Flutter: Paddy Power owner stock sinks after gambler winnings
Flutter, the gambling giant owner of Paddy Power and Betfair, has upgraded its profit guidance despite missing analyst forecasts in the first three months of 2025.
The gambling giant failed to meet expectations on revenue and profit after the US March Madness college basketball series saw a number of favourites win out, it revealed in its quarterly results.
According to Bank of America forecasts, Flutter’s revenue was expected to come in at $3.8bn (£3bn) with adjusted operating profit at $688m.
Instead, revenue came in at only $3.7bn, with an operating profit at $616m, though this was an eight per cent and 20 per cent jump respectively from the first quarter last year.
The news sent Flutter’s stock price down more than two per cent. The shares are down over 14 per cent since the start of 2025.
However, the group was able to upgrade profit expectations as previous guidance excluded the acquisitions of Snaitech and NSX, as well as changes to exchange rates.
Flutter raised its revenue forecast for the whole of 2025 by $1.2bn, while its forecast for US revenue was slashed by $280m.
This would still represent 123 per cent growth for the firm’s US giant Fanduel, and Flutter’s 2025 estimate for operating profit was also raised slightly to $3.2bn.
In total, the group now has 14.9m monthly players, compared to 13.7m in the first quarter of 2024.
“I am pleased with the performance of the business during the first quarter, with the scaling of our US business driving a step change in the earnings profile of the group,” said Flutter CEO Peter Jackson.
“Fanduel continues to win in the US, retaining leadership positions in both online sports betting and Igaming, while we saw a positive performance within International, where our scale and the competitive advantages of our Flutter Edge have been enhanced by the acquisition of Snai in Italy.”