MW FanDuel's parent company just issued a profit warning. Blame the Detroit Lions.
By Steve Goldstein
Flutter Entertainment said there's been the highest rate of favorites winning in the NFL in nearly 20 years
There aren't enough upsets in the National Football League, and that's upsetting for investors in sports betting companies including Flutter Entertainment, the owner of FanDuel.
Flutter late Tuesday cut its U.S. revenue guidance for the year by $370 million - now down to a midpoint of $5.8 billion - after what it said was an NFL season that was the most customer friendly since the launch of online sports betting, with the highest rate of favorites winning in nearly 20 years.
It pointed in particular to "significant adverse results" occurring on Dec. 30, when the Detroit Lions beat the San Francisco 49ers 40-34.
That revenue shortfall in turn will hit its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization by $205 million.
"This is the name of the gaming game: You win some and you lose some. Yet over the log run, you are better off being on the house side than on the gambler side," said analysts at Alphavalue.
The company did in fact see favorable sports results from the English Premier League, which will boost its results in the U.K. and Ireland, but only lift revenue by a modest 1% more than it previously expected.
Flutter's (UK:FLTR) U.K.-listed shares fell 2%. Flutter's U.S.-listed shares $(FLUT)$ have rallied 50% over the last 52 weeks.
Entain (UK:ENT), the part-owner of BetMGM, fell 1%.
-Steve Goldstein
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January 08, 2025 03:49 ET (08:49 GMT)
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