Earnings Labs

Skillz Inc. (SKLZ)

Q4 2024 Earnings Call· Thu, Mar 13, 2025

$6.43

+1.42%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good afternoon, all. I would like to welcome you all to the Skillz Inc. 2024 fourth quarter result call. My name is Matt, and I will be moderating your call today. Lines will be muted during the presentation portion of the call with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end. If you would like to ask a question, press star one on your telephone keypad. I would now like to pass the conference over to our host, Richard Land, from JCIR to begin. Please go ahead. Good afternoon, and welcome to the Skillz Inc. fourth quarter earnings conference call. On the call today are Andrew Paradise, Skillz Inc.'s Co-Founder and CEO, and Gaetano Franceschi, CFO.

Richard Land

Management

This afternoon, Skillz Inc. issued its 2024 fourth quarter and full year results release, which is available on the company's Investor Relations website. Before I turn the call over to Andrew Paradise, please note that some of management's comments today will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements, which are usually identified by the use of words such as will, expects, expect, should, or other similar phrases, are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we expect. Therefore, you should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on them. We refer you to the company's SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of the risks that could impact future operating results and financial condition. During the call, management will discuss non-GAAP measures, which it believes can be useful in evaluating the company's operating performance. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. The reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure is available in the company's fourth quarter 2024 earnings release. With that, I will turn the call over to Andrew Paradise for some opening remarks, followed by Gaetano Franceschi for a discussion of our financial performance, before we open the call for questions. Andrew Paradise, please go ahead.

Andrew Paradise

Management

Thank you, Richard Land, and good afternoon. Before turning to an update on the operational progress made against our four pillars, including the recently announced $75 million developer accelerator program, I want to review the strides we are making in our Fairplay initiative and key litigation matters. We remain active with our efforts to sound the alarm of the deception we believe some other companies are deploying to cheat players out of a fair gaming experience. We continue to work to ensure that all gaming companies in this space provide consumers with certainty that they are being matched with real players of similar skill. This is to ensure fair competition and is critical so this industry can survive and thrive as real money is on the line. Our proprietary platform delivers on this promise of fairness to players. We do not believe that is true for some of the biggest players in our space. We believe international companies including Avia Games, Papaya Gaming, and Voodoo Games use bots to deceive players in the United States and international markets into believing and competing against real human opponents when in fact, they face predetermined gameplay or bots. The manipulation perpetrated by these companies alters match results to their advantage, defrauding American players of billions of hard-earned dollars. We continue to pursue aggressive actions to safeguard fairness within the industry we pioneer. We have filed lawsuits to protect our business interests as the use of bots by these companies has harmed our company as well as the interests of our stakeholders. The lawsuits we filed against Papaya and Voodoo are ongoing in the Southern District of New York. As these lawsuits progress, these international companies will have to answer to U.S. law and the U.S. consumers they potentially defrauded. Of note, class action…

Gaetano Franceschi

Operator

I will conclude my comments with a review of the progress on our fourth pillar. Demonstrating a clear path to profitability. Throughout 2024, we made steady strides to achieve our goal of ultimately generating adjusted EBITDA positive. Our full-year adjusted EBITDA loss excluding litigation expenses improved compared to 2023. We remain focused on our expense management initiatives while continuing to invest in our business to generate top-line growth. We have consistently been achieving gradual improvements in our operating cash burn, which combined with a strong balance sheet provides us with the runway to return our business to sustainable and profitable growth. Finally, I will reiterate that our current valuation gives no weight to the combined value of our operating platform and the progress we have made towards achieving our goals or our net cash position for that matter. As we execute on our turnaround initiatives, we continue to believe our unique platforms can generate significant returns for our shareholders. With that, I will turn it over to Gaetano Franceschi. Thank you, Andrew Paradise, and good afternoon, everyone. Turning to the fourth quarter financial results. Revenue was $20 million, down 17% sequentially and down 35% year over year. Our paid user conversion rate, which is paying MAU divided by MAU, was 14.6% in Q4, up from 14.3% in Q3. With both paying MAU and MAU lower quarter over quarter. As Andrew Paradise indicated, we are seeing a rebound as paying MAU has grown sequentially for three months from November through February. Excluding all litigation expenses, operating expense was $16 million, a $3 million improvement versus the prior quarter. Research and development expense was $4 million, up 5% year over year. Excluding the impact of stock-based compensation, it was 16% of Q4 revenue. Sales and marketing expense was $19 million, down 18%…

Operator

Operator

If for any reason you would like to remove that question, please press star followed by two. Again, to ask a question, press star one. As a reminder, if you are using a speakerphone, please remember to pick up your handset before asking your question. We will pause here briefly as questions are registered. There are currently no questions registered. So that will conclude the conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.