Coronaviruses

Coronaviruses are a type of virus. There are many different kinds, and some cause disease. A
newly identified type has caused a recent outbreak of respiratory illness now called COVID-19.

How is COVID-19 spread?

COVID-19 can be passed from person to person through droplets from coughs and sneezes.
COVID-19 has been detected in people all over the world and is considered a pandemic.
The spread of this new coronavirus is being monitored by the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC), the World Health Organization and health organizations like Johns Hopkins across the
globe

Business Impact of Novel Coronavirus

The coronavirus outbreak will affect every economy in Asia in 2020. China has, so far,
registered the highest number of cases, and we believe that real GDP growth will stand at only
2.1% this year (from an estimated 6.1% in 2019). Some economies, such as South Korea and
Japan, have also registered many cases, and containment measures will hold back growth,
especially as Chinese import demand falls. There are two main channels through which Asian
economies are likely to be affected by the outbreak. The first is weaker tourism inflows,
primarily from China; economies with large tourism sectors that attract a high proportion of
Chinese tourists include Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and
Sri Lanka. The second transmission mechanism is through disruption to industrial supply chains.
The economies with the greatest exposure to this factor are Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea,
the Philippines and Thailand.

Global ticketing and events business outlook will be materially impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic, as many have already suspected. Specifically, the company says it’s withdrawing its
outlook for the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the “growing impact” the outbreak is having on
global live events.
The announcement comes at a time when many places around the world have banned large
gatherings — including U.S. states like California, New York and Washington — making events
like meetups, conferences, concerts, and more not just ill-advised but illegal. Local governments
are also telling residents to practice social distancing in order to reduce the virus’s spread. And
on Sunday, the CDC recommended that no gatherings of more than 50 people should take place
over the next eight weeks to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus across the U.S.

This would include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, and other
assemblies — the sorts of events that flow through Eventbrite’s ticketing platform and live
events management systems.

“The global pandemic and the impact on the live events industry is unprecedented,” said Julia
Hartz, Eventbrite’s Chief Executive Officer, in a statement released this morning. “We are
working diligently to ensure the well-being of our global workforce and support our customers as
they make important decisions about their events through this period. The year started off strong
across the board, and we are now seeing a material impact to our business from the virus. While
the ultimate magnitude of this near-term impact is unclear at this time, we remain confident in
our go forward strategy, our market position and the long-term demand for live experiences,” she
added.

Eventbrite in 2019 had grown its business to reach a community of nearly 1 million creators who
organized 4.7 million live events across 180 countries. Its revenue for the year was up 12% on an
annual basis to reach $327 million. Going into 2020, Eventbrite expected to expand those
numbers.

In February, the company had said it anticipated first-quarter revenue of $84 million to $88
million, and 2020 revenue of $342 million to $359 million. Its business outlook also anticipated
3% to 8% revenue growth for the first quarter of 2020 and 5% to 10% for the full year of 2020,
with stronger revenue in the second half of the year.
In addition to the loss of revenue from events that aren’t even being planned, the company is
likely also impacted by cancellations which lead to chargebacks.

Eventbrite had previously hinted at the novel coronavirus’s potential to impact aspects of its
business during its Q4 2019 earnings call, noting that 10% of its events on the platform drew
attendees from over 100 miles away, where travel restrictions could lead to lower attendance. In
addition, 10% of tickets of paid tickets came from events with over 5,000 attendees, where the
cancellations of large-scale events could impact the business outlook.

But Eventbrite had also spoken with a sense optimism at the time, adding that many events it
serves are smaller, local gatherings and that it had so far seen only a limited number of
cancellations.

Of course, much has changed between February and now.

The company did not offer revised projections currently, as much is still unknown about how
long before the outbreak is under control.

In addition to the changes above, we learned Eventbrite is also pausing (but not terminating)
Advanced Payout (APO) during the crisis. Pausing advanced payouts means event creators’
funds will be available to refund their ticket purchasers for canceled events. This is necessary
because the guidance from the CDC indicates live events will be impacted in the months ahead.

“As a company whose mission is to bring the world together through live experiences, we have
been monitoring the impact of the coronavirus very closely,” a spokesperson said. “Conditions
continue to evolve, and our top priority remains providing the best support to our global
community. This is a very dynamic situation, and any changes we’ve made, or will be making,
were carefully considered to help us navigate the future of creators’ events on our platform,”
they added.