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Here are 1-3 brief analogies to describe Skillz (SKLZ):

• Shopify for competitive mobile games: Skillz provides the platform and tools for independent game developers to turn their mobile games into competitive tournaments with prize pools.
• FanDuel for casual mobile esports: Skillz enables players to compete in skill-based mobile game tournaments, often for cash prizes, similar to how FanDuel facilitates competition in daily fantasy sports.

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Skillz (SKLZ) offers the following major products and services:

• Mobile Games Platform: A proprietary online-hosted technology platform that enables independent game developers to host competitive tournaments for end-users worldwide.
• Casual Esports Tournaments: Direct hosting and organization of competitive gaming events for a wide range of mobile players.

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Skillz (SKLZ) serves a dual customer base, operating a platform that connects game developers with mobile players. Given the nature of its business, it primarily serves categories of customers rather than a few large enterprise clients.

Major Customer Categories for Skillz (SKLZ)

• Independent Game Developers: These are individuals or small to medium-sized studios that create mobile games. Skillz provides them with a proprietary online-hosted technology platform that enables them to integrate competitive gaming features, host tournaments, and monetize their games by offering prizes to end-users. These developers leverage Skillz's SDK and services to add competitive esports functionality to their titles.

• Mobile Players / End-Users: These are individual consumers who play mobile games and participate in competitive tournaments offered through the Skillz platform. They engage in casual esports activities, often paying entry fees to compete for cash prizes or virtual goods. Skillz directly hosts some tournaments and also facilitates competition within developer-integrated games for these players.

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• Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)
• PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL)
• Apple Inc. (AAPL)
• Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)

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Andrew Paradise, Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Andrew Paradise co-founded Skillz in 2012 and serves as its CEO and Chairman. He is a serial entrepreneur with a history of founding companies across various technology sectors. Prior to Skillz, Paradise founded Double Picture, an advertising technology firm, which he sold to MPA Inc. in 2010. He also founded AisleBuyer, a mobile self-checkout company, which was acquired by Intuit in 2012. His career began in private equity with The Watermill Group, followed by a role in venture capital at Fort Washington Capital Partners.

Michael Darwal, Chief Financial Officer

Michael Darwal was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Skillz, effective January 12, 2026. Before joining Skillz, he served as Deputy CFO and President of ibex Digital. His background includes senior finance and operations positions at Digital Globe Services, Ampush Media, Del Monte Foods, and Progressive Insurance.

Casey Chafkin, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer

Casey Chafkin co-founded Skillz in 2012 with Andrew Paradise. In his role as Chief Strategy Officer, he oversees key strategic initiatives for the company. Previously, Chafkin was the Vice President of Business Development for AisleBuyer, which was acquired by Intuit in 2012.

Jason Roswig, President

Jason Roswig serves as President of Skillz, having joined the company in August 2022. Prior to his current role, he was a Managing Director in Blackstone's Private Equity and Portfolio Operations groups, where he oversaw the financial and operational performance of Blackstone's technology portfolio. He also worked as an Expert Associate Partner in McKinsey & Company's Corporate Finance and Organization practices and spent 12 years in various Finance and Corporate Development executive roles at General Electric Company.

Vatsal Bhardwaj, Chief Product Officer

Vatsal Bhardwaj was appointed Chief Product Officer of Skillz in October 2021. Before Skillz, he was the General Manager and Director of Game Technology for Amazon Web Services (AWS). He also held product leadership positions at Facebook, where he notably launched and scaled the Oculus App Store. His earlier career includes roles at Storm8, Zynga, Match.com, and Microsoft, where he worked on building operating systems.

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1. Declining Revenue, User Base, and Challenges to Achieve Profitability
Skillz has experienced a substantial decline in revenue and a shrinking user base over the past few years. The company reported a 30.1% year-over-year drop in revenue in Q4 2024 and an average annual decline of 37.1% over the past three years. Its paying monthly active users (PMAUs) also significantly decreased by 41.7% annually over two years, falling to 110,000 in the latest quarter. Despite efforts to improve operational efficiency and implement a turnaround plan, the company continues to be unprofitable, reporting a net loss of $17.4 million in Q3 2025 and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $11.8 million. This ongoing cash burn raises concerns about its ability to achieve sustainable long-term growth and consistent profitability.

2. Reliance on Key Games and Developer Relationships
A significant portion of Skillz's historical revenue has been concentrated in a few key games and their developers. For instance, in the nine months ended September 30, 2020, 63% of its revenue came from Tether Studios (developers of Solitaire Cube and 21 Blitz), and another quarter from Big Run Studios (Blackout Bingo). This creates a substantial risk should these key developer relationships be strained or terminated. An example of this risk materializing is Tether Studios' announcement in October 2025 to terminate its agreements with Skillz, effective September 1, 2025. While Skillz is challenging this termination legally, such events highlight the company's vulnerability to its reliance on third-party content creators for a significant portion of its platform's engagement and revenue.

