BOSTON, Sept. 5, 2026, 9:32 p.m. EDT — DraftKings NASDAQ:DKNG spent $322.5 million on marketing last quarter. Its new football campaign now has to turn more wagers into revenue.
Football brings the industry’s richest acquisition window. It also arrives after a quarter when DraftKings gained users and betting volume but earned less from them.
The shares closed Friday at $24.01, down 0.7% for the day. They have lost 7.5% across 10 sessions, based on unadjusted closing prices from Aug. 24.
The football run-up did not lift the stock
DraftKings closing price, Aug. 24 through Sept. 4
As of . The chart uses unadjusted closes from Stock Analysis; Nasdaq reported the same Friday close and an 8.3 million-share volume.
The ticket is revenue conversion
DraftKings opened football season with a broad customer campaign. Its Sept. 2 event offered free gasoline in five cities, merchandise and new online promotions.
Chief marketing officer Stephanie Sherman called football’s start “one of the most exciting times of year.” The company paired that moment with its first season offering some DraftKings product nationwide.
That national claim needs care. Regulated sportsbook betting remains jurisdiction-specific, while prediction markets and free games fill parts of the availability map.
The financial friction showed up before opening weekend. Second-quarter sports consumer volume rose 14.5% to $13.14 billion, but sports revenue fell 10.6% to $891.9 million.
More action, less sportsbook yield
Second quarter 2026 compared with second quarter 2025
DraftKings attributed the pressure mainly to customer-friendly sports results and greater promotional reinvestment. Source: the company’s second-quarter filing exhibit. Percentages use the reported unrounded amounts.
Sports net revenue margin dropped to 6.8% from 8.7%. Average revenue per monthly payer fell 13% to $132, even as monthly payers increased 9% to 3.6 million.
The margin comparison puts a price on that slippage. Applying last year’s 8.7% rate to current volume yields about $1.14 billion, roughly $251 million above reported sports revenue.
It is only a sensitivity test. Favorable customer results and reinvested promotions both reduced the actual take, and DraftKings did not separate their effects.
AI already had $400 million to allocate
DraftKings says artificial intelligence personalized more than $400 million of 2025 promotional spending. The company also claims a 1,300-basis-point improvement in net revenue margin on promotional sportsbook wagers.
Those figures came from its March investor-day presentation. The same deck showed customer acquisition cost falling more than 40% between 2020 and 2025.
The claims sharpen the next test. Football promotions should lift profitable cohorts and future retention, rather than simply swell handle while yield retreats.
Marketing consumed 22.3% of second-quarter revenue, up from 15.4% a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA fell 61.9% to $114.6 million.
The second half carries most of the profit target
Adjusted EBITDA needed to reach maintained 2026 guidance
TS2 Tech calculation: subtract reported first-half adjusted EBITDA of $282.45 million from the maintained $700 million–$900 million full-year range. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure.
The invoice comes due in the back half
First-half adjusted EBITDA was $282.5 million. Reaching the $800 million guidance midpoint therefore requires about $517.5 million during the second half.
Chief Financial Officer Alan Ellingson said the core business remains on track for “approximately $1 billion” of adjusted EBITDA. Investment in the newer Predictions product lowers the consolidated range to $700 million–$900 million.
Chief Executive Jason Robins said Predictions was “already growing faster than we anticipated.” That growth could widen DraftKings’ reach, though investors still need evidence that it adds durable profit.
The balance sheet can fund the push. DraftKings held $983.9 million of cash at June 30, then closed a $700 million term loan and expanded its revolving facility to $750 million.
Risks: customer-friendly game results can overwhelm good acquisition economics. Higher gaming taxes, tighter promotion rules or legal challenges to prediction markets could also weaken returns.
Nasdaq is closed Monday for Labor Day, according to its holiday notice. Tuesday’s share reaction will matter less than three coming disclosures: sportsbook margin, revenue per payer and marketing as a share of sales.
The season can bring millions of fresh tickets. DraftKings now has to show how many become profitable customers.
