Active, hopefully there will be some good news on the 6th March. Our day will come! |
FTSE rockets and we are taken down again by the draftkings crew. Really have the management not got eyes. |
 Hargreaves London:
Entain’s US joint venture BetMGM saw its second half underlying revenue growth accelerate to 19% helped by a 29% pick up in Online Sports.
That brings the full year total to $2.1bn with underlying cash losses (EBITDA) rising from $62mn to $244mn.
In 2025, revenue guidance of $2.4-$2.5bn was a bit lighter than expected, but cash profit (EBITDA) is expected to be positive, contrary to market expectations of a small loss.
Entain shares finished up 5.7% on the day.
Our view
The market has responded favourably to news that Entain’s US tie up with MGM Resorts, is heading towards profitability this year.
But the biggest contributor to Entain’s profits in the core business remains the UK & Ireland, where tighter gambling regulations have been weighing on performance. Over time, the comparatives will become easier, and there are growing signs that marketing and product development efforts are driving more players to Entain’s betting and gaming websites.
Progress at its betting shops is proving to be a slower burn. And the sector does come with some inherent risks, like the potential for more regulatory change. On top of that, gambling’s long been seen as an easy target for the taxman. Unfavourable sporting results can also cause financial results to disappoint.
The domestic market is relatively mature, and growth may never shoot the lights out. But there are more exciting opportunities overseas. One such example is Brazil, the fastest-growing market outside the United States. Entain is already well established here and was an early applicant for a license in a new regulatory framework. This opens up new commercial opportunities and creates a barrier to entry. Nonetheless, competition in Brazil is still likely to intensify.
We welcome the move to exit non-core unregulated markets like Chile and Peru, allowing investment to focus on high-growth areas, along with the core regions like the UK.
Margin expansion is also on the cards, with 'Project Romer' on track to deliver £70mn of annualised cost savings to the online operation by 2025 (c.6% of 2023 operating costs), rising to £100mn by 2026. These initiatives sound great, but we're not getting too excited until some results come through.
Entain’s hope of cracking the US rests with its joint venture, BetMGM. It's been taking a bit longer than expected to reach profitability as it spends heavily on marketing to gain a foothold in this relatively immature but potentially huge market for online betting and gaming, but there’s now hope that losses will soon be a thing of the past. We see a lot of room to run in this market, and management is confident it will hit $500mn of annual cash profit in due course. But just how quickly it can close in on that target isn’t clear.
Entain looks to be overcoming recent challenges and there are some attractive growth prospects to go for, particularly in overseas markets. And for those willing to accept the higher risk that accompanies the sector, the valuation doesn’t look too demanding.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk
Consumer services companies are medium risk in terms of ESG, and very few companies excel at managing them. That leaves plenty of opportunity for forward-thinking firms. Product governance concerns are a primary driver of this risk, along with the environmental and social impact of those products and services. Additional material issues to the industry are resource use and waste, and labour relations.
Entain’s overall management of material ESG issues is strong.
Entain has established a board-level ESG committee overseeing issues like safer betting, regulatory compliance, and anti-bribery. The company has strong policies on responsible gambling, anti-bribery, and whistleblowing, but needs improvement in responsible marketing, data privacy, and political involvement |
Just waiting for the next scandal or slanderous article to put a dent in any recovery momentum |
Greenblatt on BetMGM results and future election betting. |
I concur with you.
The only time this share price goes up strongly is when there are takeover rumours…otherwise the market does not seem interested.
Would not surprise me if we are around £7 tomorrow. |
Entain has been destroyed and a wonderful ftse stock for earnings
and future earnings, how much are we going to be making in 2026
and onwards, 1bn entain plus growth and US going positive with massive growth.
dyor
Forgot to say we are valued at $4bn lol, a quarter of what we are worth
but being held nicely down for a US predator,we should have massive director buys after the results or they are obviously in on it too.
I feel we need an explosive AGM this stinks to high heaven.
I will shut up now. |
Dealt at 741.92 |
Well it's a while since I bought uk market but about to top up with 2500 shares this am - hope I'm not throwing good money away! |
4 weeks until entain results…what are the odds that we don’t hear any bad news to knock the share price before then?? |
I think the fact that entain can then use that cash for its own needs at the moment is great news. From a management time view have they even been able to look at the other businesses the last few years with everything that has gone on. |
Our joint venture in the US is breaking even so what will it earn
in profits in 2026? Our Entain has guided to top end of expections
at 1.09bn and we are being valued at £4bn, ha ha ha ha, what a buy
for someone, unless WE call at egm to get listed in the US and
drop the UK.
dyor |
I think we will open strongly.
dyor |
II closing report:
Back in London and Entain shot up 6.2% after it said its US betting joint venture, BetMGM LLC, should break-even this year after sales accelerated in the second half of 2024.
BetMGM, is jointly owned by Entain and MGM Resorts International.
Entain said BetMGM's iGaming offering, strengthened sports product and enhanced player engagement had delivered accelerating growth and performance metrics through 2024.
As a result, it expects to be earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation positive in 2025 with net revenue of USD2.4 billion to USD2.5 billion.
In 2024, BetMGM reported net revenue of USD2.10 billion, up 7.1% from USD1.96 billion a year prior. |
Cheer up we’ve had a good day - unlike Vodafone!
Suet |
It would not surprise me if this drops to £7 tomorrow….as much as I loathe it |
Indiana looking at Sept 1 igaming launchShould be a strong open, US shares firm Robinhood has been told to halt sports betting via an option route by the authorities & Flutter is now up 4 bucks since London closed on the back of this |
Should have finished on a high but alas 30p knocked off by the US, Probably the draftkings crew and the guardian holding us down for the inevitable bid.dyor. |
iGaming roll-out - no new US States expected in 2025. However nine States have passed enabling legislation in 2024 to support the pathway to introducing iGaming. They are paying a close watch on three - Maryland, Illinoi & New York.
Expectation is that there will at some point be many more iGaming States but timeframe is uncertain. |
Await the taxman to get excited at those numbers. Especially New York. |
January was better than record December |
Impressive Qtr on Qtr growth acceleration - moving into FY2025. It does look like BetMGM are now really on their game. Oozing confidence. |
My post 12416 shows the accelerating igaming numbers into year end at flagship Michigan state. With 8 states looking into adding iCasino this year signals a dramatic sea change in momentum & realisation of the income that can be extracted Hugely encouraging |
I hope we can end the day on a high note. |
Draftlings worth twenty billion what is our fifty percent worth then? |
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