Football Fever: Investing in the Beautiful Game

The very mention of football conjures up images of cheering fans from all corners of the world.

The global appeal of the game is undeniable, and it’s the strong support of fans that has propelled its growth into a multi-billion dollar industry.

Today’s infographic from Swissquote tracks how the sport has reached far and wide—even onto the stock exchange.

The Timeline of the Manchester United IPO

Manchester United is the largest publicly-traded football club in the world. The journey of its initial public offering (IPO) can be traced back almost 30 years.

• 1991: Man United floats on the London Stock Exchange (LSE)
  It aims to raise £10 million, but falls short and finally raises £6.7 million.
• 2003-2005: Malcolm Glazer acquires ownership of Man United
  This raises the club’s market capitalization to £790 million, and it delists from the LSE.
• 2012: Man United lists on the New York Stock Exchange
  It aims to raise £62.8 million in this IPO, but surpasses this with a final raised value of £146.3 million. Interestingly, George Soros was the biggest investor in this deal, buying a nearly 2% stake in the club.

What makes a football team like Manchester United so attractive in the eyes of investors?

Over decades, a flourishing fan base from viewers to consumers has been the force behind the football industry’s success as a whole.

The Big Business of Football

FIFA, the international governing body of football, organizes and promotes all major tournaments. Its total revenue between 2015-2018 can be broken down into a few main components:

In fact, 83% of this total revenue came from the 2018 Russia World Cup alone. This was viewed by approximately 3.6 billion people—nearly half the world’s population.

The World Cup’s revenue even rivals the combined strength of the top five European clubs. How do the five major clubs make their money?

As viewership climbs, broadcasting rights furiously grow too—presenting numerous investment opportunities in sponsorship on the pitch and on the screen.

Cashing in on Clubs

Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) set a new precedent for publicly-traded football clubs—with a market cap worth near €1.8 billion today.

Following Man United’s example, other major clubs have since gone public across Europe. As well, Asia presents an emerging opportunity as the sport’s regional popularity expands.

China’s most valuable football club—backed in part by e-commerce giant Alibaba—closely matches the valuation of Manchester United.

In Southeast Asia, Bali United was the first team to go public in June 2019. Shares jumped 69% higher than the initial listing price upon its IPO. This move is already propelling more planned IPOs for more football teams in the region, such as Persija Jakarta—the 2018 Liga 1 champion—and Thailand’s Buriram United.

The Future of Football

Football has the power to stir passions and unite people—and it’s reinventing itself constantly.

The 2019 Women’s World Cup was the most watched in tournament history, with over 1.12 billion tuning in. FIFA plans to invest almost €454 million more into the women’s game between 2019-2022, and grow the number of female players to 600 million by 2026.

Additionally, the annual esports tournament eWorld Cup is taking place in Thailand in 2020—tapping into the esports boom in Asia, which hosts 57% of esports enthusiasts.

Any football fan will tell you that the beautiful game is more than just a sport. And for investors, there are a variety of ways to gain exposure to this market—meaning fans can be both personally and financially invested as it continues to grow.

Charts: The Economic Impact of COVID-19 in the U.S. So Far

In the second quarter of 2020, the U.S. recorded its steepest drop in economic output on record.

As COVID-19 continues to spread around the country leaving economic upheaval in its wake, many economic indicators are trending in undesirable ways. The graphic above is a snapshot of the overall health of the economy at this pivotal moment in time.

The Big Picture

To put this quarter’s 9.5% drop into perspective, it helps to look back in history. Since record keeping began in 1947, quarterly GDP had never exceeded even a 3% drop (non-annualized). Here are just a few of the problems currently plaguing the economy:

Employment: Well over 50 million people are still out of the workforce as businesses shutter permanently and restrictions continue in many parts of the country. New unemployment claims have now exceeded 1 million for 19 consecutive weeks.

Consumer Spending: This makes up more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy, and it sank by the sharpest rate in April—declining by 12.6%. The weekly payments of $600 provided through the CARES Act helped bolster household income, partially offsetting steeper losses. However, the payments expired July 31, and may not be renewed as an initiative.

Monetary Policy: Trillions of dollars have been borrowed to counter the crisis, money supply (M2) has rapidly risen, and central bank balance sheets are shattering records. Despite the injection of money into the system, inflation has dropped to almost zero–well below the Fed’s ideal 2% rate–signalling deflationary pressure on the economy.

Bright Spots

Despite the significant challenges facing the American economy, there are some areas that are showing signs of recovery.

S&P 500: The flagship index is the most prominent positive, recording its best quarter in over two decades. Reaching a high-water mark in June, the index shot up over 25% over the second quarter. Federal stimulus packages stoked optimism in the markets, with the Fed at one point purchasing $41 billion in financial assets daily.

Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI): Widely seen as a leading business indicator, the PMI is also rebounding. Manufacturing output stabilized as production facilities slowly reopened. As a result, an expansionary manufacturing cycle is anticipated to begin.

Big Tech: Business is booming for Big Tech in the latest quarter. Amazon’s earnings doubled compared to last year, while both Facebook and Apple witnessed double-digit earnings jumps. The shift to remote work has figured prominently in this rise.

What’s Next?

Bright spots aside, COVID-19 is set to become America’s third most common cause of death (after accidents). With an infection curve that remains stubbornly unflattened, it isn’t just the public that’s at risk–the economy may find itself on life support as well.