PENN

PENN Entertainment delivered results for Q2 that met Wall Street’s revenue expectations and produced a significant upside in non-GAAP earnings per share, prompting a positive market reaction. Management emphasized the strength of the retail casino segment, highlighting record revenues driven by recently completed property development projects and increased demand from mid- and high-value customers. CEO Jay Snowden cited broad-based momentum, noting, “Our best-in-class property level management teams delivered impressive results for the Retail segment, achieving record quarterly revenues.” The company also pointed to improved operating margins, which benefited from cost control measures and strategic investments in both gaming and non-gaming amenities. Is now the time to buy PENN? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $1.86 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.86 billion (5.2% year-on-year growth, in line) Adjusted EPS: $0.44 vs analyst estimates of $0.26 (66.9% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $312.6 million vs analyst estimates of $454.6 million (16.8% margin, 31.2% miss) Operating Margin: 7.9%, up from 5.3% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $2.44 billion While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Daniel Politzer (JPMorgan): Asked about drivers behind Interactive segment guidance adjustments. CFO Felicia Hendrix and CTO Aaron LaBerge explained improvements were mainly from cost efficiencies in labor, technology, and marketing. Brandt Montour (Barclays): Sought clarity on iCasino growth cadence. LaBerge said growth is strongest in the standalone product, while sportsbook cross-sell volumes were softer but expected to recover. Barry Jonas (Truist): Inquired on Aurora ramp and ROI for future projects like Council Bluffs. CEO Jay Snowden said Aurora saw over 20% higher play from hotel guests and expects similar ramp timelines and returns as Joliet. Jordan Bender (Citizens): Asked about M&A appetite and capital allocation. Snowden stated internal growth projects currently offer more predictable returns, and M&A would need to surpass share buybacks and development returns to be considered. Shaun Kelley (Bank of America): Requested insight on Ontario’s contribution to Interactive results. Snowden said Ontario is PENN’s largest OSB market and similar in iGaming scale to Pennsylvania, providing a benchmark for Alberta’s opportunity. In the coming quarters, StockStory analysts will monitor (1) the ramp-up and guest engagement at new and recently expanded hotel and casino properties, (2) the trajectory of Interactive segment profitability as Alberta and other Canadian initiatives scale, and (3) the impact of regulatory shifts in key states like Pennsylvania on retail and digital revenue. Progress on capital allocation—including further deleveraging and disciplined investment pacing—will also be a key marker for PENN’s execution. PENN Entertainment currently trades at $18.80, down from $19.62 just before the earnings. Is there an opportunity in the stock? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members). ALSO WORTH WATCHING: Top 5 Momentum Stocks. The best time to own a great stock is when the market is finally noticing it. These aren’t just high-quality businesses. Something is happening with them right now. Elite fundamentals meet near-term momentum — both boxes checked at the same time. Find out which stocks our AI platform is flagging this week. See this week’s Strong Momentum stocks — FREE. Get Our Strong Momentum Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+271% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. ET Chief Executive Officer and President - Jay Snowden Chief Financial Officer - Felicia Hendrix Chief Technology Officer - Aaron LaBerge Investor Relations - Joseph Jaffoni Operator: Greetings, and welcome to the PENN Entertainment Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. I would now like to turn the conference over to Joe Jaffoni, Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Joseph Jaffoni: Thank you, Tasha. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining PENN Entertainment's 2026 Second Quarter Conference Call and Webcast. We'll get to management's comments and presentation momentarily as well as your Q&A. [Operator Instructions] I'll briefly review the safe harbor disclosure, and then we'll get right into the call. Please note that today's discussion contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. For more information, please see our press release for details on specific risk factors. It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Penn's CEO, Jay Snowden. Jay, please go ahead. Jay Snowden: Thanks, Joe, and good morning. I'm joined here by Felicia Hendrix and Aaron LaBerge as well as other members of the senior management team. As you'll see from our release and investor presentation, we continue to execute against our 2026 strategic priorities during the second quarter. We're on track to deliver more than 20% year-over-year adjusted EBITDAR growth this year, driven by strong performance across our retail portfolio and significant adjusted EBITDA improvement in our Interactive segment. This growth, combined with our corporate overhead optimization is benefiting cash flow growth, which in turn is enabling us to delever our balance sheet this year faster than originally expected. PENN's best-in-class property level management teams delivered impressive results for the Retail segment, achieving record quarterly revenues in Q2. This performance was reflected across the portfolio with 9 properties setting Q2 records for both revenues and adjusted EBITDAR. We also saw another quarter of year-over-year growth in rated revenue, supported by meaningful contributions from mid- and high worth customer segments as well as growth in unrated revenue, which has now increased in 5 of the last 7 quarters, underscoring broad-based consumer demand. This momentum continued through July. Slide 8 in our investor presentation highlights the combination of internal growth drivers and external market tailwinds that support our longer-term retail growth outlook, including our PENN Play loyalty program and omnichannel strategy, our strategic investments in both gaming and non-gaming amenities, our ongoing retail development project pipeline, limited new competitive supply and third-party investments that are helping to drive economic growth in a few of our key markets. The Interactive segment delivered another quarter of meaningful adjusted EBITDA improvement year-over-year as we continue to execute on our strategy of focusing on growth in our U.S. iCasino and Canadian operations to improve profitability. Our U.S. Hollywood branded standalone casino app generated quarter-over-quarter as well as year-over-year growth, achieving record revenues in Q2. Our Ontario gaming operations continue to gain momentum, supported by strong growth in OSB revenues, aided by solid World Cup engagement and cross-sell of the reactivated World Cup OSB user base into iCasino. Revenue in the quarter was negatively impacted by customer-friendly online sportsbook outcomes, particularly in June during the NBA Finals and World Cup as well as lower volumes in part due to our reduced marketing spend on lower value and unprofitable customer segments. Importantly, this shift is improving our marketing efficiency and is consistent with our disciplined approach to managing the interactive business that we outlined earlier this year. Notably, while our OSB hold rate was flat year-over-year to date, our OSB net win rate improved. We saw encouraging interactive engagement trends during the World Cup. Approximately 70% of our Sportsbook users placed a World Cup wager with approximately 45% of those World Cup betters placing a soccer wager for the first time. This event served as a meaningful engagement and reactivation opportunity for us heading into the NFL season. On July 13, we launched the Score Bet Sportsbook and Casino and our standalone iCasino apps, the Score Casino and Hollywood Casino in Alberta, Canada. While still early, we are encouraged by our Alberta user and handle volumes on a per capita basis and believe our exclusive strategic partnership in Canada with the Toronto Blue Jays will complement the strength of the Score Bet brand there. Our expected investment in Alberta remains approximately $20 million for the year, and our 2026 Interactive segment adjusted EBITDA guidance is unchanged at a loss of $20 million, which Felicia will discuss in more detail in a few minutes. But first, I want to cover some updates on our exciting retail development projects. Hollywood Casino Joliet, which opened last August, continued to deliver strong results in Q2, and that momentum has continued into early Q3. Our team there, excuse me, is doing a great job. Meanwhile, M Resort continues to capture previously unmet demand and drive enhanced property performance following the opening of our new hotel tower last December. M Resort generated record net revenue and adjusted EBITDAR in Q2. And notably, we hosted 3 of our top 5 largest groups by revenue ever during the quarter. We recently opened our new hotel tower at Hollywood Columbus on June 12, strengthening our position as the leading regional gaming destination in the state of Ohio. The property generated an all-time net revenue record in July, the first full month with the hotel open. Over the hotel's first 1.5 months of operations, we have seen outer market guests account for 85% of hotel cash revenue, which again speaks to it being a regional gaming destination. Additionally, over that same time frame, rated guests have increased their average daily work by 10% when staying at the hotel. Our final of the 4 growth projects, Hollywood Casino Aurora, opened on June 24, and while still early, has been showing strong growth KPIs, approximately doubling admissions, slot volumes, table volumes and non-gaming revenues versus prior year levels. Our hotel is also attracting higher worth customers with our rated guests generating 21% higher average daily worth when staying at the property. The property is also driving trial and expanding our reach in the market as 20% of our guests since opening have been new to Hollywood Aurora. Additionally, 25% of our guests since opening were reactivated customers. Up next in the pipeline will be the relocation of Hollywood Council Bluffs, which is expected to open in 2028. This project will convert a first-generation Riverboat Casino license into a modern and more efficient land-based facility that will connect seamlessly with our existing 444-room hotel. We believe the new property will greatly enhance our competitive positioning in the greater Omaha market. The project has an anticipated construction budget of $180 million to $200. That budget, the programming and the design will be very similar to the new Hollywood Joliet in Illinois. And with that, I'll turn it over to Felicia. Felicia Kantor Hendrix: Thanks, Jay. Our Retail segment generated record quarterly revenues of $1.5 billion and adjusted EBITDAR of $517.2 million, which reflects year-over-year growth of approximately 4% in revenues and 6% in adjusted EBITDAR, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA