Forbes: O’s made a $57 mm profit in 2019

[Can_of_corn]

2 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

If you think Elias came in and didn’t spend a lot more money on the infrastructure than they did before him, I don’t know what to tell you.

We really have no idea what’s reported, what’s not, how the organization could break off some of these costs, etc...

It’s very possible that some things are done under a different corporate name..I mean, we know the Os don’t count the MASN revenue with their revenue.  They view them as separate entities.  
 

I just don’t put much weight into these numbers.

Heres what I know..the team can sustain a budget a payroll of 130-160m while also spending what is needed in the draft, international signings and proper infrastructure for development, etc...

As long as they do that (the payroll will go back up, I’m not concerned about that right now), I don’t care if they make a billion dollars a year.

The issue, for me, comes when they try to cry woe is me and have to dump a player over a few million or something like that.  They should take on contracts to “buy prospects” and things like that.

If you think Elias came in as a first time GM and actually had "total control" I don't know what to tell you.

I think he had the ability to shift spending.  

[Sports Guy]

17 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

If you think Elias came in as a first time GM and actually had "total control" I don't know what to tell you.

I think he had the ability to shift spending.  

No GM has total control.

Elias probably has more control than any GM ever under the Angelos family regime.

[Camden_yardbird]

Doesn't mean the money was just spent more efficiently.  Remember that Duquette upgraded a lot of facilities.  Also Elias fired a ton of scouts whose salaries could have been shifted over to the upgrades we expected Elias to make.

[Slappy]

I don’t really trust Forbes’ numbers, but given our payroll decline it isn’t inconceivable. For a team that could be on the hook for legal settlements, shoring up the balance sheet isn’t the worst thing.

[hoosiers]

I think the focus on the non-player expenses by other posters is correct.  We don't know if the Forbes number is a bottoms up approach based on headcount in on front office, scouting department, etc or if it is based on a general metric or something in between.

I am pretty sure we had higher non-player expenses in 2019 over 2018 in the following relatively obvious areas - expansion of analytic department including Sig, hiring of Perez for international scouting, higher spend in the 2019 US draft ($8M alone for AR), higher spend internationally.  I do not know if DD/Buck cost more or less than Elias/Hyde.  

Regarding the additional costs related to new equipment, I would assume a large portion of those items would count as capital expenditures and would be capitalized on the balance sheet and expensed through depreciation.  The Forbes number for profits is before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.  So, it seems possible even likely that even a ground-up analysis of our non-player expenses would not include that equipment - as calculated by Forbes.

Regarding the overall Forbes numbers, I would assume it is directionally correct and that our ownership is making quality profits during this period of where the major league team is not competitive.  

[OriolesMagic83]

6 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

We were told it would be Edgertronic high speed cameras.

Maybe they were bought on credit.

[weams]

 

[BohKnowsBmore]

On 9/25/2020 at 8:02 AM, Sports Guy said:

If you think Elias came in and didn’t spend a lot more money on the infrastructure than they did before him, I don’t know what to tell you.

We really have no idea what’s reported, what’s not, how the organization could break off some of these costs, etc...

It’s very possible that some things are done under a different corporate name..I mean, we know the Os don’t count the MASN revenue with their revenue.  They view them as separate entities.  
 

I just don’t put much weight into these numbers.

Heres what I know..the team can sustain a budget a payroll of 130-160m while also spending what is needed in the draft, international signings and proper infrastructure for development, etc...

As long as they do that (the payroll will go back up, I’m not concerned about that right now), I don’t care if they make a billion dollars a year.

The issue, for me, comes when they try to cry woe is me and have to dump a player over a few million or something like that.  They should take on contracts to “buy prospects” and things like that.

A lot of these investments might be capitalized rather than expensed, certain game day expenses may have been reduced to offset organizational costs, etc. basically there’s a lot that could change to alter the conclusion here. Also, it’s a private org so Forbes numbers are ultimately estimates. 

[BohKnowsBmore]

On 9/25/2020 at 1:53 PM, OriolesMagic83 said:

Maybe they were bought on credit.

That wouldn’t matter from a financial reporting perspective. They’re almost certainly capitalized, rather than expensed though.