3. Legal and Regulatory Challenges Regarding Skill-Based Gaming
Skillz operates in a niche of skill-based competitive gaming, which is distinct from traditional gambling. However, the company faces ongoing legal challenges and lawsuits that allege illegal gambling. Changes in regulatory landscapes or prolonged legal battles could significantly and negatively impact the business financially. Furthermore, to maintain its classification as skill-based and avoid being considered gambling, Skillz's games must adhere to traditional rules and cannot include elements like power-ups or unique abilities that might introduce a chance element, which could limit game innovation and competitive differentiation.

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The clear emerging threat for Skillz (SKLZ) stems from the potential for dominant mobile operating system providers, such as Apple and Google, or major game engine developers and large game publishers, to launch and deeply integrate their own competitive gaming and tournament hosting platforms. These entities possess existing massive user bases, direct relationships with game developers, significant technological infrastructure, and control over the app distribution ecosystem. Should they choose to build out robust, native solutions for hosting skill-based tournaments and competitive gaming directly within their respective platforms or ecosystems, they could effectively disintermediate Skillz, making its third-party platform redundant or less attractive to both players and developers due to superior integration, reach, and potentially more favorable terms.

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Skillz Inc. operates within several large addressable markets, primarily focusing on competitive mobile gaming.

• Competitive Gamers: Skillz's CEO estimated in March 2022 that the total addressable market for competitive gamers is over 1 billion people globally. This figure is derived from the 2.9 billion gamers worldwide, with approximately 40% expressing a desire to compete for prizes in their favorite video games.
• Skill-Based Competitive Gaming Market: The global skill-based competitive gaming market is projected to reach $46.39 billion in 2025.
• Mobile Gaming Market: The global mobile games market was valued at approximately $148.92 billion in 2026 and is projected to grow to $241.66 billion by 2031. Another estimate placed the global mobile gaming market at $139.38 billion in 2024, projected to reach $256.19 billion by 2030. The Asia Pacific region dominates this market.
• Esports Market: The global esports market size was valued at an estimated $5.08 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach $6.78 billion by 2031. Other sources also report the global esports market to be valued at approximately $2.4 billion in 2025, projected to reach $10.3 billion by 2034, with Asia Pacific holding a significant market share. North America also holds a substantial share of the esports market.

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Here are 3-5 expected drivers of future revenue growth for Skillz (SKLZ) over the next 2-3 years:

1. Growth in Paying Monthly Active Users (PMAU) and Enhanced Player Engagement & Retention through Platform Improvements: Skillz aims to drive revenue by increasing its Paying Monthly Active Users (PMAU) and improving their engagement and retention. This is supported by initiatives such as a revamped loyalty program, instant withdrawal features, ACH deposit options, and the introduction of a single app experience called Skillz Arcade to enhance the overall player experience and conversion rates.

2. Expansion of Game Content through the Developer Accelerator Program and New Launches: A key driver is the investment in the $75 million Developer Accelerator program. This program is designed to energize the developer community, diversify the game library, attract new users, and bring new, high-potential games, like "Solitaire Skillz," to the platform. This strategy aims to expand the variety of skill-based mobile games available.

3. Accelerated Growth of Aarki (Ad-Tech Business) with AI-Driven Product Innovation: Skillz's ad-tech business, Aarki, is expected to be a significant revenue driver. Its growth is fueled by accelerating revenue, new AI-driven product launches on both iOS and Android platforms, and ongoing investments in machine and deep learning capabilities to expand market reach and improve advertiser returns.

4. Strategic Optimization of User Acquisition and Marketing Efficiency: Skillz focuses on optimizing its marketing spend to acquire high-quality, paying users rather than just increasing installs. This improved marketing efficiency and a strategic shift towards acquiring paying users are crucial for driving sustainable revenue growth.

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Share Repurchases

• Skillz reauthorized a share repurchase program for up to $41.1 million of its Class A common stock, with no set expiration date, as announced on December 6, 2024.
• The company's board of directors authorized a $65 million share repurchase program on August 2, 2023.
• Between January 1, 2025, and December 5, 2025, Skillz repurchased 2,916,171 shares for US$17.37 million.

Share Issuance

• Skillz went public in 2020 through a SPAC merger with Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp., raising approximately $849 million in gross proceeds, which significantly increased shares outstanding.
• The number of shares outstanding for Skillz in Q4 2020 was 370 million, reflecting a significant increase of over 2000% from the prior quarter.

Inbound Investments

• In 2020, Skillz went public via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) merger with Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp., which provided a capital infusion of roughly $849 million.

Outbound Investments

• In 2021, Skillz acquired Aarki, a mobile marketing platform, to integrate a full-stack advertising technology solution and expand global reach.
• Skillz announced a 3-year commitment of up to $75 million to a Developer Accelerator program in 2025 to cultivate new skill-based games.
• Skillz Inc. acquired certain assets of Beamable, Inc. as announced on February 3, 2026.

Capital Expenditures

• In Q3 2025, capital expenditures amounted to $668K, which consumed a significant portion of the operating cash flow, resulting in -$7.7M in free cash flow.
• The company's operational focus in 2025 includes selectively investing in growth and continuously improving its core technology for better user engagement and retention, indicating the primary focus of capital expenditures.