margins were 34.4% and flow-through improved quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, reflecting our property team's efforts to manage costs across the board, including labor, marketing and G&A efficiencies. Importantly, we saw strong performance across the portfolio, including, but not limited to, contributions from our 4 recently completed development projects. Underscoring this point, same-store revenues and adjusted EBITDAR grew approximately 2% and 4%, respectively, in the quarter. We're raising our full year 2026 retail revenue and adjusted EBITDAR guidance to reflect the better-than-expected results in the second quarter and an increase in our prior assumptions for the second half of the year. The midpoint of our revised 2026 revenue guidance is $5.87 billion. And for adjusted EBITDAR, our new guidance is $1.963 billion at the midpoint, which implies a 50 basis point year-over-year improvement in adjusted EBITDAR margins for the second half of the year at the midpoint. Our new guidance implies the continued expectation for retail adjusted EBITDAR to grow year-over-year in the mid-single digits, more specifically at a rate similar to the 5.6% growth we just reported for the second quarter. We expect normalized seasonality in the second half of the year. Our Interactive segment generated revenues of $349.4 million in the second quarter, including a skin tax gross-up of $185.5 million and adjusted EBITDA loss of $9.5 million. On the revenue side, we experienced solid growth across our key focus areas, U.S. iCasino and our Canadian operations, which was somewhat offset by customer-friendly online sportsbook outcomes and lower volumes, as Jay touched on earlier. On the adjusted EBITDA side, we delivered another quarter of meaningful improvement year-over-year, reflecting disciplined execution of our strategy to drive profitability. We are fine-tuning our 2026 Interactive segment revenue guidance to $1.57 billion from our prior $1.6 billion to reflect recent and current operating trends. Our new guidance includes a skin tax gross-up of roughly $830 million, up from $820 million prior and assumes modest year-over-year growth in both OSB and iCasino for the second half with iCasino growth higher than OSB growth. We continue to expect an adjusted EBITDA loss of $20 million in our Interactive segment for 2026, inclusive of a $20 million investment for our Alberta launch. As we have guided previously, the third quarter is expected to be the largest quarterly loss of the year given our investment in Alberta, and we expect the fourth quarter Interactive segment adjusted EBITDA to be positive. We expect the other category adjusted EBITDA to be negative $119 million for 2026, unchanged from our original guidance back in late February. The table on Page 9 of our earnings release summarizes our cash expenditures in the quarter, including cash payments to our REIT landlords, cash taxes, cash interest on traditional debt and total CapEx. Of our total $98 million of CapEx in the quarter, $58 million was project CapEx, primarily related to our development projects. We ended the second quarter with total liquidity of $1.9 billion, inclusive of $887 million in cash and cash equivalents. In April, we refinanced our $1 billion revolver, which is currently undrawn and our $447 million Term Loan A facility, both now mature in 2031. And in May, we repriced and extended our Term Loan B facility, which now matures in 2033. Also in May, we repaid the remaining $106.7 million principal balance of our 2.75% convertible notes due 2026, which eliminates 4.5 million potentially dilutive shares associated with the notes. And in June, we received approximately $225 million in funding from GLPI for the new Hollywood Aurora. We elected not to take GLPI capital in connection with the construction of our Hollywood Columbus Hotel Tower. Following these transactions to strengthen our balance sheet, our nearest maturity is now our $400 million 5/8 notes, which are due in January 2027. As we highlight on Slide 5 of our earnings deck, our near-term deleveraging goals have improved since we provided them in April, benefiting from an improvement in our cash flow outlook. Specifically, the $31 million increase in the midpoint of our retail adjusted EBITDA guidance flows fully into cash flow given our reiteration of our maintenance CapEx and other uses of cash for 2026. While we are reiterating our maintenance CapEx guidance of $220 million, 2026 project CapEx has been refined to $180 million from our prior $200 million guidance given a shift of some spend from 2026 into 2027, which brings our total 2026 CapEx guidance to $400 million from our prior $420 million forecast. We continue to expect total cash payments under our triple net leases to be $1 billion in 2026. For 2026 cash interest expense, net of interest income, we continue to project $150 million. And for cash taxes, our outlook is unchanged. We do not expect to be a cash taxpayer in 2026. Our fully diluted weighted average common share count at the end of the second quarter was 135 million shares. RSUs and stock options are diluted by about 2 million shares annually. And as I just mentioned, we repaid the remaining convertible notes in May, which removes the related dilution from the share count calculation going forward. I'll now turn it back to Jay. Jay Snowden: Thanks, Felicia. With the second quarter under our belt, 2026 continues to be a year of strong execution for us, and I can't thank our team members across PENN enough. We delivered record quarterly retail segment revenue, raised our retail guidance, continued to improve Interactive profitability and further strengthened our balance sheet. During the remainder of the year, we remain focused on growing cash flow, reducing leverage, optimizing our corporate overhead and maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation. And with that, Tasha, we can open up the line for questions. Operator: [Operator Instructions] We'll take our first question from Daniel Politzer with JPMorgan. Daniel Politzer: This was going pretty quickly, so I think I got my math right, but the online sports betting or the interactive core revenues, I think you reduced by $40 million, but you did hold your adjusted EBITDA guide for $20 million loss. Can you kind of walk through the puts and takes to that a bit? And were there some cost savings and labor efficiencies in there that you'd call out? Aaron LaBerge: Yes. There's labor efficiencies. We continue to find efficiencies in our cost structure related to technology as well as we look at third-party vendors. And of course, our marketing expenses are down as well. So it's mainly marketing and cost structure improvements. Daniel Politzer: Got it. That makes sense. And then on the land-based side, obviously, some strong margin improvement there. As you think about kind of the rest of the year and the cadence, I think usually, first quarter through third quarter, it's roughly the same and you step down in fourth quarter, but you have the properties that you recently opened continuing to ramp. So can you give us an idea of how to think about margins and the expansion from here going forward? Jay Snowden: Yes, happy to, at least as it relates to the second half of the year. So we beat on revenues, 4% EBITDAR, 6% in the second quarter, and that's exactly what we're guiding to do in the second half of the year as well, kind of just mirroring on a year-over-year basis, the performance in the second quarter. So I think I would look at that the same way for third quarter and for fourth quarter. To your point, Dan, fourth quarter is the lightest revenue, lightest EBITDAR and lightest margin quarter of the year, but we would expect to see the same 4% revenue, 6% growth -- sorry, EBITDAR growth in the fourth quarter. So from -- if you sort of shake all that out, our margins -- EBITDA margins were higher by about 55 basis points in the second quarter year-over-year, and we're anticipating the second half of the year to be right around 50 basis points improvement, both third quarter and fourth quarter, if that makes sense. Operator: We'll take our next question from Brandt Montour with Barclays. Brandt Montour: So I wanted to start out with iCasino. Obviously, you called out iCasino first grew quarter-over-quarter, year-over-year. It's hard for us to see it in the reported numbers, right? We see iGaming reported down slightly quarter-over-quarter and the overall iGaming growing low single digits year-over-year, but we know that's not the same mix. So could you just kind of maybe flesh out iCasino first growth cadence and trajectory to help us get a sense for how the back half could trend? Aaron LaBerge: Yes. So we're seeing strong growth on our standalone casino product, and we have since we launched. So the somewhat softness there is related to the play from our sportsbook app where people are cross-selling into casino. And so the volume softness there has affected revenue there. But we still feel really good about our standalone business and casino through the end of the year. Brandt Montour: Okay. And then on the overall sports business, Jay, you gave us some qualitative commentary on hold with the overall message that hold was an impact. Any way you could maybe quantify that just given we're dealing with small numbers here on a net basis, and so it could actually swing the complexion of the overall digital results here. Jay Snowden: Yes. We -- the quick math, easy math on that is it's roughly $3 million impact hold for the quarter. So we would have been closer to a $6.5 million loss had we come in flat year-over-year on hold. Operator: We'll take our next question from Barry Jonas with Truist. Barry Jonas: Curious if you could maybe just give a little more color about the Aurora ramp relative to Joliet. And then as we think about Council Bluffs, given all the similarities with Joliet, should we expect a similar ROI and ramp there as well? Jay Snowden: Yes, I'll tackle the second one first just because it's top of mind. I would say, yes, with regard to the similarities between Council Bluffs and Joliet, budget, programming, design. And I think even from a ramp perspective, we would expect, just like we did for Joliet to sort of get those margins where you would expect them to be maybe by month 12 to month 15. We're getting really close, I think, on the Joliet side now. We're anniversarying the opening of that property here in a matter of days. And we're happy with the trajectory of the margins. You see some of that in the Midwest segment where we had a really strong quarter. So I think so from a -- as you're thinking about Council Bluffs in '28, that's probably going to be the best property and the best model to look at in terms of how Joliet ramped over time. Aurora, remember, we have a hotel now 225 rooms. We did not have a hotel at the old location. So we are seeing really strong demand from VIP segment, customers that we did know, but we're seeing much higher play when they visit us now because they're staying in the hotel. We're seeing an uplift of over 20% when they stay in the hotel from what their worth was previously at the old facility. That's, I think, very good news. When Joliet first