Flutter Entertainment faced significant setbacks as it reported second-quarter earnings per share of 49 cents, falling short of Wall Street's expectation of 60 cents. Despite revenue of $4.33 billion slightly exceeding estimates, the company slashed its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance for its U.S. operations to $760 million, a 22% decrease.
This decline comes amid FanDuel's loss of market share, prompting Flutter to invest an additional $270 million in promotions and customer rewards to enhance competitiveness. CEO Peter Jackson acknowledged past execution failures and emphasized the need for a stronger customer proposition. His successor, Dan Taylor, who has been overseeing FanDuel, will take over leadership on October 1.
Analysts remain cautiously optimistic, with Jefferies' James Wheatcroft noting a constructive view on the stock despite the earnings miss and leadership change. Flutter is also expanding FanDuel's offerings through new partnerships and a unified app experience, aiming to improve customer engagement and market presence ahead of the upcoming football season