Jason Tilchen

Jason Tilchen asked about Super Group's key considerations for potential M&A opportunities, the type of acquisitions the company would focus on, and any specific countries or regions where M&A could strengthen its position. He also sought details on the strategy for Alberta's upcoming regulation and how learnings from the Ontario transition would be applied.

Answer

CEO Neal Menashe stated that M&A is highly selective, not essential for current plans, and would focus on bolt-on acquisitions that improve tech, product, or market position with attractive returns, avoiding overpayment. CFO Alinda van Wyk emphasized discipline, flexibility, organic growth, and a focus on ROI, with M&A only for strengthening the core. Neal Menashe added that Super Group is ready for Alberta's Q2 2026 regulation, having learned from Ontario's customer migration and enhanced products, anticipating a more rational competitive environment.

Jason Tilchen asked about Super Group's M&A strategy, given its balance sheet flexibility, inquiring about key considerations, preferred acquisition types, and target regions for strengthening. He also asked about the strategy for Alberta's upcoming regulation, specifically how lessons from the Ontario transition would be applied.

Answer

CEO Neal Menashe stated that M&A is highly selective, not essential for plans, and focuses on bolt-ons that improve tech, product, or market position with attractive returns, emphasizing not overpaying. CFO Alinda van Wyk added that capital deployment prioritizes organic growth, dividends, and only strategic bolt-on acquisitions. Regarding Alberta, Neal Menashe confirmed readiness for Q2 2026 regulation, applying lessons from Ontario's customer migration and product enhancements, anticipating a more rational competitive environment.

Jason Tilchen of Canaccord Genuity Inc. asked about the new marketing channels driving strong returns, the impact of the Williams F1 sponsorship, and the drivers behind the improved 14% sportsbook hold, questioning the split between favorable outcomes and structural product improvements.

Answer

CEO Neal Menashe stated that marketing success comes from reallocating budget to efficient channels like content, with the F1 deal driving traffic. He noted that the improved sportsbook margin is a result of both favorable sports results and structural enhancements like the 'Bet Builder' parlay product. He emphasized that as revenue scales, the company's operating leverage significantly improves profitability.

Jason Tilchen of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. asked about the future growth drivers in Africa, questioning the balance between existing and new markets. He also sought details on Nigeria's competitive landscape and the company's strategy there, and inquired about what makes the Jackpot City brand so successful.

Answer

CEO Neal Menashe explained that Africa's growth comes from continuous product, banking, and marketing tweaks in existing markets, plus the launch of Jackpot City in select countries. He noted new markets are added only when metrics like taxes and banking are favorable. For Nigeria, he stated the product needs more localization to improve traction. Menashe differentiated Jackpot City as a pure-play casino brand that resonates with a different customer segment than the sports-first Betway user, a strategy now being applied successfully in more countries.

Jason Tilchen from Canaccord Genuity inquired about the drivers of growth in key markets, specifically asking to what extent it comes from underlying market growth versus share gains. He also requested more detail on the opportunity and investment timeline in African markets.

Answer

Executive Neal Menashe explained that growth is primarily driven by existing, focused markets like those in Africa, Europe, Canada, and New Zealand, rather than new market entries. He emphasized a strategy of closing markets without a clear path to profitability, citing Brazil as a market they chose not to enter. Executive Alinda Van Wyk added that the sustained marketing spend is crucial for increasing market share within these specific focus regions.

Jason Tilchen asked for more details on Q2 enrollment growth, specifically the levels of gross additions and withdrawals relative to a typical Q2, and insights into conversations with families affected by platform issues. He also inquired about the current operational performance of the platform compared to historical norms, any ongoing issues, and the roadmap for in-housing technology.

Answer

CEO James Rhyu did not disclose specific withdrawal volumes but highlighted that strong demand enabled effective backfilling. He described families' resilience, noting their willingness to endure issues due to the critical need for alternative education. Regarding platform performance, Mr. Rhyu stated that while prior platforms also had issues, the current one provides a good foundation. He emphasized ongoing efforts to improve redundancy, incorporate customer feedback for user experience, and refine workflows, with investments extending beyond academic elements for a richer overall experience.

Jason Tilchen asked for more detail on Q2 enrollment growth, specifically the gross adds and withdrawals relative to a typical Q2, and insights into conversations with families affected by platform issues. He also questioned the current operational performance of the platform compared to historical norms, any ongoing issues, and the roadmap for in-housing technology.

