DraftKings Q1 EBITDA Jumps 599% to $167.9M

DraftKings reported adjusted EBITDA of $167.9 million for Q1 2026, a 599% increase from $24 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 17% to $1.646 billion, the company said, reflecting growth in prediction markets and a larger share of parlay wagers.

Net revenue margin improved to 7.8% from 6.4% a year earlier, the company reported. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.20, below the $0.22 consensus estimate but higher than the prior-year quarter.

Monthly unique payers fell 4% to 4.2 million. DraftKings attributed the decline primarily to its 2025 exit from the Texas Lottery market; excluding that exit, monthly unique payers increased about 2%. Average revenue per monthly unique payer rose 21% to $131.

CEO Jason Robins told analysts the company had started the year strongly and that profitability is improving. “Our core business is strong, and profitability is inflecting,” he said, adding that DraftKings plans to press its predictions strategy using its Super App, market-making capabilities and a proprietary exchange.

CFO Alan Ellingson described the results as evidence of scalable, efficient growth. “The business continues to scale efficiently as we grow revenue, expand profitability, and invest in high-return opportunities,” he said.

Management reported prediction markets generated roughly $1 billion in annualized volume in April. Robins noted about 70% of that volume came from states where DraftKings does not yet offer legal mobile sports betting. Company executives said moving to an in-house market-making model and a proprietary exchange could improve margins on predictions over time.

DraftKings maintained its full-year 2026 guidance of $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion in revenue and $700 million to $900 million in adjusted EBITDA. The company’s shares slipped 1.9% in after-hours trading after closing the regular session up 5.4%.

The company completed its acquisition of lottery app Jackpocket in early 2024 for about $750 million in cash and stock. Management views Jackpocket as a customer-acquisition channel that can feed higher-value sportsbook users into its Super App. Analysts will watch upcoming updates on prediction-market revenue and contributions from acquisitions as indicators of whether the company sustains the profitability trends announced in Q1.