opened, if you recall, the growth on a year-over-year basis was kind of in that 55% to low 60% year-over-year. It's been growing -- since then, the last several months have been closer to call it, 75%, 80% year-over-year. And it's only 1 month. So I don't want to underwrite this, but just in sharing what we're seeing in the business. Certainly, we're happy with the results, and we shared some of the KPIs for Aurora, but the business has almost essentially doubled in the first full month. Again, things will settle. You get some benefit of everybody coming to see the property in that first month, but we're very pleased with what the response has been and the feedback we're getting is very positive. Barry Jonas: That sounds great. Just as a follow-up, Yesterday, we heard from a large OSB operator that they're going to be leaning into reinvestment. I'm not sure what other competitor responses will be, but maybe just comment on that, if anything in your interactive strategy could change as a result? Or do you see any potential risk to your financial outlook depending on how this plays out? Jay Snowden: Yes. It's a good question. We read or heard the same commentary. I guess, the way we're thinking about it, Barry, it hasn't changed in terms of our approach because we anticipated football season being quite the arms race this year. You're going to have prediction markets that are targeting customers for the first football season ever given the time line of when they actually went live was close to Super Bowl last year. So we already assumed it was going to be a very aggressive irrational marketing spend, advertising and new customer acquisition approach this football season. I think this just speaks to it being aggressive not only from a prediction market standpoint, but maybe some of the incumbent OSB digital-only players as well. So it doesn't change the way we're thinking about it. I think it is a very competitive marketplace out there right now. Michigan is a good example. It's been quite the aggressive environment there with a couple of private operators that have launched in the last couple of quarters, and we've held up quite well in Michigan. And so we would expect to hold up well in football season. We already assumed in our projections for the remainder of the year that it would be very competitive, and we think we're faring quite well in states like Michigan, where we're already seeing an environment like that. Operator: We'll take our next question from Joe Stauff with Susquehanna. Joseph Stauff: First question I wanted to ask you is, just to clarify, I don't think so, but within your guide for the year on retail, are you assuming anything with respect to potential benefit in Pennsylvania following the Supreme Court ruling? Jay Snowden: We are not building any of that in, Joe. We -- the way that we guided, we basically guided the beat in Q2 and then an incremental $10 million for the second half of the year is the quick math there. And we're coming off of a strong month in July. So I mean one of the things -- the questions that we have been fielding in some investor meetings was is the first half of the year as good as a guess kind of thing for regional gaming because of the tax return being higher this year. And I would say, certainly within our portfolio, we don't believe that's the case. And we have a slide in our presentation that lays out the tailwinds and sort of the lack of headwinds coming at us right now, and we do feel that momentum continuing into the second half of the year. But that's the quick math on the guide. Joseph Stauff: And what do you think about like any tailwind that you might expect, say, in Pennsylvania, whether it be in the fourth quarter? I know there's an October 15 deadline or maybe that is some sort of tailwind in '27? Jay Snowden: I think it's a good question, Joe. I don't want to sort of bake it into our assumptions until we know how this plays out. Recall that when the Supreme Court ruled those skill games to be illegal, they gave the legislature 120 days to try to figure out if there's going to be enabling legislation to regulate and tax. And so we have to see how that plays out. We obviously have a big seat at the table. We have 4 land-based casinos in the state of Pennsylvania and are well connected in Harrisburg. So I think we'll just have to see how that plays out over the course of the next -- I think the date is sometime in October. Joseph Stauff: And if I could just squeeze... Jay Snowden: Real quick, sorry. I would say along to your question, Missouri did come to a similar conclusion. The Attorney General in Missouri has been doing a great job of shutting down these skill-based gains. I don't think it's by coincidence that our Missouri properties have been performing very well over the last couple of quarters, not that they haven't previously, but the last couple of quarters, our results in St. Louis and Kansas City have been very strong. Joseph Stauff: Yes, I appreciate that. And if I could just squeeze something in. Is there -- Aaron, is there anything different within, say, the Alberta kind of operating framework that would suggest that you couldn't get a similar amount of share that you have in October, Ontario in Alberta? Aaron LaBerge: I don't think so. I mean, first of all, our product has never been better. We're going into a competitive market, but we're spending aggressively relative to what we did in Ontario. And early results from a handle perspective, even though it's a slow sports calendar are very encouraging. So we anticipate to be very aggressive, and we hope to have the same and similar market shares to what we enjoy in Ontario. That's the focus, and it's looking good so far. Jay Snowden: Yes. Certainly, that's our target, Joe, to your point. And so we figure with it being a more competitive sort of starting gate in Alberta that we needed to be a little bit more aggressive in our spend per capita, and we're feeling good about that decision so far. Operator: We'll take our next question from Jordan Bender with Citizens. Jordan Bender: There's been a couple more assets that have been put up for sale at least publicly on the retail casino side since the last time we spoke. So curious to get your temperature on M&A? And could you look to Vegas just kind of given what you know today? Jay Snowden: Yes, it's a good question, Jordan. I mean, look, I'd like to be in the position that we are right now at PENN, where we have several compelling options as we think about capital allocation. This year, the big focus has been on delevering, and we're having some real quality and conversations with long-only investors about the balance sheet and the direction of our leverage profile. And that's going to continue to be a big focus for us at PENN to get that lease adjusted net leverage down below 5x. We're heading there quickly, which is great as you look out to the end of the year and certainly in early 2027, get that traditional net leverage down below 2. Again, we're headed there very quickly. So that's clearly a priority for us. We'll continue to be certainly over the next 12 months. Share repurchases continue to sound and look very good. Our free cash flow yield on 2027 consensus is still sitting pretty close to 20%. That doesn't make sense to me, but certainly makes buying back shares a lot more attractive anywhere in those sort of mid- to high-teen levels, and that's where we've been trading. And then lastly, we're -- it's early, but we've been very happy with the results with these 4 growth projects, and we do have other growth projects that we've been analyzing, 3 right now that we're feeling really positive about. And we believe that there's a level of predictability with those investments because we've done it before. I think we know what to expect. It's a little bit more proven versus you're taking a shot on M&A, it's less proven. So in terms of what the return profile will be. So it's not to say that we wouldn't look. It's just to say that we're probably, in that case, going to wait for an inbound, and it's going to have to check several boxes for us. It's going to have to, with a high level of confidence, deliver a better return than what we can do in some of these other capital allocation categories. And I think it's also going to have to be something that adds strategic value for us in terms of like geographic location as it get us to a new market or a bigger presence in a market that we enjoy being in. Jordan Bender: Great. I appreciate that color. And then a follow-up on the iGaming side of the business, it seems like a big focus, especially in the back half of the year. Can you just kind of talk to as you think about your investment or your customer acquisition within iGaming, how are you focusing that on direct versus cross-sell from sports into iGaming? Aaron LaBerge: Well, we're going to continue to focus on growing casino. Clearly, standalone is on a hot growth path. We're going to lean into that. Casino in general, has very attractive CACs, customer acquisition costs. So we're exploiting that currently. On the Sportsbook side, we are planning to grow through the end of the year. If you remember, we rebranded from ESPN BET to theScore Bet in December. And as sort of that audience normalizes, what we've realized is theScore brand, while still small and growing in the U.S. is very loyal. And so we're taking care of those users. We saw a lot of engagement and reactivation through the World Cup, and we're keeping those people engaged through football. So we feel good there. So cross-sell should continue as the Sportsbook business grows as well, but very focused on Hollywood. Operator: We'll take our next question from Lizzie Dove with Goldman Sachs. Elizabeth Dove: I just wanted to go back to what you said a question or so ago, just on the desire to kind of do more of these growth investments at your existing properties, which seems to have been going very well so far. And if I heard you right, I think you said there was maybe kind of 3 that were on the docket or consideration list. And so could you maybe expand on that in terms of what the kind of benchmarks are and hurdle rates as you kind of think about which to do or not to do within the remaining portfolio? Jay Snowden: Yes. Happy to, Lizzy. Of those 3, I would say one is a very compelling hotel project along the lines of what we're seeing for Columbus. And so again, we're doing the analysis there and feeling better, and we're learning a lot, obviously, along the way, both Aurora -- I shouldn't say both Aurora and resort and Columbus. So hotel, we're feeling like we've got a really good handle on the right size, the right design, quality, size of room, amenity package to deliver the right return. So I would say that's the -- there's a hotel one that we're taking a hard look at right now. And then there's a couple of water to land conversion projects. And you should expect that we would do those probably in the South region is where those would likely be. There's another opportunity in the state of Illinois as well. I would say as we're thinking about those projects, we're not in a rush to get them all going at the same time. I think it makes the most sense just from a dollars out the door perspective to spread