MSGスポーツ (MSGS) 2026年度第4四半期決算説明会：ニックスのタイトル獲得が収益を押し上げ

主要なポイント

• MSGスポーツの2026年度通期売上高は11億5,000万ドル、調整後営業利益（AOI）は5,870万ドルとなりました。
• 第4四半期の売上高は前年同期の2億400万ドルから2億7,870万ドルに増加しました。AOIは1,680万ドルの調整後営業損失から3,960万ドルの黒字に改善しました。
• イベント関連売上高は前年同期比43%増の2億70万ドルとなり、スイート、スポンサーシップおよび看板関連売上高は23%増の3,910万ドルに増加しました。
• ニックスの第4四半期におけるプレーオフ関連売上高は、両期間ともプレーオフのホームゲーム開催数が9試合であったにもかかわらず、前年同期の1億1,520万ドルに対し、1億8,200万ドルとなりました。
• MSGスポーツは、取締役会の承認などの条件を満たすことを前提として、10月末までに予定されているレンジャーズのスピンオフを完了する見込みです。
• 経営陣は、チーム人件費、ラグジュアリータックス（ぜいたく税）、レベニューシェアリング費用の増加を見込む一方で、2027年度の全事業カテゴリーで売上成長を見込んでいます。

主要財務データ

2026年度通期において、MSGスポーツは売上高11億5,000万ドル、AOI 5,870万ドルを計上しました。四半期末時点の現金および現金同等物は約1億6,450万ドル、負債総額は2億5,850万ドルとなり、これにはニックスのシニア担保付回転信用供与枠に基づく2億4,200万ドルと、NHLからの立替金1,650万ドルが含まれます。

事業および営業業績

ニックスのNBA優勝に向けた進撃が、第4四半期の主な成長要因となりました。プレーオフのチケット料金はラウンドが進むにつれてプレミアムが上乗せされ、同チームは1試合あたりの入場料収入で何度もNBA記録を更新しました。また、ファイナル（優勝決定シリーズ）期間中は、来場者1人あたりの飲食やグッズの支出も加速しました。

優勝後もグッズの需要は旺盛な状態が続きました。ニックスは優勝決定後の最初の24時間で、過去最高の1日あたりグッズ売上高を記録しました。2026年度通期を通じて、アリーナにおける来場者1人あたりのグッズおよび飲食支出は前年度比で増加しました。

ニックスとレンジャーズは年間で220万人以上のSNSフォロワー（純増）を獲得し、6月末時点での両チームを合わせたフォロワー数は2,200万人近くに達しました。

経営陣は、両チームを合わせた年間チケットの継続更新率が引き続き90%を超えると見込んでいます。MSGスポーツはニックスの年間チケット価格を引き上げましたが、プレーオフ進出を逃したレンジャーズの価格は据え置きました。

ポストシーズン中、スポンサーシップ売上高は前年同期比で2倍以上に増加しました。同社はPwCおよびPolymarketと新たな複数年パートナーシップを締結したほか、レクサス、アンハイザー・ブッシュ、インフォシスとの複数年契約を更新しました。経営陣は、今回の優勝が2027年度のさらなるスポンサーシップ売上を後押しすると述べています。

マディソン・スクエア・ガーデン（The Garden）では追加のスイートルーム改修が進められており、2027年度の売上上積みにつながると期待されています。ニックスは新シーズンを優勝バナー掲揚セレモニーでスタートさせ、レンジャーズの100周年記念イベントは11月のモントリオール・カナディアンズ戦でハイライトを迎えます。

経営陣の見通し

経営陣は、チケット、スポンサーシップ、スイート、飲食、グッズ販売の好調さに支えられ、2027年度は全事業カテゴリーで売上成長を見込んでいます。なお、具体的な売上高やAOIの業績予想は開示していません。

2027年度の業績には、チーム人件費、NBAラグジュアリータックス、レベニューシェアリング費用の増加も反映される見込みです。2026-27シーズンのサラリーキャップ（年俸総額の上限）は、NBAで1,040万ドル、NHLで850万ドル増加しました。

