, for example in new markets that could be potentially very interesting in the future to bundle with other sports. We need to be creative. That has always been our approach to try to find the best solution with our partners that have contributed so much to the growth of our sport.

David Karnovsky: Okay. And then I have one for Brian. Brian, your team payment figure this year always gets a lot of scrutiny. Can you shed any light on your budgeting approach, how you approach variable items like Vegas or potential sponsor deals, and would there be any contingencies in that number for the Middle East races you have on the calendar later this year given the ongoing conflict there?

Brian Wendling: Yes. Thanks for the question, David. The budgeting approach is similar to past years, and the biggest variable we have had over the last few years since we launched the Vegas race is the Vegas race. There is certainly some conservatism in there around Vegas just to give ourselves room as it relates to the team payments. But the 200 basis point decrease that we gave you at the end of the year still holds true. Right now, we are focused on a 22-race calendar. As Derek said, we are still hopeful that we can move one of those races to the back part of the year. If so, that would be upside, but what is in the forecast at this point is the 22 races.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Steven Lasich with Goldman Sachs. Please proceed with your questions.

Steven Lasich: Hey, great. Thanks for taking the questions. Derek, there has been some discussion in the press around Miami potentially adding some more Paddock capacity as well as maybe a MotoGP race at some point in the future. Could you talk a bit more about the opportunity in Miami to expand and, more broadly, how you are thinking about the opportunity to expand Paddock Club capacity across the calendar, as well as how many opportunities might be out there to add a MotoGP race alongside F1 at some of these tracks?

Derek Chang: Let me take the second part first and then go back to Paddock Club and turn it over to Stefano. On MotoGP, our stated context is that the U.S. is an important market for MotoGP. We are looking at all avenues to grow our business here. It is going to take time, just like it did with Formula One, but we do see appetite and a market. We do have interest in adding races in the U.S. Miami would seem to be a logical spot because there is already a track there. There are a lot of things that have to get worked out, whether it is Miami or any other track, in terms of whether it works for MotoGP, safety concerns where requirements differ from Formula One, as well as what markets make sense from a commercial standpoint. Those are conversations we will have with Miami and with other folks, trying to scope out the right locations for U.S. expansion.

As it relates to Miami itself, they did announce over the weekend that they are expanding Paddock capacity. Stefano has spoken about this on many occasions: the way we are structuring a lot of our promoter deals going forward emphasizes expansion of high-end hospitality. We saw that in Budapest, and we announced Austin recently—there is a whole new building going up there around Turn 1. I will turn it to Stefano for more detail.

Stefano Domenicali: Thanks, Derek. Let me take the opportunity after an incredible Grand Prix in Miami to thank Tom Garfinkel and Kathy for their incredible organization. It was a phenomenal event with a lot of people and a lot of action on track. As mentioned, they are investing even more to make sure the quality and capacity of that event will be bigger in the future. There are certain events that we believe are fundamental for the growth of our sport, and by giving them the possibility to have long-term deals, we also push them to invest in the right way. On top of what Derek mentioned, remember that Monza will do that; Hungary will do that. Almost everyone will have plans to increase capacity with the right quality of the offer.

Demand is very high. The profile of customers coming now, also with new partners, requires a different possibility of expanding that. In Monaco, for example, we have extra capacity with our partner MSC and a boat where our guests can enjoy a different kind of experience. The ecosystem is solid, strengthened together, working with the vision to keep growing the business. Otherwise, no businessman will invest. This is another signal, I believe, of the quality and performance of our sporting platform today.

Steven Lasich: Great. And then maybe just one for Brian. On SG&A, it continues to trend higher on the F1 side. Could you help unpack what we are seeing in the first quarter and how that line should trend over the balance of the year?

Brian Wendling: Yes. This quarter the three biggest drivers are: you do have an FX impact in the SG&A number that is negatively impacting growth, so we will see how that fluctuates as the year goes along; there are also some higher personnel costs and some SG&A costs around LVGP, which are more personnel-related and a bit more front-end loaded; and that is offset by reduced marketing costs because last year we had the 75th anniversary event. There is also some increased IT spend in there as the company is working on different types of projects.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of David Carl Joyce with Seaport Research Partners. Please proceed with your question.

