Formula One Group’s first-quarter revenue raced past Wall Street’s expectations on Thursday, powering the company’s Series C tracking stock (Nasdaq: FWONK) to over $93 per share—a more than 5% increase—after the market opened. Its Series A offering, which trades under the ticker FWONA and includes voting rights, rose almost 5% to nearly $86.
A subsidiary of the Liberty Media Corporation that includes Formula 1, MotoGP and other minority investments under its umbrella, the company posted $711 million in revenue for the period ending March 31, a 59% rise over last year’s first quarter. (Liberty Media closed its $4.5 billion acquisition of MotoGP in July of last year, and its financials were not included in the group’s consolidated figures from Q1 2025.)
Formula One Group turned an operating profit, going from a loss of $67 million to $64 million in the black. It also reports an adjusted figure that adds back depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation and other line items; that number amounted to $181 million, more than double the mark in Q1 2025.
A consensus estimate of analyst forecasts expected the company’s revenue to land at just over $670 million, with earnings per shares coming in at a loss of two cents.
Formula 1 itself saw revenue rise 53% year-over-year to $617 million, with its adjusted income figure more than doubling to $172 million. The racing series had the benefit of an extra event in the first quarter as opposed to 2025. And between the return of the Turkish Grand Prix in 2027 on a multiyear agreement; new and extended partnerships with Salesforce, Allwyn, Marsh, FanDuel and Betway; and renewed broadcast deals with Sky in the U.K. and Italy, Foxtel in Australia and beIN across Asia, Formula 1 has continued to build momentum.
But the sport still has to contend with a loss of revenues after canceling races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the Iran war, both of which were set to be held in April of Q2. The Middle East has been one of the most lucrative markets for Formula 1, and the combined promoter fees for those two events were around $115 million, according to a March note from Guggenheim Partners.
Sportico previously reported in April that the FIA, Formula 1 parent Liberty Media and the 11 F1 teams have discussed adding the Bahrain Grand Prix back to the 2026 calendar, potentially between the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sept. 26 and the Singapore race on Oct. 11. Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali also told Bloomberg last month that it may be possible to reschedule one of the two canceled Middle Eastern races. The company, for now, said it’s focused on a 22-race calendar, which is two below the original 24 planned for 2026.
“The well-being of everyone in F1 comes first, and we always manage the calendar with that principle in mind,” Derek Chang, the president and CEO of Liberty Media, said. “While that creates a near term financial impact, it does not change our confidence in the long-term trajectory of the support.”
Meanwhile, MotoGP revenue rose 25% to $94 million, and its adjusted income figure grew 60% to $16 million on, as the company indicated, a “pro-forma basis as if the acquisition closed on Jan. 1, 2024, with three races held in each quarter.” The motorcycle racing series renewed its broadcast deal with ServusTV in Austria through 2030 and signed a multiyear partnership with Quint to operate its hospitality offerings.
MotoGP also had to shuffle its schedule due to the conflict in the Middle East, postponing the Qatar Grand Prix to November.
Alec Boccanfuso, the portfolio manager for the GOLS ETF at Gabelli Funds, which counts Formula One Group’s Series A stock under its top 10 holdings, said the firm doesn’t usually comment on earnings impressions. But he added that they “are pleased with the company’s direction.”