新しいNHL労使協定により、レンジャーズのレベニューシェアリング費用が増加すると予想されています。また、この協定により、2027年度のレンジャーズのホームゲームはレギュラーシーズンで1試合増加し、プレシーズンで1試合減少することになります。

NHLとロジャーズ・コミュニケーションズによる12年間の新カナダ向け放映権協定が新シーズンから開始されます。経営陣は、それらの放映権料分配金におけるMSGスポーツの受領分が増加すると見込んでいます。

リスクと注目点

予定されているレンジャーズのスピンオフは、取締役会の承認を含む諸条件を満たす必要があります。MSGスポーツは改訂版「フォーム10」登録届出書を公表提出する予定で、現時点では10月末までの完了を目指しています。

2028年6月30日に終了する年度より税法改正が適用されます。予定されている事業分離を除いた場合、経営陣は現在、2028年度に約1,600万ドルの追加法人税費用が発生すると見積もっています。スピンオフが完了した場合、2社合計の税金費用はより高くなる見込みですが、最終的な影響は当時の両チームの給与総額に大きく依存します。

2027年度の費用増加により、予想される増収分の一部が相殺される可能性があります。経営陣は特に、チーム人件費、ラグジュアリータックス、レベニューシェアリングをコスト増加の要因として挙げています。

MSGネットワークスとのローカル放映権協定は2028-29シーズンまでとなっています。第4四半期の放映権収入は、ローカル放送の収益性低下やMSGネットワークス独占放送試合数の減少が、全国規模のNBA放映権料の増加によって相殺され、ほぼ横ばいとなりました。

アナリスト質疑応答のハイライト

レンジャーズのスピンオフと少数株主持ち分：経営陣は、レンジャーズとニックスを分離することで、投資家がそれぞれの事業をより明確に評価できるようになると同時に、戦略的および財務的な柔軟性が高まると述べました。同社は将来的な少数株式の売却を排除しなかったものの、報告すべき新しい情報はないとしました。

優勝による経済効果：ニックスは第4四半期に1億8,200万ドルのプレーオフ関連売上高を記録し、前年同期の1億1,520万ドルから増加しました。両期間ともプレーオフのホームゲームは9試合であり、NBAファイナルへの進出と優勝がもたらすメリットが浮き彫りになりました。

スポンサーシップの見通し：経営陣は、優勝によってパートナーとの関係が強化され、今後の契約に向けた価値提案が高まったと語りました。2026年度に締結した契約の継続的な効果に加え、2027年度における新たなスポンサーシップの機会を見込んでいます。

ローカルメディア配信：MSGスポーツは、MSGネットワークスが地元のファンにアプローチするための重要なパートナーであり続けていると述べ、DAZNとの提携をはじめとする同社の配信施策への支持を表明しました。経営陣は、将来的なリーグレベルでの配信モデルの可能性についての言及は避けました。

リーグの拡張（エクスパンション）：NBAまたはNHLの拡張が行われた場合、参入料（エクスパンション・フィー）は既存チームに分配されると経営陣は説明しました。その後の全国放映権料を含むリーグからの分配金は、拡大したチーム数で均等分配されることになります。

決算説明会文字起こし全文

決算説明会の完全なトランスクリプト

経営陣による説明

Operator

Good morning. Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. Fiscal 2026 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]

I would now like to turn the call over to Ari Danes, Investor Relations. Ari, please go ahead.

Ari Danes

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to MSG Sports Fiscal 2026 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Earnings Conference Call. Our Chief Operating Officer, Jamaal Lesane, will begin this morning's call with a discussion on the company's strategy and operations as well as an update on the company's proposed spin-off of its Rangers business. This will be followed by a review of our financial results with Paul DiCicco, our EVP, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. After our prepared remarks, we will open up the call for questions. If you do not have a copy of today's earnings release, it is available in the Investors section of our corporate website.

Please take note of the following. Today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to the company's filings with the SEC for a discussion of risks and uncertainties. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements that may be discussed during this call. On Pages 4 and 5 of today's earnings release, we provide consolidated statements of operations and a reconciliation of operating income to adjusted operating income, or AOI, a non-GAAP financial measure.