Answer

CEO James Rhyu stated that strong demand allowed for effective backfilling of enrollments, though specific volumes are not disclosed. He highlighted the resilience of families who need the alternative programs, often willing to endure initial difficulties. Rhyu noted that while prior platforms also had issues, the new platform provides a good foundation, with ongoing work on edge cases and redundancy. He emphasized building influence and control over the ecosystem and using customer feedback to refine the user experience beyond academics.

Jason Tilchen inquired about the rationale and timing behind Stride's recent technology platform implementation, the specific issues encountered during the rollout, and whether these tech upgrades disproportionately impacted General Education versus Career Learning enrollments.

Answer

CEO James Rhyu explained that the rationale for the new platforms was to support Stride's significant scale and anticipated growth, with the summer being the only viable window for implementation. He noted that the rollout took longer than expected and encountered more problems, impacting customer login, platform resiliency, and performance, but stated there was no material differential impact on General Education versus Career Learning programs.

Jason Tilchen of Canaccord Genuity Inc. asked for details on the investments causing the forecasted slower pace of gross margin expansion in FY26. He also inquired about the recent stabilization in the adult learning business and the demand environment for those platforms.

Answer

CEO James Rhyu identified a significant investment in high-dosage tutoring for all second and third graders as a key factor for the moderating gross margin expansion. CFO Donna Blackman also mentioned investments in the K-12 Zone engagement platform. Regarding adult learning, Rhyu candidly called its performance a 'miss' and a 'disappointment,' particularly on the technology side, but stated the company is focused on improving execution and is not looking to sell the business.

Jason Tilchen inquired about Stride's progress in developing a distinct marketing funnel for its career learning programs and asked about the company's initiatives to enhance socialization opportunities for students in full-time online settings.

Answer

CEO James Rhyu acknowledged that Stride has not yet 'cracked the code' on a separate career learning marketing funnel but continues to test new approaches. Regarding socialization, Rhyu detailed a dual strategy involving a virtual platform called 'K-12 zone' which is seeing record usage, and the rollout of in-person, geographically-based 'pods' for student meet-ups, which has received very positive family feedback.

Jason Tilchen inquired about the drivers of Stride's enrollment momentum, specifically the differences between Career Learning and General Education funnels and the balance between new enrollment and retention. He also asked for early learnings from the new K-12 tutoring platform.

Answer

CEO James Rhyu explained that enrollment strength is broad-based and continues a multi-year trend, though the incremental career learning funnel has been weaker than expected. Regarding tutoring, Rhyu positioned it as a strategically important, long-term investment that will be financially immaterial in the short term due to net revenue accounting. He highlighted its benefits for teacher income and student outcomes.

Jason Tilchen asked about the specific drivers behind the record enrollment growth, questioning if it was tied to certain states, use cases, or marketing, and inquired about the potential impact of the upcoming election on school choice and funding.

Answer

CEO James Rhyu attributed the momentum to broad-based organic demand and strong word-of-mouth, noting that flat SG&A spending implied a lower customer acquisition cost. Regarding the election, Rhyu stated that education should be a bipartisan, customer-focused issue and avoided speculating on political outcomes.

Jason Tilchen inquired about the upcoming rollout of a Spanish-language app, asking about the incremental opportunity it presents as a customer acquisition and engagement driver, particularly with the 2026 World Cup approaching.

Answer

Jason Robins, Co-founder and CEO of DraftKings, expressed excitement for the Spanish-language app, noting it was sparked by the 2026 World Cup opportunity and further research into Spanish-speaking audiences for other sports. He believes it represents a significant incremental opportunity, especially for those who prefer or exclusively use Spanish-language apps. Mr. Robins highlighted the potential to build outsized share in this fast-growing demographic, particularly in key states like Texas and California that may legalize in the future.

Jason Tilchen inquired about the upcoming rollout of a Spanish-language app, its incremental opportunity for customer acquisition and engagement, and its relevance to the 2026 World Cup.

Answer

Jason Robins, Co-founder and CEO of DraftKings, expressed excitement for the Spanish-language app, driven by the upcoming 2026 World Cup and research into the Hispanic/Spanish-speaking demographic. He believes it will capture a significant audience, including those who prefer or only use Spanish-language apps, allowing DraftKings to build outsized share in this fast-growing demographic, especially with future state legalizations like Texas and California.

Jason Tilchen from Canaccord Genuity Inc. asked for an overview of the newly announced AI tools, seeking to understand which would drive the most benefit in the near and medium term.

Answer

Founder, Chairman & CEO Chuck Cohn explained that near-term benefits are coming from enhanced AI session summaries and 'agentic practice problems' that drive engagement and retention. For the medium term, he is most excited about the 'Nerdy app,' which uses real-time computer vision and audio to assist tutors during live sessions, which he believes will have a profound impact on session quality and lifetime value.

