DraftKings (Nasdaq: DKNG) Earnings Live: Will This Be a Blockbuster Quarter?

Financial Performance

• DraftKings reported first quarter 2025 revenue of $1.409 billion, up 20% from $1.175 billion in Q1 2024.

• Monthly Unique Payers (MUPs) increased 28% year-over-year to 4.3 million.

• Average Revenue per MUP decreased 5% to $108, reflecting customer-friendly sports outcomes.

• The company revised its full-year 2025 guidance downward, now projecting revenue of $6.2–6.4 billion (32% YoY growth) and adjusted EBITDA of $800–900 million.

Drivers and Challenges

• Revenue growth was driven by strong customer engagement, efficient acquisition, a higher sportsbook hold percentage, and the impact of the Jackpocket acquisition.

• Offsetting these gains were “customer-friendly” sports results (which reduce hold), and margin pressures from tax hikes and promotional spending.

• DraftKings repurchased 3.7 million shares in Q1 2025.

Market Expansion and Operations

• DraftKings is now live with mobile sports betting in 25 states plus D.C. (covering 49% of the U.S. population) and iGaming in 5 states (11% of the U.S. population).

• The company continues to focus on expanding into new markets, including Missouri and Puerto Rico in 2025, and leveraging its Jackpocket digital lottery platform.

Strategic Commentary

• Management reaffirmed its focus on operational discipline and technology-driven efficiency.

• The company’s live betting technology remains a competitive advantage, with record engagement during major events like the Super Bowl.

• Despite the downward revision in guidance, DraftKings continues to show strong customer growth and engagement, but faces ongoing profitability and margin challenges in a competitive and regulated market

After the conference call got underway, DKNG gain earlier losses and now up 2%.

Lets summarize the Y-o-Y metrics:

DraftKings just posted their first quarter earnings, here are the main figures:

• Revenue: $1.41 billion (versus estimates of $1.44 billion)
• Adjusted EPS: $.12 (versus estimates of $.22)

The company guided fiscal 25 to $6.3 billion at the midpoint versus estimates of $7.61 billion.

Despite the misses, shares are up. The company said ‘customer-friendly” outcomes are preventing them from raising guidance, but said these changes are driving strong customer engagement.

We will continue updating this live blog, stay tuned for more information.

Over the last 90 days, DraftKings insiders have consistently sold stock — mostly related to option exercises:

• Jason Robins (CEO):
  • Sold ~25,000 shares post-RSU vesting
  • Filed multiple Form 4s in March

• Paul Liberman (Co-Founder):
  • Also filed multiple option-based sales

Key risks:

• Promo costs may have been higher than expected during Super Bowl/March Madness

• Hold rate (what DKNG keeps from bets) could disappoint

• Jackpocket/iGaming contributions might still be too small to move the needle

• Current Price: $35.84 (+3.36%)

• Consensus Price Target: $54.11

• Implied Upside: 51%

At ~6x forward sales, DKNG still trades like a high-growth tech platform — but the Street is aligned behind its $1B EBITDA guide and maturing user base. iGaming, Jackpocket, and promo discipline are all priced in. Execution tonight will determine whether this valuation holds.

Margin optimism from Super Bowl and March Madness activity is fueling a strong move into the earnings release.

“Last year, we had our best CAC ever,” CEO Jason Robins told investors — and he wants to keep that momentum going. With Super Bowl and March Madness packed into Q1, this is a critical quarter to validate that DraftKings can grow handle while keeping promotional spend in check.

Sportsbook remains the core business, but Robins has emphasized live betting and micro-markets as the real unlocks. The acquisitions of Simplebet and Sports IQ are part of this vision, and according to Robins, “around 50% of our content is now live betting” — with almost zero cannibalization.

Meanwhile, the Jackpocket acquisition opens the digital lottery market, and Robins says early cross-sell testing is “unlocking more interesting things” than they initially projected. DKNG’s iGaming-first audience is also growing — a good sign for long-term ARPU potential.

DraftKings has posted consistent revenue beats as the U.S. betting market expands, but the key to Q1 is EBITDA leverage. With Jackpocket folded in and strong seasonality, Q1 2025 could be pivotal in establishing earnings credibility.

Quarterly snapshot:

• Q1 2025 (Est.): $1.38B revenue | $(0.03) EPS

• Q4 2024: $1.40B revenue | $0.02 EPS

• Q3 2024: $790M revenue | $(0.10) EPS

• Q2 2024: $875M revenue | $(0.14) EPS

FY 2024 revenue hit $4.77B, and DKNG is guiding to $6.45B–$6.6B in 2025. Sustaining that trajectory will require tighter cost control without hurting growth.

For DraftKings, this quarter is all about the cost side. Analysts expect strong top-line performance due to Super Bowl and March Madness activity, but profitability is the key swing factor. Hold rates and promo burn are the two core inputs being dissected ahead of the print.

Investor models are tracking cost per acquisition (CAC), with an eye on whether DKNG continued to improve customer quality even as it scaled spend. Full-year EBITDA guidance of $900M–$1B depends on both retention and rational promotional intensity, especially in maturing states.

Revenue of $1.38 billion and EPS near breakeven are the baseline expectations for Q1.