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Penn Entertainment could be interested in entering the Las Vegas Strip if the right opportunity emerged, Chief Executive Jay Snowden said, as the regional casino operator returned to profit in the second quarter and raised its full-year outlook for its land-based business.
Penn, which operates 42 casino properties across the United States and Canada, reported net income of $32.6 million, or 24 cents per share, for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a net loss of $18.3 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 5.7% to $1.86 billion from $1.76 billion.
The company’s interest in the Las Vegas Strip would add another strategic dimension to its regional casino portfolio, which has been supported by recent investments including a $360 million redevelopment of Hollywood Casino Aurora and the relocation of Hollywood Casino Joliet from a riverboat to a land-based facility.
Penn also opened a $100 million hotel tower at Hollywood Casino Columbus in Ohio in June.
“We’re certainly not interested in acquiring an asset that’s going to require another $400 to $700 million (capital expense) investment because it’s got deferred maintenance,” Snowden said of a potential Strip expansion. “It would have to check a lot of boxes.”
The CEO told investors that Penn would “love to be on the Las Vegas Strip at the right time,” but that it would have to be “the right price, the right asset.”
Penn’s regional casino operations generated $1.5 billion in revenue and $517.4 million in adjusted EBITDAR, with an adjusted EBITDAR margin of 34.4%. Retail operations beat consensus estimates in three of the company’s four regions, helping Penn raise the midpoint of its full-year 2026 retail adjusted EBITDAR guidance by $31 million.
The company’s West Segment, which includes its M Resort in Henderson, Nevada, reported a 10% increase in revenue. The M Resort benefited from a $206 million hotel expansion that opened in December, adding 375 rooms and nearly doubling the property’s capacity to 765 rooms.
“The results are better than expected, with retail delivering consensus beats in three of four regions and a $31 million adjusted cash flow guidance range that exceeded the magnitude of the beat,” Jefferies gaming analyst David Katz said.
Katz added that “Interactive also showed continued operational progress” and said the results reflected operational improvements that should be “neutral to modestly positive for the shares.”
Penn’s Interactive division reported revenue of $349.4 million and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $9.4 million, narrowing its loss by more than analysts had expected. The company has shifted its digital strategy toward iGaming after previous challenges in sports betting.
“Our Interactive segment delivered another quarter of meaningful year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA improvement. In the U.S., standalone Hollywood iCasino experienced quarter-over-quarter as well as year-over-year growth, achieving record quarterly revenues,” Snowden said.
Penn’s online sportsbook also benefited from heightened activity during the World Cup, with the company reporting increased engagement and reactivation among users following its rebranding from ESPN Bet to ScoreBet.
“On the sportsbook side, we are planning to grow through the end of the year,” Snowden said.
He said the Score brand had shown strong loyalty among its U.S. users despite remaining relatively small, while World Cup betting helped drive engagement that Penn is seeking to retain through the football season.
“We saw encouraging interactive engagement trends during the World Cup; approximately 70 of our sportsbook users placed a World Cup wager, with approximately 45 of those World Cup bettors placing a soccer wager for the first time,” Snowden said.
Penn’s performance comes as investors continue to assess the company’s prospects in online gambling, including the early performance of its Alberta launch, capital investment plans and the possibility of industry consolidation.
Stifel analyst Jeffrey Stantial said uncertainty over iCasino execution and the pace of margin improvement could remain a concern, but pointed to recent market share gains and Penn’s product and omnichannel advantages as potential drivers of further growth.