DraftKings enjoyed a 17% year-over-year (YoY) revenue surge during Q1 2026, achieving $1.65B by March 31.
Word of the company's notable growth emerged via its quarterly earnings report. The data also showcased a 64% YoY spike in adjusted EBITDA, to $168M.
According to CEO Jason Robins, much of DraftKings' early year successes can be attributed to the all-new Super App. This all-in-one mobile platform merges the operator's diverse product catalog into one downloadable product, alleviating customer acquisition costs by over 80% in April alone.
Robins illustrated that crucial market opportunities would be uncovered with the Super App being a critical momentum driver.
DraftKings also clinched crucial gains through valuable parlay wagers, proven by a sharp 21% increase in average revenue per monthly unique payer (ARPMUP) to $131, as well as a 7.8% net revenue margin.
This suggests that users engaging with the sportsbook placed larger, more lucrative bets and engaged in higher-margin markets for the period - typical among operators reporting proliferating margins.
It was not all good news for DraftKings, however, as adjusted earnings-per-share (EPS) underperformed slightly, at $0.20. Forecasts had anticipated a $0.22 adjusted EPS valuation.
Most predictions volume from states without mobile betting
DraftKings launched its predictions product in 2025, following the budding success of event contracts trading operators like Kalshi and Polymarket.
And although predictions is expected to become increasingly important for the operator, the company does not currently disclose specific figures for sports trading. That has not halted DraftKings' keenness to push predictions as a front-facing product - in an investor meeting on May 8 - Robins and co. presented the months-old facility as a critical pillar on which the company will lean on.
During the call, Robins revealed that 70% of all predictions volume stems from States where mobile sports betting remains illegal.
Access to those previously-untapped markets will undoubtedly encourage expansion for the DraftKings predictions model. As stated by Robins, the group plans to garner a "leadership position in sports predictions before year-end."
Further, he described that the recent cashflow upturn will offer the necessary "firepower to press our advantage in predictions."
Expectations exceeded despite fewer paying customers
With net profit at $21.1M, fiscal year revenue expectations maintained at $6.5B to $6.9B and adjusted EBITDA forecasts still capped from $700M up to $900M, Robins explained that internal projections for Q1 2026 had been beaten:
"We are off to a fantastic start to the year as our first-quarter results exceeded our expectations," said Robins.
Individual product metrics are favorable throughout the report:
- Sportsbook revenue climbed 24.1% to $1.1B
- Betting handle jumped 1.5% to $14.08B
- iGaming saw gains of 8.9% to $461.3M
Yet, the total number of unique paying customers dropped by 4%.
Why did the number of unique paying customers drop?
DraftKings clarified that its withdrawal from the Texas Lottery is the driving force behind this slump; when excluding lottery figures, unique paying customers actually rose by 2%.
Sizeable plaudits were directed from Robins toward Super App strategy, which groups DraftKings products into a single platform. In turn, players unlock access to facilities they may have never previously explored.
It is through this singular package, bolstered by reinforced efforts across the predictions market, that Robins and Chief Financial Officer Alan Ellingson expect to generate continued fiscal headway.
"The business continues to scale efficiently as we grow revenue, expand profitability and invest in high-return opportunities," Ellingson told shareholders.
The operator has already moved to expand on those scalable products this week, launching a parlay-style combo predictions system.
