The results come amid an increasingly acrimonious dispute with minority shareholder HG Vora, which this week announced it had sued the business over the composition of its board.
The company reported total revenues of $1.67bn for the quarter ended 31 March, up from $1.61bn in the same period last year.
Penn also reported net income of $111.5m, or $0.68 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $114.9m, or $0.76 per diluted share, in Q1 2024.
CEO and president Jay Snowden said: “Penn’s properties demonstrated strong resilience in the quarter following severe weather challenges earlier in the year, as gaming volumes rebounded in March and remained consistent through April and early May.
“In our Interactive segment we generated record gaming revenue and significant year-over-year improvements in both revenue and adjusted EBITDA despite industry-wide unfavourable sports betting hold.”
Penn interactive shows signs of life
The company’s Interactive segment showed signs of improvement with revenue of $290.1m, combined with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $89m.
This compared to the $196m loss recorded in the same period last year.
Snowden added: “Our Interactive segment generated significant top and bottom-line year-over-year growth, highlighting the improved flow through we are seeing in the business.”The company’s property-level business reported revenues of $1.4bn with adjusted EBITDAR of $457.0m and margins of 33.1%.
The company continues its share repurchase programme, buying back $25m of shares during Q1 at an average price of $17.67 per share.
Penn repurchased an additional $9.6m in shares after the quarter ended and remains “committed to our previously stated goal to repurchase at least $350m of shares this year,” according to Snowden.
As of 31 March, Penn reported total liquidity of $1.5bn, including $591.6m in cash and cash equivalents, with traditional net debt of $2.1bn.
Analyst take: Penn mulls ditching ESPN Bet
Analysts at Citizens highlighted the company has appeared to further hint a digital pivot could be on the cards.
They said: “Last quarter, the company, for the first time, brought up the notion of exiting the ESPN Bet partnership if certain expectations were not met. While no incremental information was provided on the call, we believe there was a further shift in tone in regard to the strategic path forward.
“The spotlight is clearly now on its iGaming business, with low-single-digit market share in the US and >10% in Canada, including the recent launch of the standalone iGaming apps and the WoW improvement YTD.
“The mention on the call around the ‘optionality and control’ into 2026 might be an indication that sports betting could become a less important focus with low single-digit market share ahead of the opt-out period in late 2026 on the back of underperforming its targeted expectations.”
