Sports Stocks Score Best Month in Four Years on Global Strength

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Sports stocks had their best month in four years as fans around the globe wagered and shopped for gear, powering the Sportico Sports Stock Index up 12%, double the gains seen in the S&P 500.

“Sports is back,” said Alinda Van Wyk, the chief financial officer of Betway parent Super Group (SGHC), in a November call with investment analysts. Super Group was the best performer of the 40-stock Sportico index, surging 59% in the month to close at $6.65. Betway made more money from sports wagers in the third quarter and CEO Neal Menashe said October, part of Super Group’s fourth quarter, “was a spectacular month on all fronts” on the same call.

Super Group does nearly half its business in Africa and the Middle East, followed by Europe at a sixth of sales. The company shut down its sportsbook operations in the U.S. during the quarter, rebranding Betway in the U.S. as part of its online casino presence in the country. While Super Group is best known for Betway, the company generated more than 80% of its $749 million third-quarter revenue from casino games.

Super Group was one of 30 sports stocks to post gains in November, eight of which rallied more than 20% in the period. The Sportico Sports Stock Index closed November at 1,421, its highest level in 30 months. The 12% gain in the month is the biggest monthly jump for the benchmark sports index since November 2020, when sports stocks leapt 20%.

Global results also powered Amer Sports (AS) to a 45% gain in the month, the second-best in the index. Amer is the parent of sporting good brands Arc’teryx, Salomon and Wilson, among others. The conglomerate said its third quarter sales rose 17% to $1.35 billion on huge consumer buying in China and Asia Pacific, with both regions tallying sales gains of more than 50%, while Europe and North America sales rose 2.5%. Amer is backed by Lululemon billionaire Chip Wilson, whose investment in Amer Sports has him enjoying a more than $1.6 billion profit, according to Sportico data.

Other betting-related stocks were big gainers in the month as well, with Sportradar (SRAD) adding 36% to its stock price after reporting better profits and especially good European betting-related business four weeks ago. Genius Sports (GENI, up 41%), Rush Street Interactive (RSI, up 36%) and FanDuel parent Flutter Entertainment (FLUT, up 21%) rounded out the top five best-performing sports betting stocks.

Strength in the index wasn’t limited to betting: Walt Disney Co. (DIS) rallied 22% as the company indicated its profits from streaming services like ESPN+ are close to offsetting the decline from cable cutting, while Shift4 Payments (FOUR), believed to be the world’s largest sporting venue payments processor, rallied 26% on earnings results and the recent addition of the San Antonio Spurs, Washington Capitals and the University of Arkansas as sports clients. Meanwhile, UFC and WWE parent TKO Group (TKO, up 19%) hit its highest share price ever, $137.96, last week on the back of strong earnings and expectations that media rights fees will continue to deliver for the sports group.

“With Disney turning streaming profitable and focused on ESPN+, we think management will be aggressive in wanting to maintain the rights for UFC, and the price paid for its streaming rights will be significantly higher,” said Jefferies analyst Randal Konik in a Nov. 7 research note. “Business trends remain healthy due to outperformance in the live events space,” he added.

The equity market party didn’t invite everyone, however. Canadian telecom giant BCE (BCE) tumbled 17% as investors punished the company for halting its dividend for 2025 to help fund the acquisition of an internet provider in the Pacific Northwest. BCE owns 37.5% of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the parent of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors and Toronto FC. BCE is selling that stake to Rogers Communications (RCI, down 2%) for $3.5 billion in a transaction expected to close next year.

Other big decliners in the month were Caesars Entertainment (CZR), which lost 15% on weak earnings driven by a mediocre Las Vegas gambling environment. Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) shed 13% as the business, which operates venues including the home of the NBA’s Knicks and NHL’s Rangers, reported slower concert bookings in its November earnings release.

The Sportico Sports Stock Index is the first index to track the sports business. It’s a basket of 40 stocks that rely on sports for a significant part of their growth. The index includes video game makers such as Electronic Arts (EA, up 13%), sports organizations like Formula One (FWONA, up 8%) as well as niche businesses including score board manufacturer Daktronics (DAKT, up 15%). To be included in the index, companies need to be traded in sufficient volume in the U.S. and have a market cap of $50 million or greater. The index is weighted, meaning each quarter the components are reset to comprise 2.5% of the index’s weight. Sportico debuted the index in August 2020 at 1,000. It’s up 23% year-to-date and 42% from inception.