Angela Palumbo

DraftKings stock could pop further thanks to strong performance during the Super Bowl.

DraftKings reported a wider loss in the fourth quarter than Wall Street had expected after the stock market closed on Thursday. Still, shares of the online-betting platform were surging after management raised the midpoint of its 2025 revenue guidance, and said that free cash flow was positive for the first time in the company's history.

" DraftKings is at the epicenter of a mega trend. Real money, online gaming is a large and growing industry with secular tailwinds behind it, " CEO Jason Robins said on the conference call. "We believe we are well positioned to capture significant share and we haven't even begun to expand outside the U.S. and Canada, which we could explore as a longer term opportunity."

Shares of DraftKings were up 12% to $51.98 on Friday, and were on pace for their highest close since Sept. 22, 2021, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The Super Bowl -- the largest football game of the year -- took place on Feb. 9. This is an important game DraftKings, and peers Flutter Entertainment's FanDuel and Bet MGM, as users spend big on their bets and parlays.

DraftKings said on its earnings call that on Super Bowl Sunday, customer acquisition was a bright spot as its sportsbook app reached number one in the App Store in the sports category and number three across all apps.

"Super Bowl delivers super results," Canaccord Genuity analyst Jason Tilchen wrote in a note on Friday. He increased his price target on DraftKings stock to $60 from $54, and maintained a Buy rating.

"Super Bowl Sunday drove robust engagement, with DraftKings setting a new daily record for sportsbook handle at $436M," Tilchen wrote. The $436 million handle refers to the amount that customers spent on placing bets that day.

Because the Super Bowl took place in the current quarter, Wall Street will have to wait for the next earnings report to get clarification on how beneficial the game really was for DraftKings. For now, it looks like investors believe that the big game was a big win.

Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com

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February 14, 2025 15:13 ET (20:13 GMT)

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