And with that, I'll now turn the call over to Jamaal.

Jamaal Lesane

Thank you, Ari, and good morning, everyone. I am pleased to be here with you all today following a fiscal year that culminated with the Knicks winning an NBA championship. Before I dive further into the Knicks season, I would like to take a moment to discuss an important plan that we announced since we last spoke in February, potential spin-off of our Rangers business from our Knicks business. This transaction would create 2 distinct publicly traded companies, enabling shareholders to more clearly evaluate each company's assets and growth prospects. It would also provide both with enhanced strategic and financial flexibility.

In May, we confidentially filed a Form 10 registration statement with the SEC regarding the proposed spin-off. We anticipate publicly filing an updated Form 10 registration statement this week and currently expect to complete the spin-off by the end of October, subject to various conditions, including Board approval. We will continue to keep you updated on our progress.

Now let's discuss our operations in more detail. For fiscal '26, MSG Sports generated full year revenues of approximately $1.2 billion and adjusted operating income of nearly $59 million. These results reflect robust consumer and corporate demand throughout the regular season and, of course, the impact of the Knicks Championship run. The Knicks' playoff run took over New York City from electric crowds in-arena for home games to watch parties at various locations throughout the city to unique activations from our marketing partners, all culminating with the championship parade attended by millions of fans. With this unprecedented momentum, we achieved a number of operational milestones during the postseason.

To share a few highlights, on the ticketing front, the Knicks set new league-wide records with the highest per game gate revenues in NBA history on multiple occasions during the playoffs. With respect to merchandise, within the first 24 hours of clinching the NBA title, the Knicks generated its highest ever single day of merchandise sales with this robust demand continuing in the weeks that have followed. And we added over 2.2 million net new social media followers this past year, bringing the Knicks and Rangers combined following to nearly 22 million by the end of June. And this interest wasn't just limited to New York. Nationwide, the championship series became the most-watched NBA finals in 28 years. While fan enthusiasm reached new highs during the playoffs, the demand for both the Knicks and Rangers was evident throughout the regular seasons, which we expect to carry forward in fiscal '27.

In terms of ticketing, we saw higher per game revenue year-over-year during the 2025-'26 regular seasons. Looking ahead to the upcoming season, we are off to a strong start with season ticket renewals, and we expect our combined season ticket renewal rate to once again reach levels above 90%. I would note that consistent with our past practice, we made the decision to not raise season ticket prices for the Rangers as the team did not qualify for the playoffs, but we did raise season ticket prices for the Knicks. This past fiscal year, we also celebrated the Rangers Centennial season, which will culminate with the Rangers' 100th anniversary Capstone Game at The Garden in November against the Montreal Canadians. That game will also mark the 100th anniversary of the date of the Rangers first-ever game also against the Montreal franchise.

In addition, we continued unique merchandise collaborations with brands such as Kith and New York or Nowhere for both the Knicks and Rangers. These initiatives helped drive robust year-over-year growth in merchandise per cap spending at the arena for fiscal '26 as compared to the prior year. We also saw fan enthusiasm throughout the fiscal year translate into higher food and beverage per cap spending year-over-year at the arena. In terms of marketing partnerships, fiscal '26 was highlighted by a number of significant new sales and renewals. We signed new multiyear partnerships with PwC and Polymarket and reached multiyear renewals with Lexus, Anheuser-Busch and Infosys. And in our premium hospitality business, we also saw strong new sales and renewal activity for suites at The Garden, which included a number of Lexus level suites that were renovated at the start of the fiscal year.

Building on this successful initiative, several more suites are in the process of being renovated, which we expect to drive incremental revenue for our business in fiscal '27. As we look ahead to the upcoming seasons, the Rangers have had a productive summer, including acquiring forward Pavel Dorofeyev and defensemen Marcus Petterson and Sean Durzi. We look forward to the Rangers 2026-'27 regular season campaign getting underway this fall. And the Knicks will begin with the special banner raising celebration in October to tip off the season as defending champions.

