New York, February 27, 2026, 09:02 (EST) — Premarket
- PENN dropped 0.3% before the bell, giving back a sliver after jumping almost 17% in the previous session.
- Company turned in Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.07, while signaling plans to reach digital breakeven by 2026.
- Wells Fargo bumped the stock up to equal-weight and raised its price target to $16.
PENN Entertainment, Inc. slipped 0.3% to $14.60 before the bell Friday, cooling off after a jump the previous session sparked by its fourth-quarter numbers and a fresh batch of 2026 targets.
The retreat early on is notable, as PENN’s recent rally once again tests a key worry: can the company maintain solid casino cash while trimming losses in its online betting and iCasino segments? That digital shift has already whipsawed sentiment—and the stock—several times.
PENN surged 16.75% Thursday, finishing at $14.64 as trading volume spiked to 14.5 million shares—more than triple its 50-day average of 4.1 million. DraftKings picked up 2.4%, and MGM Resorts tacked on 5.79%. The S&P 500 slipped 0.54%, according to MarketWatch data.
PENN’s latest SEC filing showed fourth-quarter revenue climbing to $1.81 billion from $1.67 billion a year ago. Adjusted earnings landed at $0.07 per share, swinging from a $0.44 loss. Net loss came in at $73.4 million. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA, a key cash-flow measure that excludes interest, taxes and a few other charges, increased to $225.8 million.
PENN reported $1.4 billion in revenue from its retail segment, with adjusted EBITDAR coming in at $456.4 million—a figure that factors in rent add-backs, per casino convention. Its Interactive unit posted $398.7 million in revenue, reflecting a $182.7 million “tax gross-up” item. The company also noted it’s rolled out theScore Bet as its new U.S. online sportsbook branding, achieving positive adjusted EBITDA in December. PENN expects to receive $225 million in funding from Gaming and Leisure Properties around the time Hollywood Casino Aurora opens at the end of the second quarter, pending required approvals. Nasdaq
Wells Fargo bumped PENN up to equal-weight from underweight on Friday, while also lifting its price target by a dollar, to $16 from $15, Benzinga’s analyst-ratings data shows.
CFO Felicia Kantor Hendrix told investors on the earnings call that marketing expenses should drop once PENN wraps up its “last payment to ESPN in December 2025.” She’s projecting marketing spend to be about “$150 million lower” than in 2025. Hendrix also flagged a weather hit, noting that rough conditions have already cut between $5 million and $10 million from first-quarter retail adjusted EBITDA. As for the Aurora move, she said it could bring “two weeks of downtime” when opening. The Motley Fool
Another metric on the radar: “hold” rates, or the slice of bets that a sportsbook hangs onto after paying out winners. Those figures can jump around from quarter to quarter, even if betting activity seems stable. PENN, for its part, has been dialing up its push into iCasino—online casino games—where the margins tend to run fatter than in straight sports betting.
But there’s still risk in the mix. The Interactive segment hasn’t locked in steady profits, and a run of bad sports results, lagging iCasino traction, or unexpectedly high promo costs could weigh on things. Retail isn’t immune either—tough weather, fresh competitors in town, or holdups with licensing and construction could all swing earnings.
As the session gets underway, eyes are on whether Thursday’s rally can stick or if momentum fizzles by the weekend. According to MarketScreener’s company calendar, PENN is set to report first-quarter earnings on April 29—that’s when investors will see if digital cost-cutting measures and changes to the retail pipeline are hitting the mark.