these out. We have Council Bluffs that is scheduled to open in '28. If we're to announce something else, it would probably be a 29 opening and then the next one will be a 30 opening is the way to think about it. That's certainly the way we're thinking about it internally so that we can continue to do what we believe the priorities are with -- from a free cash flow and capital allocation perspective. You can delever, maybe buy back stock and pursue these projects simultaneously. But if you do all of them all at the same time, you're a little bit more limited in being able to kind of walk and chew them. Elizabeth Dove: Makes sense. And then it might be a little early for me to ask this question, but just given you've seen this really strong acceleration in cash flow and taking up your guidance today, just how do you think about kind of growing off these levels into '27 and beyond? Just high level, any kind of moving pieces that we should be thinking about? Jay Snowden: I mean, it is early. So fair on that. We're not going to get into guiding for next year at this point. We've got another 5 months to go. I would say that we're feeling good about the momentum in the business. And as we look out to '27 and even '28 at this point because casinos take time to build, we're not seeing new supply projects that are being built or have even been announced that would likely impact us over the next couple of years. Now that could change tomorrow in a market. But the runway for us is about as good as it's been. You consider '26, we didn't really have any new casino openings other than a couple of smaller ones in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And the next couple of years, it looks pretty clean. So I think that's something to keep in mind. We're feeling good about heading into next year without having those headwinds coming at us and impacting us in some of our key markets. And we expect the momentum in the business at PENN to continue to move forward into '27. Operator: We'll take our next question from Jeff Stantial with Stifel. Jeffrey Stantial: Maybe starting off on iCasino. I want to follow up on Jay something you said in response to Barry's question, which is we talk a lot on the sports and the prediction side on CPAs moving higher and higher. But to your point, there has been some competition coming in on the online casino side as well. Aaron, curious just to get your thoughts here on sort of the competitive environment in casino, iCasino relative to, say, 6 months ago. And then from a retention standpoint, just help us think about sort of when you do see a new competitor come into a given market, what's sort of the response? You lose a little bit of play out of the gate, stickier players come back naturally? Do you have to bonus to get them back eventually? Just sort of help us think about how you find an equilibrium 1, 2, 3 months after a new competitor comes into a given state. Aaron LaBerge: I think promo obviously, is key in making sure that your product is sticky and serving the user. But then clearly, as competition comes in and people spend on the promo cycle, it's very important that our CRM is really focused not only on our most valuable users, but on retaining them as well. And so that's a big focus. As I said before, CACs have been very attractive on the Hollywood side, which is where we continue to spend a lot of our marketing dollars and promotion dollars around the brand, and we expect that to continue throughout the end of the year. Jeffrey Stantial: That's great. And then maybe switching gears over to the retail business. I wanted to ask on the M Resort project. Jay, curious, if you look at that property's results and maybe compare it against some of the public numbers on the broader market, just curious how much you think the project is growing the overall market versus taking share? And then competitively, have you seen sort of any response from some of the surrounding casinos as they try to build back share? Jay Snowden: Yes. The Las Vegas locals results are all publicly reported every month. And so you see the trends there. And they've been, I would say, kind of flattish so far this year. Obviously, with our new hotel, we would expect to be leading in terms of growth, and we are. I'm not saying I know how every property in the market is doing. Obviously, Durango is continuing to do great for Red Rock Resorts. But M Resort for us, I think we're targeting a bit of a different customer profile. Certainly during the week, we're more of a eating and convention destination for people from all around the country. And then on weekends, there's definitely strong locals business, but we also are a destination for people driving in from Southern California. So our model is a little bit different, and we have just shy of 800 rooms there now to be able to accommodate leisure customers, casino customers, cash paying, convention business, and we're continuing to do really significant A-level entertainment out by the pool and driving 5,000 to 8,000 people per event. So I would say we feel like our model is a little bit different there. So I'm not sure that we're really taking share from folks as much as probably growing that part of the Las Vegas Valley and certainly our end resort property as a regional destination. So we're feeling good about the place that we sort of -- we sit in and how that fits in with the rest of the competitive set in the Las Vegas locals market. Operator: We'll take our next question from Shaun Kelley with Bank of America. Shaun Kelley: Jay or Felicia or Aaron, maybe just a quick -- any quick update you could give us directionally on just how big Ontario's contribution is overall to the online segment now. I know we don't break it out specifically, but that is a market that we just don't get as much kind of data on. And I think the idea here is more to give us some context for trying to size the Alberta opportunity for you going forward. Jay Snowden: Yes. We haven't provided that breakdown by market, Shaun, previously. I would tell you that it is our #1 largest market, both on the OSB side as well as in -- well, I would say it's right there with Pennsylvania for us on iGaming. But it is actually by a good margin, our #1 market for OSB. So you can kind of back into how we do in Pennsylvania and assume that OSB is probably closer to maybe 2x or 2.5x what we do in PA and iGaming would be very similar. Shaun Kelley: Perfect. And then going back to your -- an earlier question on project CapEx for the sort of the land-based piece. I think, Felicia, if I caught it right, if you were thinking about project capital or maybe an opening in 2028 and then a potential next project or land-based conversion being in 2030, would that directionally imply something like $100 million of project capital a year? Again, not trying to hold you to guidance and appreciate these numbers can be lumpy, but just trying to think about how you're thinking about the phasing of cash flow. Felicia Kantor Hendrix: Yes. Like Jay said, just to repeat, well, for our future projects, we will probably have a year. It's hard to talk about is it not going to be $100 million a year because the build-outs will intersect. So I think that if you look at what our project CapEx is in 2026, that's probably a good proxy to use for estimates going forward. Jay Snowden: Maybe a little bit -- that might be a little bit on the high side, just to have multiple coming in at the same time, but... Felicia Kantor Hendrix: Yes, there's some crossover. So it's -- again, in terms of staging them, but if you think about if you want to just build out your model, maybe plus, give or take, what we said for this year, which is $180 million. Operator: We'll take our next question from John DeCree with CBRE. John DeCree: I wanted to ask, Jay, about the promotional environment. I think in a prior question, you briefly touched on some of the pressures from competitive new supply starting to fade. But this time last year, we were talking about some of your competitors kind of elevating their promotional intensity. From where you sit today as it stands, have you seen anything change in the retail business on the promotional front? Has that subsided a little bit? And we've seen broadly pretty strong regional numbers across the board. So curious how the environment sits today. Jay Snowden: Yes. It's -- I would say the regional gaming environment is as healthy as I've seen it in a really long time. There really aren't any markets that stand out as being irrational from a marketing reinvestment standpoint right now. Baton Rouge, maybe a little bit just because you have a new opening there, but we have a high-end property there that targets more of a mid-, high worth customer. And so we're, I think, holding up quite well in Baton Rouge. But as you look across the rest of the portfolio, those GGR state reported numbers every month are not being driven by higher levels of reinvestment. You see our margin profile in the second quarter, growth year-over-year, 55 bps. We anticipate growing our margins again second half of the year by 50 bps, which would tell you we have confidence in our ability to execute. And our teams are doing an amazing job. It's not one thing. The teams, both interactive, retail, everyone's focus on driving efficiencies and doing more with less and being really smart on every marketing dollar spent to make sure we've got a strong return on that dollar and challenging areas of the cost structure that maybe would have been considered more fixed costs in the past. So I couldn't be happier with the performance across the company in the first half of the year, and everyone is laser-focused on continuing to do as good, if not better, in the second half of the year. John DeCree: And if I could follow up on the M&A question earlier. Based on what you've all seen so far and learned from omnichannel states, you've mentioned a couple of boxes that maybe M&A would need to check. Where does having retail and digital presence kind of rank in the importance of future M&A? And I guess Canada could be an example where you have a pretty strong digital position, but no retail exposure yet. Is that an interesting enough opportunity with the cross-sell that you've seen thus far that maybe some of those markets where you have digital but not retail are uniquely interesting to you? Jay Snowden: Yes. I would say, John, that what really matters in that case, if you want to see omnichannel work is you need iCasino and land-based casino, just having sports betting as the digital offering in land-based, you're not going to see as much crossover. So yes, I would circle the states that are either already live with iCasino or states that are maybe likely -- most likely to go next, that would certainly check maybe a smaller box from a strategic value perspective for us. We certainly would want to -- we're interested at some point of getting into states maybe that we're not in or there's markets that maybe we have a smaller position than we would like to have. And so those would be interesting. But again, we're just -- we're not going to -- we're not chasing -- we'll probably wait for inbounds on the assets that will be available through some of the M&A that's taking place in