By Paul R. La Monica
The National Football League season kicks off on Sept. 4 with a matchup between the suddenly Micah Parsons-less Dallas Cowboys and the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. While that is a no-win situation for this New York Giants fan, the return of professional football could be a touchdown for investors in the top two sports betting companies: DraftKings and FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment.
Betting on the NFL is a lucrative and growing business. The American Gaming Association industry trade group estimates that $30 billion will be wagered legally on pro football games this year, up more than 8.5% from last season's $27.6 billion.
DraftKings and FanDuel should get a significant piece of that pie. The two companies dominate the legal sports betting market in the U.S., and are way ahead of rivals such as BetMGM, Fanatics, and ESPN Bet, the gambling site operated by casino company Penn Entertainment that has a licensing deal with the Walt Disney-owned sports network.
As such, investors have rewarded DraftKings and Flutter this year. Flutter's shares have soared nearly 20% so far in 2025, while those of DraftKings are up almost 30%. DraftKings, which reported record revenue and net income on Aug. 6, has seen its stock gain 7% since that second-quarter earnings report.
Can DraftKings and Flutter continue their winning ways now that the NFL is about to be back? Don't forget that the college football season has just begun, as well. Major League Baseball playoffs and the tipoff of the National Basketball Association season are also around the corner in the fall. That is a lot of sporting events for gamblers to bet on.
Wall Street is pretty bullish on both companies. Nearly 90% of the analysts tracked by FactSet that cover DraftKings have the stock rated a Buy and the consensus price target is about $55, 15% higher than its current price. More than 85% of the analysts following Flutter recommend it as a Buy, with a price target of around $307 -- more than 10% above where it's trading now.
Earnings growth is expected to be solid for both companies, too, with analysts forecasting more than 25% average annual earnings gains for DraftKings over the next few years and long-term profit growth in excess of 30% annually for Flutter.
Still, neither DraftKings nor Flutter is necessarily cheap right now. DraftKings is trading at 48 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months, while Flutter has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 29. MGM and Penn trade at multiples in the mid-to-high teens.
Sure, the leading sports betting companies should score thanks to the return of football. But as any smart gambler knows, you sometimes have to take money off the table when you're on a hot streak. That might be the safe thing to do with DraftKings and Flutter.
Write to Paul R. La Monica at paul.lamonica@barrons.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
August 30, 2025 14:35 ET (18:35 GMT)
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