Flutter revenue up, profits down in Q1; FanDuel Chief Executive out
Hours after announcing the May 6 firing of FanDuel Chief Executive Amy Howe, parent company Flutter Entertainment released its first-quarter earnings. They were mostly declines compared to the first quarter of 2025, and full-year 2026 guidance was curbed.
One bright spot was revenue, up 17% to US$4.3 billion. United States revenue reached over US$1.7 billion, driven by a 19% spike in igaming win and a one percent improvement in sports betting results.
However, profit shrank by 38%, falling to US$209 million. Monthly average players declined by three percent to 14.4 million.
Although Flutter exceeded first-quarter guidance by US$90 million, it cut back on projections for the remainder of 2026. Full-year revenue was trimmed from US$18.4 billion to US$18.3 billion. Cash flow expectations were lowered from US$3 billion to US$2.9 billion. Unfavorable sports results were blamed, as was the cost of launching FanDuel in Arkansas.
Cash flow improved 2% to US$631 million, but profit margins shriveled from 9.1% to 4.9%. The company’s leverage ratio stood at 3.7 times cash flow.
The double-digit revenue boost was attributed to better sports outcomes for Flutter and “strong igaming growth,” despite a loss of business due to the banning of online gambling in India.
Flutter also announced the scrapping of two products. FanDuel Picks is being retired, as is the FanDuel TV racing network, in order “to optimize costs and ensure investment is focused on those areas that are expected to generate the greatest returns.”
In executive moves, Howe was supplanted by FanDuel President Christian Genetski. International division Chief Executive Dan Taylor was named president of Flutter Entertainment. “Dan’s track record of driving growth and executing complex strategies makes him ideally suited for this expanded role,” said Chief Executive Peter Jackson in a formal announcement. Genetski, Jackson said, “has been instrumental in scaling the business to its current number-one position in the market.”
In its formal release, the company cited “encouraging signs of recovery, in line with our expectations, with good progress made on generosity effectiveness, and phased roll-out of loyalty program commenced in April.”
Jackson, in a written statement, called the results “encouraging. … This reflected positive signs from our US sportsbook improvement plan, where performance was ahead of our expectations in March.” He added, “There remains more to do to ensure the improving US sportsbook trends continue and we announced today the management changes we are making to best position us for our next phase of growth.”
The Flutter Chief Executive concluded, “The core fundamentals of our business remain strong, and I am confident that we have the right strategy, structure and global portfolio of local hero brands to capitalize on the significant long-term growth opportunity ahead. I look forward to further progress as we move through the rest of 2026.”
David McKee is an award-winning journalist who has three decades of experience covering the gaming industry.
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The Backstory
Why the Q1 setback matters now
Flutter Entertainment’s latest quarter lands at a sensitive moment for the FanDuel parent, which rode a sharp recovery at the end of last year into a confident start to 2025, then spent the spring resetting expectations. The company had flipped a prior-year loss into a profit in the fourth quarter as revenue rose 14%, cash flow improved and management touted momentum heading into the new year. That fourth-quarter profit swing set up a narrative of resilience after a bruising NFL season and heavier state taxes. On the accompanying call, executives acknowledged higher Illinois costs, flagged a large launch budget for Missouri and said they were seeing strong early-2025 engagement even as they refused to put numbers on hold or handle. Their tone was confident but guarded during the tense fourth-quarter earnings call on March 4, when analysts pressed for detail and Flutter demurred, pointing instead to product upgrades and a long pipeline.
That backdrop makes the first-quarter comedown more consequential. The company delivered double-digit revenue growth but far thinner margins, trimmed full-year targets and replaced FanDuel’s chief executive on the same day. The pivot underscores how delicate the balance has become between growth, cost control and execution in the United States, where FanDuel remains the leader yet faces new taxes, tougher sports outcomes and nascent competition from prediction markets.
From rebound to restraint
Between the March reset and early summer last year, Flutter appeared to regain its stride. Second-quarter revenue grew 16% year over year, U.S. igaming surged 42% and management lifted full-year 2025 guidance. The company credited favorable results, a long NBA postseason and steady gains outside America, including Italy and Brazil. The print came with assertive commentary: Flutter called it “excellent underlying performance,” highlighted record product rollouts and said the group was well positioned for the second half, according to its report that Q2 delivered more revenue but much less profit due to a non-cash charge.