the space, at least for the next 12 months. It would have to be right price, right location and potentially omnichannel to your question. Operator: We'll take our next question from Steve Pizzella with Deutsche Bank. Steven Pizzella: Just on the 4Q Interactive profitability, can you help us bridge the drivers of that, whether from Alberta, iCasino, OSB margins? How should we think about that bridge? Aaron LaBerge: In terms of profitability through the end of the year, I mean, clearly, it's going to be casino-driven and Canada driven. Those are our big focuses and then operating profitably in OSB states, making sure that we're focused on high-value customers and retaining the ones that we have today that are of high value. So Canada, casino and then profitably operating in OSB states. Jay Snowden: Yes. I mean if you look at our contribution margin by category that Aaron just laid out, they're all 3 moving in the right direction quickly in terms of "profitability" at least at the contribution margin level. And that is the team's focus right now. That's the mission, and we're on a really good path. Operator: We'll take our next question from Trey Bowers with Wells Fargo. Raymond Bowers: Just to continue to kind of beat the drum on M&A. Is a strip property, you mentioned strategically necessary. Is a strip property something that you feel like the customer base is asking for if one were to become available? And then two, against that, you guys highlighted the free cash flow yield of the stock for '27. And as you think about any M&A, does that M&A need to produce a return that's better or at least equal to buying your own stock at this point? Or are there strategic points to it that would make you guys say, we'll do something that might not have that kind of level of cash-on-cash return? Jay Snowden: I mean it certainly Trey needs to be close to those levels. So there might be a strategic reason why you would do something that it doesn't have to be exact or it could be round-up kind of thing. But we have -- like I said earlier, there's -- we have very compelling options from a capital allocation perspective, and that's a good position to be in. I'd like for the share buyback option to be less attractive because our free cash flow yield is lower, and hopefully, it will be soon. But I would say, overall, M&A, we're going to compare that to what does share buybacks look like for us, what is continuing to delever look like. The growth projects internally have very nice cash-on-cash returns next to them as well. So it's going to -- M&A is going to have to really stand out against all 3 of those options, and that makes it a pretty high bar. And I would say for Las Vegas, it would probably be in that category of would our customer love if we had a Las Vegas Strip location. I would say, yes, but with the caveat that not any location, not any product, and we're certainly not interested in acquiring an asset that's going to require another $400 million, $700 million CapEx investment because it's got deferred maintenance. So it would have to check a lot of boxes. We'd love to be on the Las Vegas Strip at the right time, but it would have to be right price, right asset. And who knows what will come on the market, but that would be some of the criteria. Raymond Bowers: And I guess just a more micro question in terms of the numbers from the West and the M Resort. There was some margin pressure there and a little less flow-through. Is that just kind of ongoing start-up costs? Or is there anything about that property that we should think about kind of a different margin profile than what you currently have in that segment? Jay Snowden: Thank you for asking that question. I probably should have been more proactive. If you look in the investor deck, it's a footnote, which is why I'm sure no one has seen it yet. There's some onetime accounting adjustments in the second quarter, and I'll quickly walk you through what those are. So second quarter of this year, we had basically offsetting accounting adjustments. We had a $2 million, what we call good guy accounting adjustment that hit the Midwest region. So you can deduct $2 million from the EBITDAR produced at the Midwest and calculate what the margin was. It's very close to what it was last year when you do that. And obviously, we had strong top line growth, but we are still ramping Joliet and we just opened Aurora. So that's why the margin hasn't really improved there yet, but it's pretty close to flat. In the West, we had a $2 million negative accounting adjustment this year. In addition, in the West, last year, we had a $2 million positive accounting adjustment. So when you're looking at the West, you really need to sort of net out that it should have been $2 million better than what you see and last year's EBITDAR number was really 2 years lower than what you see. So that's how it plays out in the West. And when you do that math, you'll see that the margins in the West were actually up 10 basis points on a year-over-year basis. So we're feeling really good about M Resorts ramp. It's not like we're discounting the hotel to fill rooms. And so thank you for asking the question. We did put that in the footnote. I didn't want to make a real big deal of it because it's accounting adjustments. They wash out for the second quarter this year. There's nothing to consider as being material, but it does move the pieces between the different regions. Tasha, why don't we do one more question? Operator: Great. We'll take our last question from Daniel Gugliomo with Capital One Securities. Daniel Guglielmo: Just one for me. On Aurora, I know the outlet mall is a big draw for people to that area. Is there a seasonal cadence with people traveling there to shop that is maybe different from the traditional trends of regional gaming in Illinois? Jay Snowden: I would say we'll learn a lot. Obviously, I'd imagine that the fourth quarter is probably going to be really, really busy, which is great because that's typically the slowest quarter of the year for us in the gaming business. But with a lot of shoppers at the Chicago Premium Outlet there, I would expect that we're going to see a lot of new customers coming through and a lot of repeat visitation throughout the holiday period, November, December. So I would say, Dan, give us a little bit of time, and we'll share our learnings with you guys real time. I would expect it to be good for the fourth quarter and probably more even for the other quarters of the year. Okay. Thanks, Dan. And thank you, everybody, for joining our call. We look forward to speaking with you again in a few months to cover the third quarter earnings. Have a great one. Operator: This concludes today's meeting. We appreciate your time and participation. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in Penn Entertainment, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Penn Entertainment wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $400,209!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,375,393!* That performance is why people listen. With a track record of beating the S&P 500 by 4x, Stock Advisor offers a distinct advantage. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built for the long haul. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. PENN (PENN) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Retail segment performance reached record quarterly revenues, driven by the successful ramp-up of four major development projects and strong demand in mid- and high-worth customer segments. Interactive segment losses narrowed significantly as management pivoted toward high-value customer acquisition and improved marketing efficiency in U.S. iCasino and Canadian operations. The 'omnichannel' strategy is yielding higher engagement, with 70% of sportsbook users wagering on the World Cup and nearly half of those being first-time soccer bettors, creating a reactivation funnel for the NFL season. Management attributed retail margin expansion to property-level cost management across labor, marketing, and G&A, despite the initial costs associated with opening new facilities. The Alberta launch is viewed as a strategic extension of the successful Ontario model, utilizing theScore Bet brand loyalty and a partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays to capture market share. Corporate overhead optimization and improved cash flow are enabling the company to deleverage the balance sheet faster than internal projections. Full-year 2026 retail guidance was raised to reflect Q2 outperformance and an improved outlook for the second half, assuming normalized seasonality and continued momentum from new hotel towers. Interactive segment adjusted EBITDA is expected to turn positive in Q4 2026, following a peak investment period in Q3 related to the Alberta market entry. The company anticipates a highly competitive 'arms race' for customer acquisition during the upcoming football season and has factored aggressive marketing from competitors into its guidance. Future capital allocation will prioritize internal growth projects with proven ROI, such as water-to-land conversions and hotel expansions, over speculative M&A. Management expects to reach lease-adjusted net leverage below 5x by the end of 2026, supported by a $31 million increase in the retail EBITDA midpoint flowing directly to cash flow. The relocation of Hollywood Council Bluffs is scheduled for 2028, with a budget of $180 million to $200 million to convert a riverboat license into a modern land-based facility. Interactive revenue guidance was slightly lowered to $1.57 billion to reflect lower volumes from the strategic reduction in marketing spend on unprofitable customer segments. The company eliminated 4.5 million potentially dilutive shares by repaying the remaining principal of its 2.75% convertible notes due 2026. Regional results in Pennsylvania and Missouri may see future tailwinds from the ongoing regulatory and legal crackdowns on illegal 'skill-based' gaming machines. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management quantified the impact of unfavorable sports outcomes at approximately $3 million for the quarter. Without these outcomes, the Interactive segment loss would have been closer to $6.5 million instead of the reported $9.5 million. Jay Snowden stated the bar for M&A is high, as any acquisition must compete with the 'mid- to high-teen' free cash flow yield of buying back their own stock. A Las Vegas Strip asset would only be considered if it required minimal deferred maintenance and offered clear strategic value for the omnichannel database. The new Aurora facility has approximately doubled admissions and gaming volumes compared to the old location. Rated guests staying at the new Hollywood Casino Aurora generated 21% higher average daily worth, while those staying at the new Hollywood Columbus hotel tower showed a 10% increase compared to previous levels. Management noted that while some competitors are increasing reinvestment, PENN is focused on 'standalone' iCasino growth where customer acquisition costs are more attractive. The company is holding its market share in aggressive environments like Michigan by focusing on high-value, loyal users rather than irrational promo spending.