So in summary, we are proud to have seen the Knicks deliver this year's championship for our fans, partners, employees and shareholders. And as we pursue a spin-off of our Rangers business, we remain confident in our ability to drive long-term shareholder value. I'd now like to introduce Paul DiCicco, our new EVP, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Paul is a seasoned executive with 30 years of experience in a range of global finance roles. His proven track record of strategic financial leadership is an asset to our company, and we are pleased to have him on board.

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Paul.

Paul DiCicco

Thank you, Jamaal, and good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to join you here today in my new role at MSG Sports during such an exciting time for the company.

For fiscal '26, we generated total revenues of $1.15 billion and adjusted operating income of $58.7 million. Results for the fiscal fourth quarter reflect the same number of regular season and playoff home games as compared to the prior year period. That includes the completion of the '25/'26 regular season, followed by the Knicks playoff run to the finals, which compared to reaching the Eastern conference finals in fiscal '25. For the fiscal '26 fourth quarter, total revenues were $278.7 million as compared to $204 million in the prior year period. Event-related revenues of $200.7 million, which mainly consists of ticket, food, beverage and merchandise revenues, inclusive of playoffs, increased 43% year-over-year. Suites, sponsorship and signage revenues, also inclusive of the playoffs, were $39.1 million, an increase of 23% year-over-year. National and local media rights fees of $27.7 million were essentially unchanged year-over-year. This primarily reflected our amended local telecast rights agreement with MSG Networks as well as a decrease in the number of games exclusively available to MSG Networks during the current year as compared to the prior year.

These decreases were offset by higher national media rights fees due to the NBA's new national media rights deals. Adjusted operating income was $39.6 million as compared to adjusted operating loss of $16.8 million in the prior year quarter, which reflected the increases in revenues, partially offset by higher SG&A and direct operating expenses. The increase in costs primarily reflects higher playoff-related expenses. I would note that SG&A also reflects, to a lesser extent, $2.9 million in expenses related to the proposed spin-off transaction. This overall increase in cost was partially offset by a decrease in net provisions for certain team personnel transactions recognized in the prior year quarter.

As we look ahead, we believe our business is poised to deliver revenue growth across all [ intermediate ] categories in fiscal '27. In addition, we expect our results to also reflect our continued investment in our teams as well as higher revenue sharing expense. I'd also add the NHL's new collective bargaining agreement takes effect in the 2026, '27 season. As a result, we will have one more regular season home game and one fewer preseason home game for the Rangers in fiscal '27.

Turning to our balance sheet. At the end of the quarter, our cash balance was approximately $164.5 million, and our debt balance was $258.5 million. This was comprised of $242 million under the Knicks senior secured revolving credit facility and $16.5 million advanced from the NHL. So in summary, we remain pleased with the demand we are seeing for our teams as we also pursue the potential separation of our businesses, which we are confident will position us well to drive long-term value for our shareholders.

I will now turn the call back over to Ari.

Ari Danes

Operator, can we now open up the call for questions?

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of David Karnovsky with JPMorgan.

質疑応答

David Karnovsky

I would be the first to say congrats on the Knicks championship. So regarding the New York Rangers spin-off, can you speak a bit more to the rationale here? And should investors read this as a willingness to sell minority stakes in the teams? And then relatedly, with the pending tax law change, why enter the spin if it now creates a tax challenge across 2 public companies?

Jamaal Lesane

David, thank you for those congratulations. With respect to your first question, we believe that our proposed spin-off, as I mentioned earlier, would enable shareholders to more clearly evaluate each company's assets and growth prospects. As it relates to a minority stake sale or the potential for minority stake in either team, our position hasn't changed from what we've articulated on previous calls. We continue to be confident in the value of our teams. We're as confident as ever in that respect. And there continue to be reported transactions in the marketplace that demonstrate that value and scarcity of these assets. And so as I said before, we would never rule out the possibility of a minority stake sale, but we don't have anything further to report at this time in that regard. The takeaway here, David, is that this transaction will provide both companies with enhanced strategic and financial flexibility.

