DraftKings Holds FY26 Guidance as Q2 Profit Slips and Predictions Takes Center Stage

Q2 results

DraftKings swung to a second-quarter net loss of $67.6 million, or $0.14 per share, from net income of $157.9 million, or $0.30 per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell roughly 4.6% year over year to $1.44 billion, with Adjusted EBITDA dropping to $114.6 million from $300.6 million in the prior-year quarter. The operator blamed customer-friendly sports outcomes and heavier promotional reinvestment tied to new customer acquisition across its Sportsbook and Predictions products.

Customer activity still expanded during the quarter: sports handle rose about 15% year over year to $13.1 billion, and monthly unique payers increased 9% to 3.6 million. Average revenue per monthly unique payer, however, declined 13% to $132, a drop the company again attributed to ad costs and favorable results for customers.

Guidance and expansion

Despite the earnings slide, DraftKings kept its fiscal 2026 outlook intact, still expecting revenue of $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of $700 million to $900 million. CFO Alan Ellingson said the core business remains on track to generate roughly $1 billion of Adjusted EBITDA this year, giving the company financial flexibility to invest behind the Predictions opportunity.

The company is live with mobile sports betting in 27 U.S. states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, covering about 53% of the U.S. population. Its iGaming product is available in five states, representing 11% of the population, and in Canada it operates in Ontario and newly regulated Alberta, reaching roughly half of the country's population.

Predictions as a growth driver

CEO Jason Robins called the quarter "fantastic" and said DraftKings Predictions is already growing faster than anticipated. He argued that prediction-market customers are largely a distinct group from traditional sportsbook bettors, suggesting the two products can expand in parallel rather than compete for the same wallet.

That framing matters as regulators weigh how prediction markets should be treated relative to licensed sports betting. Platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket have drawn scrutiny by offering sports-related contracts that function similarly to bets in states where traditional sports betting remains restricted. By emphasizing minimal customer overlap, DraftKings is positioning Predictions as a genuinely new category rather than a workaround to state betting laws.

Robins said the similarity of Predictions customer metrics to Sportsbook metrics, the company's lifetime-value position, and its product playbook underpin confidence that DraftKings "can win the category this NFL season and beyond." The company also noted its Super App is now live nationwide, giving it a broad distribution platform heading into the football season.