Flutter: Earnings fall below forecasts for Paddy Power owner as US betting wins hamper results

The company also posted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $616m (£464m), an increased 20 per cent but below analysts expectations of $658m (£496m).

This came after the company said it saw “adverse” results in the March Madness US college basketball season, which saw a string of better-friendly results.

The firm also lowered its revenue guidance in the US from $7.68b (£5.78bn) to $7.4bn (£5.57bn) for the full year. It added that the change also reflected foreign currency movements.

Flutter said, however, that it expected its full group adjusted EBITDA to land at $3.18bn (£2.39bn) representing 35 per cent year-over-year growth, with group revenue expected to be $17.08bn (£12.86bn), reflecting growth of 22 per cent.

Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter, said: "I am pleased with the performance of the business during the first quarter, with the scaling of our US business driving a step change in the earnings profile of the group.”

Flutter said its growth in the US had been helped by its FanDuel business, while its international performance had been “enhanced” by its recent acquisition of Italian betting firm Snai, completed earlier this year.

Mr Jackson added: “FanDuel continues to win in the US, retaining leadership positions in both online sports betting and iGaming, while we saw a positive performance within International, where our scale and the competitive advantages of our Flutter Edge have been enhanced by the acquisition of Snai in Italy.

“We are delivering against our strategic priorities, with clear optionality as an 'and' business that can create significant value through a combination of organic growth, accretive M&A, and returns to shareholders.

“The global regulated market opportunity is significant, and Flutter remains uniquely positioned to win."

The latest announcement comes after Flutter warned near the start of 2025 that the NFL season had been more favourable to punters than any other time in the last two decades.

Shares in Flutter fell around 2.3 per cent on Thursday morning following the firm’s latest announcement.

The group’s share prices have also fallen over 14 per cent since the start of this year.