Liberty Media's F1 Profit More Than Doubles on Extra Race, Calendar Shift
Formula 1 swung to $107 million in operating income from a $28 million loss a year earlier, powered by a 53% revenue jump.
Liberty Media (FWONA), the holding company that controls Formula 1 and MotoGP, reported that its consolidated adjusted OIBDA more than doubled year over year to $181 million in the first quarter of 2026, up from $73 million a year earlier. The group swung from a consolidated operating loss of $67 million to operating income of $64 million over the same period.
The gains were anchored by Formula 1, which held one additional race in the quarter and benefited from contractual fee increases and calendar-driven revenue-recognition effects. F1 revenue climbed 53% year over year to $617 million, while adjusted OIBDA surged 102% to $172 million as top-line growth outpaced higher expenses. The series flipped from a $28 million operating loss in the year-ago quarter to $107 million in operating income.
Primary F1 revenue — encompassing media rights, race promotion, and sponsorship — rose 55% to $496 million, lifted by the extra event, a higher proportionate share of season-based revenue, and contractual fee step-ups. Other revenue, which includes hospitality, freight, licensing, and Grand Prix Plaza Las Vegas activities, increased 44% to $121 million on growth in Paddock Club sales and new premium offerings. Team payments, which track pro rata with the number of races, rose 61% to $184 million; the increase also reflected proportionate recognition tied to an expected reduction in the 2026 calendar to 22 races from 24 in 2025, after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were dropped because of geopolitical tensions. The elimination of $50 million in Concorde incentive payments that weighed on the year-ago quarter further bolstered F1's bottom line.
MotoGP, which Liberty Media acquired last year, posted more modest gains on a pro forma basis. Revenue rose 25% (13% in constant currency) to $94 million, with three races held in each comparable quarter. Adjusted OIBDA climbed 60% to $16 million, though the series still reported a $24 million operating loss, flat year over year on a reported basis but improved 17% in constant currency. Primary revenue grew 30% on higher race-promotion fees and new sponsorship, partially offset by lower contractual media-rights fees, while other revenue was flat.
In June 2026, MotoGP repriced its debt facilities, cutting total principal by roughly $114 million equivalent — reducing Term Loan B from €800 million to €720 million and Term Loan A from $231 million to $209 million using cash on MotoGP's balance sheet. The Term Loan B margin fell to a range of 2.00% to 2.25% from 2.25% to 2.75%, while margins on Term Loan A and the revolving credit facility also tightened. Pro forma for the repricing, MotoGP held about $72 million in cash against $1.04 billion in principal debt, with net senior secured leverage of 4.6 times.
Across Liberty Media's consolidated balance sheet, total cash rose to $1.33 billion as of March 31 from $1.06 billion at year-end 2025, with F1's cash alone climbing to $862 million from $539 million. F1 leverage improved to 2.3 times from 2.8 times at year-end, while consolidated leverage fell to 3.0 times from 3.6 times. The company made no share repurchases between February 1 and April 30, 2026, leaving $1.1 billion in remaining buyback authorization as of May 1.