Paul DiCicco

I'll take the second part of your question. As we discussed earlier just now, we believe the proposed spin will create long-term value for our shareholders. And we're certainly mindful of the implications that the tax laws would have at each company after the separation. But that being said, as Jamaal just said, the proposed spin-off does create -- provides both companies with strategic and financial flexibility, such as enhancing each company's ability to access funding for liquidity, particularly as we take into account the implications for our business from these tax law changes.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Cameron Mansson-Perrone with Morgan Stanley.

Cameron Mansson-Perrone

Two, if I could. First, on local media rights, there's a range of evolving approaches across leagues and teams right now between traditional RSN distribution, full DTC as we're seeing with the Braves, leagues trying to centrally manage and package rights. Jamaal, what's your latest thinking about those various options and what makes sense from your perspective for the MSGS teams over time? And are there any league-specific factors we should consider that might make the approach different for the Knicks relative to the Rangers? Or are you thinking about both teams and local rights in a similar -- or from a similar lens? And then I have a follow-up.

Jamaal Lesane

Sure. Thanks for that, Cameron, and great to meet you. As you mentioned, there's a lot going on. But with respect to the Knicks and the Rangers local distribution, we have a great partner in MSG Networks. And our agreements with them run through the '28, '29 seasons. And one of the things that makes them a great partner is that they help us stay connected with our local fans, which is of paramount importance to us.

We're also supportive of what they've been doing on the distribution front, including their new partnership with DAZN, which is a premier streaming platform. And with that, we're not going to speculate on league plans. We believe in the value of local media coverage. We believe in the value of content that's tailored for local markets. And as such, we remain confident in our position as a rights holder for these 2 marquee sports franchises.

Cameron Mansson-Perrone

Great. I appreciate that. Follow-up was just on the question about the future potential tax obligations. Any help quantifying that incremental tax impact for each team when those changes take effect, I guess, assuming current payrolls remain unchanged at each team?

Paul DiCicco

Sure, Cameron. I'll take that one. It's nice to meet you as well. We continue to assess the impact of these tax law changes on our business. But just a quick reminder, these become effective for our fiscal year-end June 30, 2028. So with that in mind, excluding the impact of the proposed spin-off, we currently estimate these changes result in approximately $16 million in additional income tax expense for that fiscal year, that's fiscal year '28. If the proposed spin-off is completed, the combined income tax expense across the 2 companies will certainly be higher. I do think it's important to note, though, as you kind of alluded to, the final impact will largely depend on the team at that point in time.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of David Joyce with Seaport Research Partners.

David Joyce

Well, that was an exciting quarter. Can you help us understand some more of the financial impacts on the revenues, expenses and AOI from that championship run? And subsequent to the win, there was talk about not encroaching the next apron. So could you please also give us some operating expense outlook for the next fiscal year, including on the player comp?

Paul DiCicco

Sure, David. I'll take those questions and work through those for you. The championship run resulted in a significant incremental business for our company as evidenced in our results today.

To give a little bit more context, I'll touch on a few areas, and I'll start with tickets. Playoff tickets are priced at a premium to the regular season games with increases each round. As Jamaal noted earlier, the Knicks set new NBA records for the per game gate revenues. Our per cap spending on F&B and merchandise during the playoffs is typically higher than regular season averages, but we noted it was a notable acceleration during the championship series. Now what was interesting is we hosted 9 playoff games in this past quarter at The Garden, which is the same number of games as the prior year when the Knicks advanced to the Eastern conference files. And just to compare those results, related playoff revenues for the year's fourth quarter were $182 million as compared to $115.2 million in the prior year period. That's roughly $20.2 million in average per game revenues, including the benefits of robust nongame day merchandise sales.

On the flip side, right, there are additional costs in connection with being in the playoffs. We saw approximately $11 million, $1.2 million on average per game related to direct operating expense as well as marketing and administrative costs. One quick point I want to make. I won't get into all the specifics, but I note that last quarter, there were increased expenses for playoffs associated with making the finals and winning the championship. Just to close out on the thread of where we think about that goes, we expect the increased enthusiasm from our fans and partners to create tailwinds across every aspect of our business for fiscal '27, like tickets, sponsorship, suites, as well as food and beverage and merchandise sales.