Interested in PENN Entertainment, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Retail performance reached record levels: Q2 retail revenue rose about 4% year over year to $1.5 billion, while adjusted EBITDA increased approximately 6% to $517.2 million. PENN raised its 2026 retail outlook to $5.87 billion in revenue and $1.963 billion in adjusted EBITDA. Interactive losses narrowed but revenue guidance fell: The segment posted a $9.5 million adjusted EBITDA loss, prompting PENN to lower full-year interactive revenue guidance to $1.57 billion while maintaining its $20 million loss forecast. Management expects Alberta investment to drive a larger Q3 loss, followed by positive interactive EBITDA in Q4. Balance-sheet flexibility improved: PENN ended the quarter with $1.9 billion in liquidity, refinanced major debt facilities and repaid its remaining $106.7 million of convertible notes. The company lowered 2026 total capital-expenditure guidance to $400 million and continues to prioritize debt reduction while evaluating buybacks and internal development projects. RSI Stock Soars 22% On Q2 Blowout—Will PENN Match the Momentum? PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) reported record second-quarter retail revenue and raised its full-year outlook for the segment, while management said its interactive business continued to narrow losses through lower marketing spending, cost efficiencies and growth in online casino operations. Chief Executive Officer Jay Snowden said the company remains on track to deliver more than 20% year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth in 2026. He said stronger retail results, improvement in interactive profitability and corporate overhead optimization are supporting cash-flow growth and allowing PENN to reduce leverage faster than previously expected. → Meta’s Earnings Drop Shows Wall Street Wants More Than Ad Growth Get Ahead of the January Effect With These 2 Fintech Stocks PENN's retail segment generated record quarterly revenue of $1.5 billion, up about 4% from a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA of $517.2 million, up approximately 6%, according to CFO Felicia Kantor Hendrix. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 34.4%. Same-store revenue grew about 2% in the quarter, while same-store adjusted EBITDA increased approximately 4%. Hendrix said the results reflected cost management across labor, marketing and general and administrative expenses. Nine properties set second-quarter records for both revenue and adjusted EBITDA, Snowden said. → 4 Oil and Gas ETF Plays as Prices Stay Sky-High DraftKings Is the Real MVP of the 2025 NFL Football Season The company raised its 2026 retail outlook. The midpoint of revised full-year retail revenue guidance is now $5.87 billion, while the adjusted EBITDA midpoint is $1.963 billion. The updated outlook implies mid-single-digit year-over-year retail EBITDA growth and about 50 basis points of margin expansion in the second half, management said. Snowden told analysts the company expects second-half retail revenue growth of roughly 4% and adjusted EBITDA growth of about 6%, similar to the second-quarter performance. He said the fourth quarter remains the lightest seasonal period for revenue, EBITDA and margins, but the company still expects comparable year-over-year growth rates. → Ulta's Growth Is Real, But So Are the Risks Management cited continued growth in both rated and unrated revenue. Snowden said growth among mid- and high-worth customers supported rated revenue, while unrated revenue has increased in five of the past seven quarters. PENN highlighted contributions from four recently completed development projects. Hollywood Casino Joliet, which opened in August 2025, continued to post strong results into early third quarter, Snowden said. M Resort generated record net revenue and adjusted EBITDA after opening a new hotel tower in December. The property hosted three of its five largest groups by revenue during the quarter, according to management. Hollywood Columbus opened its hotel tower on June 12 and reported an all-time monthly net revenue record in July, its first full month with the hotel in operation. Outer-market guests accounted for 85% of hotel cash revenue during the first month and a half of operations, while rated guests who stayed at the hotel increased their average daily worth by 10%, Snowden said. Hollywood Aurora opened on June 24. Snowden said admissions, slot volume, table volume and non-gaming revenue were approximately double prior-year levels in its first full month. He added that rated guests staying at the property's hotel generated 21% higher average daily worth, while 20% of guests since opening were new to the property and 25% were reactivated customers. Looking ahead, PENN expects to relocate Hollywood Council Bluffs in 2028, converting its riverboat casino license into a land-based casino connected to an existing 444-room hotel. The project is expected to cost $180 million to $200 million and will have programming and design similar to Hollywood Casino Joliet. Snowden also said the company is evaluating additional internal growth opportunities, including a hotel project, water-to-land conversions in the South region and another potential Illinois project. However, management said it intends to stagger project spending rather than begin several developments simultaneously. PENN's interactive segment reported second-quarter revenue of $349.4 million, including a $185.5 million skin-tax gross-up, and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $9.5 million. The company lowered its full-year interactive revenue outlook to $1.57 billion from $1.6 billion, while maintaining its forecast for a $20 million adjusted EBITDA loss. Management said revenue was affected by customer-friendly sportsbook outcomes, particularly during the NBA Finals and World Cup in June, as well as lower volumes related in part to reduced marketing expenditures on lower-value and unprofitable customers. Snowden quantified the sportsbook hold impact at approximately $3 million for the quarter. The company said it is offsetting the lower revenue outlook through marketing reductions and efficiencies in labor, technology and third-party vendor expenses. Hendrix said PENN expects the third quarter to be its largest interactive loss of the year because of investment in Alberta, followed by positive interactive adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter. PENN launched theScore Bet sportsbook and casino, along with theScore Casino and Hollywood Casino standalone iCasino apps, in Alberta on July 13. Management said early Alberta user and handle volumes on a per-capita basis have been encouraging, and PENN continues to expect to invest about $20 million in the province this year. Snowden said PENN's Ontario operations gained momentum during the quarter, aided by World Cup engagement and cross-selling sportsbook users into iCasino. Approximately 70% of the company's sportsbook users placed a World Cup wager, and about 45% of those bettors placed a soccer wager for the first time. Management said standalone casino products continued to generate growth, even as casino activity connected to sportsbook cross-selling was softer due to lower sportsbook volumes. CTO Aaron LaBerge said customer acquisition costs for the Hollywood Casino brand have been attractive and the company plans to continue investing in standalone casino growth. PENN ended the quarter with $1.9 billion of liquidity, including $887 million of cash and cash equivalents. The company refinanced its $1 billion revolver and $447 million term loan A facility in April, extending both maturities to 2031, and extended its term loan B maturity to 2033 in May. In May, PENN repaid the remaining $106.7 million principal balance of its 2.75% convertible notes due in 2026, eliminating 4.5 million potentially dilutive shares associated with those notes. Its nearest debt maturity is now $400 million of 5.625% notes due in January 2027. Hendrix said total second-quarter capital expenditures were $98 million, including $58 million of project spending. PENN reduced its 2026 project-capital-expenditure forecast to $180 million from $200 million because some spending shifted into 2027. Total 2026 capital expenditure guidance was lowered to $400 million from $420 million, while maintenance capital expenditure guidance of $220 million was unchanged. Snowden said debt reduction remains a major capital-allocation priority, though the company also sees potential for share repurchases and internal development projects. He said any acquisition would need to offer a compelling return relative to those alternatives and provide strategic value, such as entry into a new market or an expanded position in an existing market. PENN Entertainment, Inc (NASDAQ: PENN) is a leading operator of gaming and racing facilities in the United States. The company's business activities encompass land-based casinos, pari-mutuel racetracks, off-track wagering, and ancillary amenities such as hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues. In August 2022, the company rebranded from Penn National Gaming to PENN Entertainment to reflect its expanding footprint across digital and traditional segments of the gaming industry. The company's portfolio includes well-known properties under the Hollywood Casino and Ameristar Casino brands, located across multiple states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri and West Virginia. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "PENN Entertainment Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

For the quarter ended June 2026, PENN Entertainment (PENN) reported revenue of $1.86 billion, up 5.2% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $0.44, compared to $0.10 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue represents a surprise of +0.06% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.86 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.35, the EPS surprise was +25.71%. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately. Here is how PENN Entertainment performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Revenues- Northeast segment: $731.6 million versus $724.73 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +2.8% change. Revenues- South segment: $301.9 million versus $300.52 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -0.1% change. Revenues- Interactive segment: $349.4 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $380.18 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +10.5%. Revenues- Midwest segment: $320.6 million compared to the $315.77 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +8% year over year. Revenues- West segment: $151.5 million compared to the $147.66 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +10% year over year. View all Key Company Metrics for PENN Entertainment here>>> Shares of PENN Entertainment have returned -2.5% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +3.3% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

WYOMISSING, Pa., August 06, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PENN Entertainment, Inc. ("PENN" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: PENN) today reported financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026. Jay Snowden, Chief Executive Officer and President, said: "We continued to execute against our 2026 strategic priorities this quarter: delivering Segment Adjusted EBITDAR growth, optimizing corporate overhead, growing cash flow, and deleveraging the balance sheet. PENN achieved record quarterly Retail segment revenues, supported by strong performance across our portfolio including our four recently completed development projects. Our Interactive segment remains on track to deliver upon our previously stated goals, supported by growth in U.S. iCasino and Canada. Adjusted EBITDA improved by $52.5 million year-over-year, reflecting disciplined execution of our strategy to drive profitability. The encouraging trends in our Retail and Interactive operating segments have continued through July." Second Quarter Retail Segment Highlights1: Revenues of $1.5 billion; Segment Adjusted EBITDAR of $517.2 million; and Segment Adjusted EBITDAR margins of 34.4%. "PENN’s geographically diverse Retail segment delivered portfolio-wide strength, with nine properties setting second-quarter records for revenues and Adjusted EBITDAR," said Mr. Snowden. "We experienced another quarter of year-over-year growth in theoretical revenue, supported by meaningful contributions from mid- and high-worth customer segments, as well as growth in unrated revenue, underscoring broad-based consumer demand. Second-quarter Segment Adjusted EBITDAR margins improved quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, reflecting our property teams’ focus on converting solid demand into favorable operating results. In June 2026, we opened both the new hotel tower at Hollywood Columbus and the new Hollywood Casino Aurora, and early trends at both properties are encouraging, including strong visitation from VIP players." Second Quarter Interactive Segment Highlights: Revenues of $349.4 million (including tax gross up of $185.5 million); and Adjusted EBITDA loss of $9.5 million. "Our Interactive segment delivered another quarter of meaningful year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA improvement. In the U.S., standalone Hollywood iCasino experienced quarter-over-quarter as well as year-over-year growth, achieving record quarterly revenues. In Ontario, gaming operations continued to gain momentum, supported by strong growth in online sports betting ("OSB") revenues aided by solid World Cup engagement and cross-sell of the reactivated World Cup OSB user base into iCasino. We also successfully launched theScore Bet, as well as theScore Casino and Hollywood iCasino standalone apps, in Alberta on July 13," concluded Mr. Snowden. 