David Carl Joyce: Thank you. In thinking about the Formula One calendar this year, if there is the possibility of adding Saudi Arabia back into December and shifting Abu Dhabi out a week, how does that reallocation-based accounting work for the various revenue lines? Would you restate the first quarter or would you reallocate going forward with a true-up? How should we think about that? And then secondly, kind of housekeeping, why was D&A up a lot sequentially? Thanks.

Brian Wendling: On the first part of the question, any impact from adding an additional race would come through in the quarter in which you make that change in the calendar. On the second part of your question, D&A is up about $1 million. The company has been investing in the operations facility out in Biggin Hill, so you see increased depreciation associated with that building, which was largely completed early last year. That is probably driving the bulk of the difference. You also have GP Plaza CapEx that was in our results early in 2025, so you would see increased depreciation associated with that.

David Carl Joyce: All right. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Matt Condon with Citizens Bank. Please proceed with your questions.

Matt Condon: Thank you so much for taking my questions. First, after the first couple of races with Apple in the U.S., any key learnings coming off of that, whether from the broadcast itself, but also from the distribution to the broader Apple ecosystem? And second, on the calendar opportunity in MotoGP, you have talked previously about optimizing race locations. How are those conversations coming, trying to move some of those into city centers and such?

Derek Chang: Thanks, Matt. On the Apple question, I will let Stefano take most of that. What we have seen is that viewing across all segments of the race weekend has been very strong. Apple has done a great job of bringing people to the ecosystem. On the risk mitigation side, anytime you change broadcast partners, you risk fan backlash that they cannot find it or it is not as good. We have not had that. In fact, it has been positive in terms of how consumers have been interacting with the product and the viewing, and the commentary has been that it has been a good experience. I will let Stefano continue, and I will come back to the MotoGP calendar question.

Stefano Domenicali: Matt, to add to what Derek said, we should not forget two things. Our fan base is younger and there are a lot of females—around 40% in the U.S.—and we believe Apple will guarantee to them a much more suitable way to live that experience. This journey has just started—we have done only four races—and it will be a long deal. Every weekend we learn and will improve. There is the possibility, as has happened with Apple, to use different platforms—IMAX, Tubi, Apple Stores, and other activations. They generate more interest and follow-up, a more dynamic way to live the sport. There is a tremendous effort by Apple to deliver some new technical content, and these are long-term journeys that so far have been very successful.

We are just at the beginning of a new journey. The first three races were not time-friendly for the U.S. market, and as a global note, it has been a very positive start of the season. We believe this will create even more attention in the future. I can confirm because Eddy Cue was present in Miami—Apple is fully on board, confirmed by Eddy Cue, and also the future CEO of Apple is a racing fan. That is not bad.

Derek Chang: On the MotoGP calendar, our stated objective is to get some of these races closer to cities where we can leverage infrastructure, whether it is airports and long-distance travel for both ourselves and international fans, or hotels and restaurants and ease of access. You are seeing this with the races we announced for next year, both in Buenos Aires and Adelaide, so we are already starting to make progress. That said, you also do not want to wholesale change out all the races. We have a long heritage of races in many compelling locations where it makes sense to keep them. They have been fixtures on the calendar and bring a lot to the sport and its identity. I have been this year already in Austin and Jerez, and I am headed to Mugello and Assen later this year.

We want a good sense of what it feels like in different locations because we want to create a fan experience that is engaging, exciting, entertaining, and accessible wherever we do it. There is a lot to be learned even in locations where we may not move, about how to improve those. It is a mix of all of that as we think about the calendar moving forward. I think Carlos might be switched off, so we will come back to that later. Operator, we will take the next question.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Steven Lee Cahall with Wells Fargo. Please proceed with your questions.

Steven Lee Cahall: Thank you. First, I wanted to ask about fuel prices. I think the structure allows for a pass-through from F1 to the teams on fuel prices, but I imagine in motorsport when fuel prices go up, that cost flows through somewhere. Can you help us understand how rising prices for gasoline will affect both F1 and MotoGP in the short to medium term, and where we might see some of that reflected longer term in the P&L? And then, Stefano, on competition: we have seen Cadillac and Audi come in this year, Ford is making a big push with Red Bull, and the racing has improved with the new technical changes. We have not yet seen any new teams get from the midfield to the top tier. What needs to happen for that to change? Is it a technical issue? A financial issue? Competition is always good for the value of the sport. Thank you.

