Top Esports Stocks to Buy in 2019

September 20, 2019

With fast-growing global revenue and a rush of technology and consumer-products companies jumping in to get a piece of the expanding market, esports has become a hot topic in tech and entertainment. Strange as it might sound, coverage of other people playing video games has already demonstrated an impressive pull as spectator entertainment content — and it has a huge runway for growth. Before taking a closer look at each of these esports players, let’s establish some foundations about the space and why it looks like it deserves attention from growth-focused investors.

How fast is esports growing?

The market for video games as spectator entertainment is expanding at a rapid clip, but it’s still young and waiting to be defined in many respects. Research firm Newzoo reports that the worldwide esports audience hit 380 million viewers in 2018, and it projects that the total viewer base will hit 557 million by the end of 2021. A report from Goldman Sachs suggests that esports revenue could climb from $869 million in 2018 to $2.96 billion in 2022. The relatively nascent state of the industry makes growth difficult to forecast, and projections tend to vary a great deal depending on how they define the market and other factors. However, most expectations point to rapid growth.

If you were to type the name of a major consumer brand, fast-food restaurant, or a seemingly unrelated tech company into your search browser along with a query for “esports,” it might help put the momentum behind professional gaming in perspective. McDonald’s is betting big on esports as a marketing opportunity. PepsiCo has a range of esports sponsorship projects across its drink and snack portfolio. Sneaker and sports apparel giant Nike also has a line of esports sponsorships. Comcast is building a $50 million esports stadium in Philadelphia. And that’s just a small slice of what non-gaming companies are up to in the space.

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