Regional casino operator Boyd Gaming continues to post dramatic year-on-year gains thanks to recent acquisitions and increased traffic from sports bettors.
Figures released Tuesday show Boyd’s revenue hitting just under $820m in the three months ending September 30, a more than one-third improvement over the same period last year. Operating income shot up 63% to $113.4m while net income more than tripled to $39.4m.
Boyd cautioned that nearly $213m of Q3’s revenue gain and $62.1m in adjusted earnings came courtesy of the company’s 2018 acquisitions of four former Pinnacle Entertainment properties and the Valley Forge Casino in Pennsylvania.
Boyd’s Midwest & South segment, which contains all of those new additions, saw its revenue and adjusted earnings both rise by nearly three-fifths to $545.7m and $156.2m, respectively. The Las Vegas Locals segment reported revenue rising 2.2% to $213.3m while earnings rose 6.7% to $64.1m. The Downtown Las Vegas segment’s revenue gained 2.7% to $60.6m and earnings hit a Q3 record of $11.9m.
Analysts golf-clapped for the Vegas performance but expressed disappointment with the Midwest & South segment’s growth. Boyd CEO Keith Smith explained that the segment took a “$3-4 million” earnings hit from inclement weather, including Hurricane Barry in July and Tropical Storm Imelda in September.
Boyd doesn’t yet separately report revenue from the company’s betting partnership with FanDuel. But the partners launched four more retail sportsbooks at Boyd’s Midwest properties during Q3 as well as online sports betting operations in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania betting business claimed over 45% of the state’s wagering handle in September, and Tuesday saw FanDuel launch its mobile betting app in Indiana.
On the analyst call, Smith was asked what impact he expected on Boyd’s operations from the proposed merger of FanDuel’s parent company Flutter Entertainment with The Stars Group. Smith said he saw “all upside” from Boyd’s betting partner becoming “larger, stronger,” as it would offer access to “more capabilities, more brands, more of everything.”