On the follow-up call, leadership leaned into that message. They touted higher U.S. gross-revenue margins, a 32% jump in players and the launch of FanDuel Rewards while downplaying broader tax contagion risk from Illinois. They also previewed product extensions, from single-game parlays in tennis to a new bingo network, and reiterated a multiyear savings plan and ambitions to return capital. The emphasis was on scale, product and discipline in the second-quarter results call, with executives signaling confidence that the worst of the tax and variance headwinds were manageable.
The new quarter breaks that stride. Management again cites adverse sports results, which can whipsaw short-term profitability, and the cost of new-state entries. It is also pruning noncore bets, shuttering FanDuel Picks and a racing channel to tighten focus and free cash. The posture has shifted from celebratory to selective.
Leadership signals and limited specifics
Management’s communications have tracked the volatility. In March, executives parried detailed questions on hold and handle, insisting the mix of bets was a bigger lever and that product improvements would drive sustainable gains. They framed prediction markets as a monitored, incremental opportunity while keeping guidance intact and stressing execution discipline during the fourth-quarter call.
By May, the script had tightened further. On the day of FanDuel CEO Amy Howe’s ouster, Flutter leaders largely stuck to high-level themes. They emphasized a “customer-first” push, pointed to early traction in a new loyalty program and reiterated that strategy had not changed even as management did. The first-quarter earnings call offered little on the leadership shake-up or granular performance details. It did underscore a few operational threads: a double-digit rise in average monthly casino players, plans to review a London listing and a longer arc to deleveraging. The subtext was continuity amid churn, an attempt to keep the market focused on product, rewards and unit economics rather than personalities.
The U.S. growth engine and its friction points
FanDuel remains the prime mover for Flutter’s growth and risk. When state taxes rise, the U.S. P&L feels it. When NFL or NBA results skew customer-friendly, sportsbook margins compress. Last year, Flutter warned of a US$50 million Illinois hit and later defended a surcharge there as an outlier on its second-quarter call. It has also tried to reduce volatility by steering customers to higher-margin products such as single-game parlays and by scaling igaming, where Flutter says it holds a leading share.
At the same time, potential disruptors are testing the edges of the U.S. market. Prediction markets remain small in revenue terms for FanDuel, but executives concede the space is “fast moving.” In May, Flutter again said it was monitoring cannibalization and saw limited impact so far, while hinting at a larger milestone tied to the NFL season on the first-quarter call. The company is also rolling out loyalty across FanDuel to lift engagement and reduce churn, a lever leaders highlighted repeatedly this spring.
Even with those offsets, quarterly earnings can swing hard. In the latest period, revenue rose and cash generation ticked up, but profit contracted steeply and player counts slipped, showing how negative variance, launch costs and media retrenchment can outpace topline gains. Flutter’s plan to sunset niche offerings and concentrate spend on products with clearer paybacks fits its stated cost agenda to bank US$300 million in savings by 2027, a target reiterated on the second-quarter earnings call.
Guidance, leverage and the stakes ahead
Guidance has zigzagged with results and externalities. After lifting 2025 targets midyear on strong underlying trends, Flutter now trims 2026 revenue and cash flow. The causes are familiar: unfavorable sports outcomes, cost to enter new jurisdictions and the continual drag from higher taxes in key states. The company’s leverage remains elevated, a function of its U.S. buildout and dealmaking abroad. Management insists deleveraging is a priority. In May, leaders told investors they aim to get to two times to 2.5 times cash flow over time and continue to evaluate buybacks, as noted on the first-quarter call. Balancing that with ongoing product investment and selective new-state launches is the near-term challenge.
Leadership turnover adds another variable. With Christian Genetski stepping in at FanDuel and Dan Taylor elevated at the group level, Flutter is betting that continuity of insiders can protect share and accelerate fixes in U.S. sportsbook execution. The company says its core strategy is unchanged. Investors will look for proof in second-quarter trends, NFL preseason readiness and loyalty lift in casino.
What to watch next
Key markers are coming fast. Last year’s second quarter showed what a favorable mix can deliver, even with a headline profit dented by accounting charges. Those dynamics are unlikely to repeat neatly, but they frame the path: widen high-margin products, lean on igaming, keep taxes contained to single states and harvest costs from noncore bets. Execution against those levers will be tested as FanDuel resets leadership, prediction markets evolve and U.S. states eye new taxes. Overseas, Flutter’s integrations in Italy and Brazil helped cushion volatility and could do so again if U.S. variance persists, as reflected in the second-quarter results. The stakes are clear: hold U.S. scale without sacrificing margin, pare debt without starving growth and show that the leadership changes bring more clarity than disruption.
