DraftKings reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss on Friday but said business is picking up as major professional sports have returned to action after pauses or delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The online gaming company’s shares dipped 6.5% to $33.70 on news that it lost $161.4 million, or 55 cents per share, in the second quarter compared to a loss of $28.11 million, or 15 cents per share, a year ago. Analysts had expected a per-share loss of 20 cents.
Revenue rose 23.6% to $70.9 million, beating Wall Street estimates of $66.4 million.
As CNBC reports, DraftKings’ “worse-than-expected income figures came as Covid-19 continued to derail scores of professional and college sports leagues.”
But in an earnings call, company executives pointed to signs of a rebound that began late in the second quarter and is continuing as Major League Baseball, the NBA, and the NHL have resumed competition.
“With a number of major sports resuming or starting their seasons, we’ve seen a strong uptick in our active users,” CEO Jason Robins said. “And the hope is that that continues to be a trend through the start of the NFL season.”
According to CFO Jason Park, monthly revenue improved sequentially throughout the second quarter, with pro forma revenue increasing 20% year-over-year in June and up 7% through the first half of 2020 even with the impact of Covid-19.
During the first two weeks of the MLB season, DraftKings saw three times the handle — or amount of sports betting — as during the first two weeks of the 2019 baseball season while betting on NHL games in the first week of the resumed season was double the handle of the first week of the 2019 playoffs.
“There is clearly pent-up demand that is compounded by a truly unique sport calendar,” Robins said.
To help offset the shortfall in major sports during the second quarter, DraftKings introduced new fantasy sports and betting products for NASCAR, golf, UFC, and European soccer.
“Top NASCAR races, which has traditionally been a new sport for us, saw similar action to a popular NBA regular season game,” Robins reported.
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