Playtech’s above-expectations H1 strength in Americas leads to raised FY26 guidance

“Excellent performance” in the US, and strength in LatAm led to Playtech surpassing its H1 forecast, and has led to the supplier raising its FY2026 EBITDA guidance.

In a trading update published on Thursday, Playtech noted strong performance in the Americas during the firsst half of the yeat, as highlighted in its Q1 update earlier this year, had continued to accelerate across May and June.

As a result, Playtech delivered H1 results “significantly ahead” of market expectations, with an anticipated adjusted EBITDA of over €155 million. This, it said, was driven by both its US performance and “continued strength” in Mexico, Colombia and certain European markets.

For FY 26 Playtech now expects full-year adjusted EBITDA of at least €270 million, significantly above a consensus of between €205 million and €225 million.

Looking ahead, CEO Mor Weizer said Playtech remained confident in its trajectory for the rest of the year.

“Playtech continues to further establish itself in regulated and regulating markets going into the second half of the year, and we are pleased with the progress towards our medium-term targets,” he said.

Playtech talked up its US growth potential in a recent interview with iGB’s sister publication GGB. Its General Manager for the US Jonathan Doubilet said: “The US is very important. Did we exceed our expectations? Yeah, I can say we did. But we have to keep up the momentum because we’re very young here.”

“We’ve been here since 2020, and we really only got plugged in to all the different operators here by mid-to-late 2023. So our real story started maybe three years ago… The US is a growth engine. We’re performing quite well, very well indeed, but I see it as just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much more to come,” he told GGB in June.

Growth expected to slow in H2

Despite a strong performance in H1, Playtech expects its adjusted EBITDA to be lower in the second half of the year, comparatively.

It put this down to an extended period of investment on a new slot/sports hybrid game related to its partnership with Hard Rock Digital. The offering is based on Past Motor Racing (PMR) results, and Playtech said it had hugely benefitted from being first to market with Hard Rock Digital on PMR.

“Performance in the US, driven by our partnership with Hard Rock Digital, has been exceptionally strong, and we are delighted to see returns on our investments over recent years accelerate and contribute significantly to profitability and cash flow,” Weizer added.

But while Playtech expects Hard Rock Digital to remain as one of its largest customers in the future, it expects revenue from the operator will slow to a “lower but more sustainable level” throughout the rest of this year and into 2027.

Additionally, Playtech has this year invested heavily in its ‘significant’ partnership in Brazil with state-owned bank Caixa Economica Federal, which plans to launch its own betting brand.

Weizer previously predicted the partnership with Caixa could be “one of the most significant opportunities for Playtech for the coming years”.

But for now, the project is on hold. Caixa had anticipated launching in November last year, but after political pressure, its go-live date has now been pushed back to 2027 at the earliest.

With this in mind, Playtech said it is likely to “begin contributing to growth” in 2027.

Playtech also expects to absorb the full impact of the near-doubling of Remote Gaming Duty in the UK from 1 April 2026, further weighing on adjusted EBITDA for the rest of the year.

What do analysts make of Playtech’s H1?

In a post-results analyst note, Investec described Playtech’s unscheduled H1 results as “exceptionally strong”, suggesting an upwards revision in forecasts was needed.

“These numbers testify to the strength of Playtech’s model, as well as to the potential from Hard Rock Digital, something we have consistently flagged as a critical future driver of earnings since the agreement was struck in 2023,” it said.

“We will revisit our FY 26 forecasts, as well as FY 27 and FY 28, and remain of the view that the stock is heavily undervalued, even taking into account the 14% increase in the share price at the time of writing.”

Peel Hunt largely echoed Investec’s Playtech optimism, noting: “In our view, today’s statement highlights the value of Playtech’s diversified geography and products and that the value of its stake in Hard Rock Digital is increasing and underappreciated.”

Peel Hunt suggested Playtech was being “cautious” with its guidance, stating it was increasing its own forecast for Playtech’s FY2026 EBITDA by 20% to €270 million.