By George Glover

Some of the National Football League's strongest teams are having dominant seasons -- and that's helping sports bettors beat the house.

FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment cut its fourth-quarter U.S. guidance late Tuesday, blaming gamblers who won big by backing favorites. The current NFL season "has been the most customer-friendly since the launch of online sports betting," the company said in a trading update, adding that favorites have had their highest win rate in nearly two decades.

Flutter is now expecting $1.59 billion in revenue over the quarter ended Dec. 31, way below the $1.97 billion figure analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. Its U.S. stock fell 2% to $246.71 ahead of Wednesday's opening bell, and its London-listed shares were down 2.9% in morning trading.

MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman rates Flutter as a Buy with a $320 price target that implies shares could climb 27% from their price as of Tuesday's close. He said in a research note published Tuesday that while there is "inherently some risk in the sports betting business from adverse sport outcomes," the dip in revenue could end up being a one-off.

Shares in DraftKings were down 2.1% in premarket trading, although Fishman thinks it's better positioned than its rival. A big chunk of Flutter's lost revenue came from parlays -- when customers place a single bet on multiple teams winning their respective fixtures -- and those sorts of wagers "constitute a smaller share of the bet mix" at DraftKings, he said.

Flutter did give its shareholders some good news Tuesday: sports bettors across the Atlantic aren't doing so well.

Flutter estimated that full-year revenue for the brands it owns outside the U.S. will be 1% to 2% higher. It pointed to favorable soccer results in the English Premier League -- where underdogs such as Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth are having stellar seasons, while traditional powerhouses including Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur flounder.

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 08, 2025 09:12 ET (14:12 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.