Clark Lampin

Clark Lampin inquired if the previously issued 2026 forecasts included revenue and expense synergies from ad server integration and consumer packaging flows. He also sought directional context on anticipated year-on-year subscriber growth for fiscal Q2, assuming no changes with NBC.

Answer

CEO David Gandler and CFO John Janedis clarified that the original $120 million+ synergy target assumed day-one realization, with ad server integration (driving CPM and fill rate uplift) expected first, followed by content/programming synergies as contracts renew, and new procurement synergies. Gandler detailed the strong performance and retention of the Fubo Sports service and the potential for significant subscriber growth and lower customer acquisition costs through ESPN partnerships. Janedis added that while growth is the goal, they typically don't spend heavily on Olympics-related subscribers due to low retention.

Clark Lampin asked for more specificity on the 'significance' comment regarding prediction markets, particularly whether it's largely about customer access in new states, and what unique advantages DraftKings brings to win in this market.

Answer

Jason Robins, Co-founder and CEO of DraftKings, stated that DraftKings will compete by out-executing on product, customer experience, and marketing, leveraging their extensive data, expertise, scale, brand association with sports, and media partnerships. He believes their advantageous starting position, with more knowledge and scale than years prior, will make them a formidable competitor.

Clark Lampin from BTIG requested more detail on the assumption for structural hold trends and the rationale behind the more deliberate mention of international expansion.

Answer

CEO Jason Robins explained that confidence in a higher long-term structural hold ceiling comes from the accelerating rate of improvement in bet mix, which has exceeded expectations. On international expansion, he clarified that the commentary was not intended to signal a change in strategy; the primary focus remains the U.S. and Canada, and any international moves would be opportunistic rather than a near-term priority.

Clark Lampin questioned how AppLovin balances the growth of its new e-commerce business with potential displacement for core gaming customers, and if model improvements will mitigate this. He also asked about the progress on tuning onboarding flows and generative AI creative tools, and if they are gating factors for a general availability launch.

Answer

Adam Foroughi, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chairperson, AppLovin, explained that increased advertiser density expands spend for gaming customers, as the model better utilizes excess impressions, leading to more targeted ads and higher CPMs. He noted that Axon Ad site bots are being tuned and generative AI creatives are weeks to months away for testing. Neither is a gating factor for general release; the focus is on a seamless onboarding experience.

Clark Lampin inquired about the progress in tuning onboarding flows and generative AI creative tools, and whether these are gating factors for launching general availability.

Answer

Adam Foroughi, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chairperson, AppLovin, noted that AI bots are already integrated for quality checks, with more to come. Generative AI-based ad creatives are close to testing (weeks/months), but the main gating factor for general release is optimizing the onboarding funnel for a seamless customer experience without overwhelming support needs.