1 Retail Segment consists of retail operating segments which are composed of our Northeast, South, West, and Midwest reportable segments. Liquidity and Financial Position Total liquidity as of June 30, 2026 was $1.9 billion, including $887.2 million of Cash and cash equivalents. Traditional net debt as of June 30, 2026 was $1.9 billion. On April 16, 2026, the Company amended its Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement in order to refinance and extend the term of its $1.0 billion Amended Revolving Credit Facility and $446.9 million Amended Term Loan A Facility. The Amended Revolving Credit Facility and Amended Term Loan A Facility mature in April 2031. On May 15, 2026, the Company repaid the remaining $106.7 million principal balance of its 2.75% Convertible Notes due 2026, eliminating approximately 4.6 million potentially dilutive shares associated with the notes. On May 28, 2026, the Company amended its Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement in order to reprice and extend the term of its $962.5 million Amended Term Loan B Facility. The Amended Term Loan B Facility matures in May 2033. Summary of Second Quarter Results Adjusted EPS The following table reconciles diluted earnings (loss) per share ("EPS") to Adjusted EPS (approximate EPS impact shown, per share; positive adjustments represent charges to income): PENN ENTERTAINMENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIESSupplemental Information The Company aggregates its operations into five reportable segments: Northeast, South, West, Midwest, and Interactive. PENN ENTERTAINMENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIESReconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA PENN ENTERTAINMENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIESConsolidated Statements of Operations(Unaudited) Selected Financial Information and GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations Cash Flow Data The table below summarizes certain cash expenditures incurred by the Company. Reportable Segment Measures Segment Adjusted EBITDAR is our measure of profit or loss for our reportable segments and underlying operating segments. We define Segment Adjusted EBITDAR as earnings before interest expense, net, interest income, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, debt extinguishment charges, impairment losses, insurance recoveries, net of deductible charges, changes in the estimated fair value of our contingent purchase price obligations, gain or loss on disposal of assets, the difference between budget and actual expense for cash-settled stock-based awards, pre-opening expenses, loss on disposal of a business, non-cash gains/losses associated with REIT transactions, and other. Segment Adjusted EBITDAR excludes rent expense associated with triple net operating leases (which is a normal, recurring cash operating expense necessary to operate our business). Segment Adjusted EBITDAR is inclusive of income or loss from unconsolidated affiliates, with our share of non-operating items (such as interest expense, net, and depreciation and amortization) added back for our Kansas Entertainment, LLC joint venture. Segment Adjusted EBITDAR margin is Segment Adjusted EBITDAR divided by related segment revenues. Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Non-GAAP Financial Measures used in this press release include Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EPS, Traditional net debt, Traditional net leverage ratio, and Lease-adjusted net leverage ratio. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered a substitute for, nor superior to, financial results and measures determined or calculated in accordance with GAAP. We define Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA as earnings before interest expense, net, interest income, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, debt extinguishment charges, impairment losses, insurance recoveries, net of deductible charges, changes in the estimated fair value of our contingent purchase price obligations, gain or loss on disposal of assets, the difference between budget and actual expense for cash-settled stock-based awards, pre-opening expenses, loss on disposal of a business, non-cash gains/losses associated with REIT transactions, and other. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is inclusive of income or loss from unconsolidated affiliates, with our share of non-operating items (such as interest expense, net, and depreciation and amortization) added back for our Kansas Entertainment, LLC joint venture. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is inclusive of rent expense associated with our triple net operating leases with our REIT landlords. Although Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA includes rent expense associated with our triple net operating leases, we believe Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is useful as a supplemental measure in evaluating the performance of our consolidated results of operations. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA has economic substance because it is used by management as a performance measure to analyze the performance of our business, and is especially relevant in evaluating large, long-lived casino-hotel projects because it provides a perspective on the current effects of operating decisions separated from the substantial non-operational depreciation charges and financing costs of such projects. We present Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA because it is used by some investors and creditors as an indicator of the strength and performance of ongoing business operations, including our ability to service debt, and to fund capital expenditures, acquisitions, and operations. These calculations are commonly used as a basis for investors, analysts and credit rating agencies to evaluate and compare operating performance and value companies within our industry. In order to view the operations of their casinos on a more stand-alone basis, gaming companies, including us, have historically excluded from their Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA calculations certain corporate expenses that do not relate to the management of specific casino properties. However, Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of performance or liquidity calculated in accordance with GAAP. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA information is presented as a supplemental disclosure, as management believes that it is a commonly used measure of performance in the gaming industry and that it is considered by many to be a key indicator of the Company’s operating results. Adjusted EPS is diluted earnings or loss per share adjusted to exclude gains/losses on the disposal of a business, non-cash gains/losses associated with REIT transactions, impairment losses, pre-opening expenses, debt extinguishment charges, gains/losses on the disposal of assets, foreign currency gains/losses, transaction related expenses, business interruption insurance proceeds, net gains/losses related to equity investments, and other. Adjusted EPS is a non-GAAP measure and is presented solely as a supplemental disclosure to reported GAAP measures because management believes this measure is useful in providing period-to-period comparisons of the results of the Company’s operations to assist investors in reviewing the Company’s operating performance over time. Management believes it is useful to exclude certain items when comparing current performance to prior periods because these items can vary significantly depending on specific underlying transactions or events. Further, management believes certain excluded items may not relate specifically to current operating trends or be indicative of future results. Adjusted EPS should not be construed as an alternative to GAAP earnings per share as an indicator of the Company’s performance. We calculate Traditional net debt as Total traditional debt, which is the principal amount of debt outstanding less Cash and cash equivalents. Management believes that Traditional net debt is an important measure to monitor leverage and evaluate the balance sheet. With respect to Traditional net debt, Cash and cash equivalents are subtracted from the GAAP measure because they could be used to reduce the Company’s debt obligations. A limitation associated with using Traditional net debt is that it subtracts Cash and cash equivalents and therefore may imply that there is less Company debt than the most comparable GAAP measure indicates. Management believes that investors may find it useful to monitor leverage and evaluate the balance sheet. The Company’s Traditional net leverage ratio is defined as Traditional net debt (as defined above) divided by (i) Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA (as defined above) for the trailing twelve months plus (ii) rent expense associated with triple net operating leases for the trailing twelve months less (iii) cash rent payments to REIT landlords for the trailing twelve months. Management believes this measure is useful as a supplemental measure and provides an indication of the results generated by the Company in relation to its level of indebtedness with the cash generated from Company operations. The Company’s Lease-adjusted net leverage ratio’s numerator is calculated as cash rent payments to REIT landlords for the trailing twelve months capitalized at 8 times plus Traditional net debt (as defined above). The Company’s Lease-adjusted net leverage ratio’s denominator is Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA (as defined above) for the trailing twelve months plus rent expense associated with triple net operating leases for the trailing twelve months. Management believes this measure is useful as a supplemental measure and provides an indication of the results generated by the Company in relation to its level of indebtedness (including leases) with the cash generated from Company operations. Each of these non-GAAP financial measures is not calculated in the same manner by all companies and, accordingly, may not be an appropriate measure of comparing performance among different companies. See the tables above, which present reconciliations of these measures to the GAAP equivalent financial measures. Management Presentation, Conference Call, Webcast and Replay Details PENN is hosting a conference call and simultaneous webcast at 9:00 a.m. E.T. today, both of which are open to the general public. During the call, management will review a presentation regarding the quarter and recent developments that can be accessed at http://investors.pennentertainment.com/events-and-presentations/presentations. The conference call number is 833-309-3473 (conference ID: PENN); please call five minutes in advance to ensure that you are connected prior to the presentation. Interested parties may also access the live call at www.pennentertainment.com; allow 15 minutes to register, download, and install any necessary software. Questions and answers will be reserved for call-in analysts and investors. A replay of the call can be accessed for thirty days at http://www.pennentertainment.com. This press release, which includes financial information to be discussed by management during the conference call and disclosure and reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures, is available on the Company’s web site, http://www.pennentertainment.com/corp/investors (select link for "Press Releases"). About PENN Entertainment, Inc. PENN Entertainment, Inc., together with its subsidiaries ("PENN," or the "Company," "we," "our," or "us"), operates in 28 jurisdictions throughout North America, with a broadly diversified portfolio of casinos, racetracks, and online sports betting and iCasino offerings. PENN’s focus is on organic cross-sell opportunities, reinforced by its market-leading retail casinos, sports media assets and technology, including a proprietary state-of-the-art, fully integrated digital sports betting and iCasino platform, and an in-house iCasino content studio. The Company’s portfolio is further bolstered by its industry-leading PENN Play™ customer loyalty program, offering its over 34 million members a unique set of rewards and experiences. