Flutter Entertainment’s primary listing will be moved to the New York Stock Exchange after 98% of its shareholders voted in favor at the AGM.
By the end of the month, the move will be complete. According to the AGM this move is a reflection of “the company’s growth trajectory” and the changing dynamics in global markets.
This news is part of a trend that has been highlighted in the UK Financial Press, whereby public companies are moving from London to New York as their main listing.
The ticker for Flutter was FLUT. The announcement was made in December, when it announced that the company would be listing its shares at the NYSE on 29 January 2024.
What is the Flutter Move to the NYSE?
Analysts believe that the listing represents a pivotal moment for US sports betting investments.
Ed Birkin is the senior analyst of H2 Gambling Capital and he has previously stated that it’s a logical decision. The US-listed stocks are usually valued higher than the London listed ones.
The name is already worth a lot, given the market dominance of FanDuel in the US. There are very few ways for US investors get a material exposure to the US online gaming or sports betting market. Birkin says that DraftKings represents the biggest opportunity.
While Flutter doesn’t qualify as a pure-play online investment in the US, its exposure to this market is significant. This is something that investors will be interested in.”
There is still a lot of work to do, as only seven US States have launched igaming. Birkin says that when the bulk of your revenue and earnings come from one market, and if you are able to get a higher valuation with greater liquidity it is logical to relocate your listing.
Access to much higher liquidity pools is a sure way of increasing the odds. Birking said: “Being on the NYSE opens the door to many more investors.”
FanDuel consolidates its position with Flutter
Flutter will also be concentrating on consolidating its position as the market leader.
The key to this is gaining more market share as the US regulates igaming. Since 2010, the UK has also followed a similar path.
This is the basis of much of Paddy Power’s and William Hill’s success in the UK. Both used sports to drive their business, but this eventually peaked and igaming came into play. Birkin believes FanDuel is also going to follow the same path.
Birkin explains that FanDuel is also likely to have the same plan. Maintain a leadership position in sports betting and accelerate growth by increasing the lower market share of igaming.
Scale is important and a large scale of sports will translate into gains in online gaming.
Building 2023’s Success
The NYSE listing of Flutter comes as its financial health is also in great shape. Group revenue rose 24.7% to $11.79bn (PS9.32bn/EUR10.87bn) in 2023.
According to its January preliminary results, the US operations were its main driving force. Flutter’s CEO Peter Jackson, through FanDuel highlighted the company’s market leadership in the US, leading to a positive adjusted EBITDA in 2023.
Jackson’s Flutter’s optimistic outlook for 2024 is reflected in the double-digit forecast growth of group revenue as well as adjusted EBITDA. Flutter’s March 2024 outlook stated that revenue would increase by 17.5%, and adjusted EBITDA by 30.2%.
Flutter’s segmental breakdown in 2023 shows that the US leads by a considerable distance, with revenues of $4.48bn – an increase of 40% from the prior year.
In the US, gaming revenues as a percentage of total operations reached 53.4% in 2022, up from 43.2%. FanDuel acquired 3.7 millions new bettors and players of igaming in 2023. This is a 19.0% increase from the year before.