Derek Chang: I will let Brian start with the fuel question, then I will turn it over to Stefano for the racing question.

Brian Wendling: Thanks, Steven. On fuel, it is a little bit different for the two businesses. At F1, if we have increasing fuel and freight costs, those are generally passed through to the teams. You will see a bit of a gross-up on the income statement throughout the year, but minimal impact to net margins. On MotoGP, it is a little different. There is more of a fixed structure there, so to the extent we experience rising fuel costs, you might see some pressure to our overall cost of revenue without that offset on the top line.

Stefano Domenicali: Steven, what we see is what you would expect from an experience point of view. F1 is a big beast. When you come in, we are very pleased with the new entries, but the process is not related to money; it is related to experience and time. This has always been the case since the beginning of the sport. It is a big technological challenge. It is the work of team players who need to understand the level of the challenge. They are new, and with the budget cap they have less burden compared to the past. It is just a matter of being a little bit patient, even if in the racing world after only four races you feel like it is 400 races because the pressure is high. The advice—which they know very well—is not to fall into anxiety because anxiety will not help performance.

The beauty of what we are seeing in a scenario of totally new regulations is that there is a lot of margin for improvement. The more you are behind, the bigger the potential improvement if you are able to take the right development path and work hard with your drivers and teams to improve performance. This year there are many new elements that could allow them to be faster if they understand where to focus to recover the gap they have now.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Joseph Robert Stauff with Susquehanna. Please proceed with your questions.

Joseph Robert Stauff: Thank you. Just trying to better understand the rescheduling scenarios. It seems to me a second race in Las Vegas might be, of all your scenarios, a relatively easier one given the city’s flexibility and your vertical ownership of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Is that a fair assumption? And with respect to whether or not you reschedule, how much lead time do you need to properly market that—two, three months?

Derek Chang: We are evaluating all the various alternatives and trying to make decisions in a timely fashion that will give us as much lead time as possible to the extent we make changes and adjustments. I will let Stefano talk through some specifics, as he and his team are working overtime on this.

Stefano Domenicali: Thanks, Joe. To be very direct and avoid speculation, the only thing I can say is that we have plans—hopefully not to be applied, because we hope the situation for the world, not only for racing, will go back to normal. We have plans, of course. The lead time or cutoff is different between what we can recover from what was not run in April versus what could happen in November or December. We are in line with the teams and the promoters because there is a big chain reaction. In due time, we will keep everyone informed. But I hope you understand, if we say something now it would be speculation, which we want to avoid. Our first hope is to be back in the places we should be.

Operator: Thank you. Our final questions will come from the line of Ian Moore with Bernstein. Please proceed with your questions.

Ian Moore: Hi, thanks. I know the announcements are relatively new and fresh, but given the broadcast agreement extensions like with Sky, the return of the Turkish Grand Prix next year, and the updates to the Miami regs, are you noticing any positive halo effects or incremental opportunities with respect to F1 sponsorship interest or broader demand that might have implications for the rest of the year and beyond?

Derek Chang: I will let Stefano take that. My guess is that from a purely “what lands in this year,” it is probably limited at this point given how these deals are done, but Stefano can give more color on the broader halo effect.

Stefano Domenicali: The halo effect, thanks, Ian, is what I said at the beginning: activations are getting bigger and better in terms of quality. We want to be as creative as possible without taking away the quality of what we offer to our customers and guests. Bigger audiences are pushing the ecosystem to find solutions, and this is good because everyone is on the same page. The F1 sponsorship package is very solid. If the question is about the effect this year, it is not related to having more numbers because we are already almost sold out everywhere. This is even better because it will allow us to grow in the future on numbers that are not yet indicated in today’s accounts. It goes back to the long-term strategy, and all partners and sponsors will be part of this incredible growth that we believe will happen in the next couple of years.

Derek Chang: Great. Thanks, Stefano. And with that, we will conclude the call. Before we end, I want to say a special thank you to Carmelo and Stefano and their teams. Managing through some of the disruptions we have had—very directly to ours in terms of rescheduling, logistics, and contingency planning—has required a lot of work, and those teams have been working overtime. Thanks to everyone on the call for taking the time. We always appreciate your interest in Liberty Media and look forward to speaking with you again soon.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much. This does conclude today’s teleconference. We appreciate your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Enjoy the rest of your day.