Live events demand is booming — and is still outpacing supply, Vivid Seats CEO says
Despite continuously hot inflation prints and talks of a looming recession, the demand for live events is still booming, according to Vivid Seats (SEAT) CEO Stan Chia.
Vivid Seats — which sells concert and sporting event tickets — reported higher than expected quarterly revenue ($130.77 million vs $112.71 expected) and earnings per share ($0.07 vs. $0.02) for its first quarter earlier this week. Citing high demand, the company also raised its full-year revenue guidance by $10 million, projecting 2022 full-year revenue of between $520-$555 million.
"I always think our average order size is more reflective of what consumers are willing to pay and how much that demand is outpacing supply," Chia said on Yahoo Finance Live (video above). "Prior to 2019, historically our average order size in our business has always been up about 3% every year. Last year, you really had that full release of the pent-up demand where you saw average order sizes in the second quarter of last year really, really high."
A slide in Vivid Seats investor’s deck also hinted at steadily high ticket pricing. A graph displaying Vivid Seats users average order size, reveals fans spent more on tickets in Q1 2022 ($368) than they did in 2019 ($329) but less than Q1 2021 ($397).
Despite the slight decline, Chia is still satisfied with how the 2022 numbers compare to 2020 and 2019.
"Comparing to 2019 first quarter to what we just did this quarter, you've got 12% growth versus the first quarter of '19, which is still eclipsing where it's been historically," he said. "We continue to see that excitement from consumers to go to live events."
Though inflation has affected various sectors of the economy, Chia hasn't seen a major impact on his business, at least for now.
“As we look at historical baskets and what potentially people do, I think travel certainly may be a higher basket,” he said. “I think other comments around maybe if you were to enter a recessionary environment, you wouldn't buy a dishwasher. I think we still feel pretty good that consumers are going to be going to live events this year.”
According to the company's research, fans are traveling more than an average 20 miles longer than they did in 2019 to attend live events.
“As long as demand continues to outpace supply as we've seen it, I think our marketplace continues to be one that will allow fans to engage with each other at live events in a meaningful way,” Chia said.
Josh is a producer for Yahoo Finance.
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