{"id":70911,"date":"2026-11-09T08:44:51","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T08:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.livecasinocomparer.com\/?post_type=os_news&#038;p=70911"},"modified":"2026-11-09T08:44:56","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T08:44:56","slug":"draftkings-cuts-2026-profit-forecast","status":"publish","type":"os_news","link":"https:\/\/www.livecasinocomparer.com\/us\/news\/draftkings-cuts-2026-profit-forecast\/","title":{"rendered":"DraftKings Cuts 2026 Profit Forecast as Predictions Investment Drives Costs Higher"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DraftKings has significantly reduced its financial forecasts for 2026 after rising operating and marketing costs contributed to a sharp increase in quarterly losses. The US betting and gaming operator now expects full-year adjusted EBITDA of between $175 million and $275 million, down substantially from its previous guidance of $700 million to $900 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The revised outlook follows the company&#8217;s third-quarter results for the period ending 30 September 2026. Revenue increased by 16% year-on-year to $1.33 billion, but the adjusted EBITDA loss widened from $126.5 million to $316.9 million. Net loss also nearly doubled, reaching $468.7 million compared with $256.8 million in Q3 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DraftKings attributed the higher expenditure primarily to customer acquisition and investment in its Predictions business. Sales and marketing costs increased by 68% to $605.7 million. Despite the additional spending, monthly unique payers grew by 13% to 4.1 million, while average revenue per payer increased by 3% to $109.<\/p>\n\n\n\n    <section id=\"predictions-investment-reshapes-financial-guidance\" >\n                    <div class=\"container\">\n        \n            \n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Predictions Investment Reshapes Financial Guidance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DraftKings now expects 2026 revenue of between $6.35 billion and $6.55 billion, compared with its previous forecast of $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A major factor behind the reduced profitability outlook is the planned investment of $650 million to $700 million in Predictions. The company expects this offering to generate limited net revenue in 2026, as customer promotions will offset much of its gross revenue. DraftKings also anticipates an adjusted EBITDA investment of $175 million to $225 million in the fourth quarter alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By comparison, its core business is expected to deliver adjusted EBITDA of $875 million to $925 million during 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n                    <\/div>\n            <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n    <section id=\"draftkings-targets-stronger-growth-in-2027\" >\n                    <div class=\"container\">\n        \n            \n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">DraftKings Targets Stronger Growth in 2027<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the lower 2026 forecast, DraftKings expects its Predictions investment to support stronger financial performance next year. The company introduced 2027 revenue guidance of $7.35 billion to $7.75 billion, including $650 million to $750 million from Predictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adjusted EBITDA is projected to reach between $800 million and $1 billion. The core business is expected to contribute $1.15 billion to $1.25 billion, partially offset by $250 million to $350 million in Predictions-related investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than 1.6 million customers have already engaged with Predictions year-to-date, according to CEO Jason Robins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sports remained the main revenue driver in Q3, generating $783.6 million, up 32% year-on-year. Sports consumer volume increased by 22% to $13.9 billion, while iGaming revenue rose 2% to $460.9 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The results highlight DraftKings&#8217; willingness to prioritise expansion in prediction markets despite short-term pressure on profitability.<\/p>\n\n\n                    <\/div>\n            <\/section>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DraftKings has significantly reduced its financial forecasts for 2026 after rising operating and marketing costs contributed to a sharp increase in quarterly losses. The US betting and gaming operator now expects full-year adjusted EBITDA of between $175 million and $275 million, down substantially from its previous guidance of $700 million to $900 million. The revised [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":70915,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[68],"class_list":["post-70911","os_news","type-os_news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livecasinocomparer.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/os_news\/70911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livecasinocomparer.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/os_news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livecasinocomparer.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/os_news"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livecasinocomparer.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70911"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livecasinocomparer.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livecasinocomparer.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livecasinocomparer.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}