The focus on the second part of your question really around operating expenses, I'm not going to provide specific guidance. But I will -- we do expect our results for '27 to reflect higher team compensation and luxury tax. As you know, the NBA salary cap increased $10.4 million for the '26, '27 season, while the NHL cap increased $8.5 million. And in addition to that, the NBA luxury tax threshold for '26, '27 season increased $12.5 million to approximately $200 million to $244 million. It's important reminder that this is measured based on the roster at the end of the season. The other area I mentioned earlier, we also anticipate increased revenue share expense in fiscal '27, really twofold really. One is this reflects our current expectations for ongoing revenue growth, excluding the impact of playoffs. In addition will be due to the impact of the new NHL CBA that goes into effect for the upcoming season. That new CBA slightly changed the calculation for rev share and is expected to result in higher revenue sharing expense for the Rangers.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Joe Stauff with Susquehanna.

Joseph Stauff

I just wanted to maybe follow up on David's previous question, a little bit more detail. Can I ask on the sponsorship outlook this coming season, what it looks like, especially considering the Knicks win and what that does for you in terms of both pricing and any added inventory and how we think about that number in particular for fiscal '27?

Jamaal Lesane

Thanks, Joe. Actually, I'm glad you touched on that. And just looking at back just a little bit, we saw overwhelming demand from our partners during the championship run. And that included not just the obvious presence in our arenas for those exhilarating home games, but it also included the opportunity for them to activate at our viewing parties around the city. And then even on the road, where we hosted a number of partners in Cleveland for the Eastern Conference Finals and in San Antonio for the NBA Finals, all culminating with giving many of our partners a presence during the championship parade celebration.

And so all of that had 2 effects. One, that valuable time spent enhances our relationship with our partners, and it improves the value proposition moving forward. And then two, we saw sponsorship revenues more than double year-over-year during the post season. And so looking ahead, not only do we expect to see the run rate benefit from our fiscal year -- fiscal '26 deals in the year ahead, but the Knicks win should actually enable us to sell more sponsorships. So in short, Joe, while we're not providing specific guidance, as we look to fiscal '27, we're seeing great momentum and believe that we are well positioned to drive another year of growth.

Ari Danes

Thanks for the question, Joe. Operator, we'll take one final caller.

Operator

Your last question comes from the line of Tyler DiMatteo with BTIG.

Tyler DiMatteo

I have 2 here. I wanted to start on the NHL side of things. I guess how should we think about the new Rogers deal kicking in this season and the potential financial impact on that? And then along with that, I guess, do you have any early thoughts on the potential new U.S. NHL deal and the renewal of it following the existing deal that concludes next year?

Jamaal Lesane

Thanks, Tyler. I'll take that one. Tyler, to answer the first part of your question, the NHL begins a new 12-year media rights agreement with Rogers Communications this upcoming season. And they, the NHL, will see a step-up in average annual value for its Canadian media rights with annual escalators thereafter. And so we'll see an increase in our share of those media rights -- those media rights fees. And kind of to piggyback into the second part of your question, in terms of the NHL U.S. deals, the current agreements run through the '27, '28 season. And we continue to believe in the value of live professional sports content. We expect the NHL will maximize that opportunity.

Tyler DiMatteo

Okay. Great. And then secondarily, I guess, do you have any early thoughts or how do you think about the potential financial impact of domestic expansion for the NBA or NHL? And I guess what that could mean for your business and the contribution?

Jamaal Lesane

Yes. I won't comment on the NBA, NHL strategy and whether that occurs or not. But I will -- if an expansion does occur, as it has in the past, if expansion were to occur, any potential expansion fees in the NBA would be divided equally among the 30 existing NBA teams and vice versa, any potential expansion fees in the NHL would be divided among the existing 32 NHL teams. From a league distribution perspective, including revenue from the national media rights agreements, those would be divided pro rata amongst the increased number of teams following any potential expansion.

Operator

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Ari for closing remarks.

Ari Danes

Thank you all for joining us. We look forward to speaking with you on our next earnings call. Have a good day.

Operator

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.