Jason Tilchen inquired about the progress of shifting Nerdy's Institutional business to a paid model, the outlook for bookings amidst a cautious funding environment, and which consumer-facing AI features are key drivers for engagement and retention.

Answer

CEO Chuck Cohn explained that new 'Live + AI' features require school districts to upgrade from free to paid plans, which is driving interest and upsell opportunities. CFO Jason Pello noted that the Q1 bookings pipeline exceeds expectations despite macro caution. For consumers, Cohn highlighted 'AI Session Summaries' as a proven feature for boosting engagement, with 'Tutor Copilot' showing early promise.

Jason Tilchen of Canaccord Genuity inquired about the extent to which benefits from new AI tools are factored into the fiscal 2025 outlook, covering both revenue and expenses.

Answer

CEO Chuck Cohn stated that the 2025 plan fully reflects the expected costs of AI initiatives and conservatively assumes high platform utilization. While the retention forecast is based on current line-of-sight improvements, he acknowledged potential upside as AI features gain more traction. CFO Jason Pello added that the costs associated with internal AI development are expected to be self-funding over the year, driven by gains in customer activation and process automation.

Jason Tilchen asked for details on the strong revenue growth in Managed Betting Services (MTS), the impact of new customer cohorts, and the outlook for moving more clients to this higher-value product. He also inquired about discussions with media companies on fan engagement solutions.

Answer

CEO Carsten Koerl confirmed a strong pipeline for MTS, with 50 clients onboarded in 2024 and 42 more in integration, driven by operators focusing on marketing and outsourcing trading. He noted that the opportunity with media companies is meaningful, as they seek to acquire customers from the betting space, positioning Sportradar as a key partner to connect the sports, media, and betting ecosystems.

Jason Tilchen inquired about the roadmap for expanding computer vision data capture beyond the current 50% of events and asked for examples of how the additional data points are being monetized beyond live pricing models.

Answer

CEO Carsten Koerl stated the goal is to automate around 90% of events with computer vision, as 100% is not practical. He explained that the thousands of additional data points are used to drive player markets, visualizations, and entertainment, which creates more sophisticated products and improves predictive models for clients.

Jason Tilchen of Canaccord Genuity asked about customer response to the new AI Readiness and Growth packages and when these offerings might materially impact revenue per enterprise customer.

Answer

CEO Hugo Sarrazin described the customer reception as "overwhelmingly positive," noting the new AI SKUs already represent 25% of the overall sales pipeline and are expected to be a meaningful contributor by year-end. He highlighted that this new packaging muscle will be applied to create more sophisticated offerings for both enterprise and consumer segments in the future.

Jason Tilchen from Canaccord Genuity inquired about how conversations with enterprise customers, both in the pipeline and for expansion, have evolved over the past few months.

Answer

CEO Hugo Sarrazin outlined three key trends in customer conversations: 1) market uncertainty is elongating sales cycles; 2) customers are increasingly focused on vendor consolidation, which he views as an opportunity for Udemy; and 3) there is a greater demand for demonstrable ROI, where Udemy can show value through metrics like improved employee retention. He also noted a strong demand for AI fluency training across entire organizations.

Jason Tilchen asked about the evolution of conversations with existing enterprise customers, their interest in soft skills content, and the investment required to build out new AI-powered roleplay simulations.

Answer

CEO Greg Brown reported positive signals from large enterprise customers, noting a strong Q4 for large deals and improving win rates. CTO Eren Bali clarified that developing the new roleplay simulations would not require new resources but rather a reorientation of the existing R&D team's priorities.

Asked about the relative growth of walk-in versus group business, the outlook on consumer health for the holiday season, and the strategic rationale for the Boomers acquisition beyond its valuation.

Answer

Walk-in business grew faster than group business in the quarter, driven by the season pass, but this trend is expected to reverse in the holiday-heavy month of December. The Boomers acquisition was attractive not only for its valuation but also for the significant potential for improvement by investing capital and applying Bowlero's operational playbook to the under-managed assets.

Inquired about the mix of the events business and the customer response to recent pricing changes, including future plans.

Answer

The events business is strong across all segments (corporate, social) due to system and pricing simplification. Recent price changes, like lowering shoe rental fees, have been met with positive traffic response, while food price increases are planned with the new menu rollout.

Asked about the company's plans for further debt reduction and strengthening the balance sheet.

Answer

The company continues to focus on paying down debt, especially the Galaxy debt. They are exploring avenues like selling noncore assets and potentially refinancing existing debt. With improved market economics, there is more appetite from capital markets for debt and equity financing, and conversations are ongoing.