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "intends," "plans," "goal," "seeks," "may," "will," "should," "look forward to," or "anticipates" or the negative or other variations of these or similar words, or by discussions of future events, strategies or risks and uncertainties. Specifically, forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the Company’s expectations of future results of operations and financial condition, including, but not limited to, projections of revenue, Segment Adjusted EBITDAR, Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, and other financial measures; the assumptions provided regarding the guidance, including the anticipated benefits and timing of the Company’s development projects, other expected internal drivers and external tailwinds; the Company’s expectations regarding cash flow generation and near-term deleveraging; the Company’s expectations regarding results and customer growth and the impact of competition in retail/mobile/online sportsbooks (including prediction markets), iCasino, social gaming, and retail operations; the Company’s development and launch of its Interactive segment’s products in new jurisdictions and enhancements to existing Interactive segment products; the future success of theScore Bet, theScore Casino, Hollywood iCasino and its other digital offerings; the Company’s expectations with respect to share repurchases; the Company’s expectations that its portfolio of assets provides a benefit of geographically-diversified cash flows from operations; management’s plans and strategies for future operations, including statements relating to the Company’s plan to expand gaming operations through the implementation and execution of a disciplined capital expenditure program at our existing properties, the pursuit of strategic acquisitions and investments, and the development of new gaming properties, including the development projects and the anticipated benefits; improvements, expansions, or relocations of our existing properties; entrance into new jurisdictions; expansion of gaming in existing jurisdictions; strategic investments and acquisitions; cross-sell opportunities between our retail gaming, online sports betting , and iCasino businesses; our ability to obtain financing for our development projects on attractive terms; the timing, cost and expected impact of planned capital expenditures on the Company’s results of operations; and the actions of regulatory, legislative, executive, or judicial decisions at the federal, state, provincial, or local level with regard to our business and the impact of any such actions. Such statements are all subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that could significantly affect the Company’s future financial results and business. Accordingly, the Company cautions that the forward-looking statements contained herein are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by such statements. Such factors include: the effects of economic and market conditions in the markets in which the Company operates or otherwise, including the impact of global supply chain disruptions, price inflation, changes in interest rates, economic downturns, changes in trade policies, and geopolitical and regulatory uncertainty; competition with other retail and online gaming and sports betting, entertainment and sports content experiences; the timing, cost and expected impact of product and technology investments; risks relating to operations, permits, licenses, financings, approvals and other contingencies in connection with growth in new or existing jurisdictions; our ability to successfully acquire and integrate new properties and operations and achieve expected synergies from acquisitions; the availability of future borrowings under our Amended Credit Facilities or other sources of capital to enable us to service our indebtedness, make anticipated capital expenditures or pay off or refinance our indebtedness prior to maturity; the impact of indemnification obligations under the Barstool SPA; our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of our realigned digital strategy; our ability to attract and retain user adoption of theScore Bet, theScore Casino, and Hollywood iCasino apps in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive market; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company, or its respective directors, officers or employees; the ability of the Company to retain and hire key personnel; the impact of new or changes in current laws, regulations, rules or other industry standards; adverse outcomes of litigation involving the Company; our ability to maintain our gaming licenses and concessions and comply with applicable gaming law, changes in current laws, regulations, rules or other industry standards, and additional factors described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, each as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not intend to update publicly any forward-looking statements except as required by law. Considering these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release may not occur. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260806104577/en/ Contacts Mike NievesSVP, Finance & TreasurerPENN Entertainment, Inc.610-373-2400 Joseph N. JaffoniJCIR212-835-8500 or [email protected]

PENN Entertainment (PENN) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.44 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.35 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.1 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +25.71%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this casino operator would post earnings of $0.05 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.11, delivering a surprise of +120%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. PENN Entertainment, which belongs to the Zacks Gaming industry, posted revenues of $1.86 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.06%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $1.77 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. PENN Entertainment shares have added about 33% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 12.8%. While PENN Entertainment has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for PENN Entertainment was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.19 on $1.82 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $1.33 on $7.38 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Gaming is currently in the bottom 24% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. One other stock from the same industry, GDEV Inc. (GDEV), is yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.08 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +20%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. GDEV Inc.'s revenues are expected to be $115 million, down 4.1% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN) : Free Stock Analysis Report GDEV Inc. (GDEV) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

PENN Entertainment, Inc. PENN is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 6.PENN’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 120.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter earnings per share (EPS) is pegged at 35 cents, indicating a rise of 250% from 10 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. PENN Entertainment, Inc. price-eps-surprise | PENN Entertainment, Inc. Quote For revenues, the consensus mark is pegged at nearly $1.86 billion, suggesting growth of 5.2% from the prior-year quarter’s figure.Let's look at how things have shaped up in the quarter. PENN’s second-quarter 2026 performance is likely to have benefited from stable regional gaming demand and continued momentum across its Retail portfolio. Strength at M Resort, Ameristar Black Hawk, Hollywood Casino Joliet and the company’s St. Louis properties is expected to have supported segment results.The Interactive segment is likely to have benefited from continued iCasino growth, positive trends in Ontario and momentum at the stand-alone Hollywood iCasino in the quarter under review. PENN’s increased focus on Canada and U.S. markets offering both iCasino and online sports betting, coupled with lower marketing spending and continued cost controls, is expected to have supported further operating improvement. The company expected the second-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss to remain near the first-quarter level, potentially with a modest sequential improvement.Improved sportsbook hold may also have aided Interactive results. PENN indicated that second-quarter gross gaming revenue hold was more likely to reach its structural level of approximately 9% or better, compared with 8.4% in the first quarter. Continued risk and trading improvements, disciplined promotional spending and a focus on retaining higher-value customers may have supported online sports betting revenues in the quarter to be reported.However, the temporary closure of the legacy Aurora riverboat is likely to have affected Retail segment performance. The property was expected to remain closed for approximately two weeks to satisfy regulatory requirements before the new Hollywood Casino Aurora opened, with the entire disruption occurring during the second quarter. Higher gas prices and geopolitical uncertainty likely hurt the company’s performance in the quarter. Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for PENN Entertainment this time. A stock needs to have a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) to beat earnings. However, that's not the case here.PENN’s Earnings ESP: PENN Entertainment has an Earnings ESP of -7.51%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.PENN’s Zacks Rank: The company currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. Here are some stocks from the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector that investors may consider, as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat.Six Flags Entertainment Corporation FUN currently has an Earnings ESP of +6.90% and a Zacks Rank of 1.You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. FUN’s earnings for the to-be-reported quarter are expected to increase 11.5%. FUN’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters and missed on two occasions, the average surprise being 48.9%.Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation VAC currently has an Earnings ESP of +5.26% and a Zacks Rank of 2.  Marriott Vacations earnings for the to-be-reported quarter are expected to increase 1%. VAC reported better-than-expected earnings in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 0.7%. Expedia Group, Inc. EXPE currently has an Earnings ESP of +2.52% and a Zacks Rank of 3. In the to-be-reported quarter, Expedia’s earnings are expected to surge 28.5%. Expedia’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 13.9%. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Expedia Group, Inc. (EXPE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (VAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (FUN) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. PENN Entertainment (PENN) is back in focus as investors look ahead to its upcoming June quarter earnings report on August 6, with Wall Street expecting higher revenue and year over year earnings growth. See our latest analysis for PENN Entertainment. PENN Entertainment's recent share price has held around $20.53, with a 90 day share price return of 18.88% and a year to date share price return of 38.25%. The 1 year total shareholder return of 15.34% contrasts with weaker 3 and 5 year total shareholder returns, suggesting momentum has improved in the short term even as longer term investors remain under water. If PENN Entertainment's setup has you looking for other potential ideas, this could be a good time to broaden your search and check out 18 top founder-led companies Given PENN Entertainment's strong short term rebound alongside weaker multi year returns, are you seeing a real shift in the underlying business, or a sentiment swing that could leave the valuation out of step with fundamentals next? At a last close of $20.53, the most-followed narrative on PENN Entertainment points to a much higher fair value, which is what anchors the view that the stock looks heavily discounted. Read the complete narrative. This narrative from Frosty555 leans heavily on PENN Entertainment's current revenue base, projected earnings power, and a future earnings multiple that sits well above what the market is pricing in today. The key question it raises is how those assumptions stack up once you see the full set of numbers and timelines behind that valuation call. Result: Fair Value of $79.65 (UNDERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, PENN Entertainment still carries clear risks, including ongoing net losses of $957.2 million and a recent 30 day share price slide of about 4.5%. Find out about the key risks to this PENN Entertainment narrative. If the split sentiment around PENN Entertainment has you on the fence, this is a good moment to act quickly and check the underlying numbers yourself. To see what optimistic investors are focusing on, review the 3 key rewards. Before you move on from PENN Entertainment, take a moment to widen your watchlist using a few targeted stock ideas that could help sharpen your next decision. Target reliable growth potential by checking companies with strong balance sheets and fundamentals through the solid balance sheet and fundamentals stocks screener (45 results). Spot opportunities that the market may be overlooking by scanning the screener containing 19 high quality undiscovered gems before they gain wider attention. Strengthen your income focus by reviewing the 9 dividend fortresses so you do not miss companies offering higher yield potential with staying power. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include PENN. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]