Bally’s Q4 EPS Loss Shows Debt Drag Despite Intralot
Bally's Q4 2025 EPS loss of -$1.02 signals that debt continues to weigh despite Intralot transaction's balance sheet infusion, but Chicago holds growth hopes
The Queen Merger effect continues to feed through to the bottom line, but not enough to stop Bally’s results from missing forecasts across the board. Revenue, EBITDAR, and EPS were all off the mark from analyst estimates.
Just over a year ago, Bally’s was acquired by hedge fund Standard General as part of a deal that involved a merger with regional gaming peer The Queen Casino & Entertainment (QC&E), which is majority-owned by the New York-based fund.
In Q2, revenue increased 11.5% to $657 million from the year-ago period of $589 million in Q1, driven by the closing of the Queen merger deal in February last year.
Revenue Soft in Q4 2025 at $661.2 Million, EPS Loss -$1.01
But Q4 2025 revenue was soft, falling short of the forecast $669.4 million at $661.2 million. EPS was off target but not by much: -$1.02 versus a -$0.92 forecast, and Q4 EBITDAR was almost in line with consensus estimates at $168.4 million, compared to the $175.5 million forecast.
Adjusted EBITDAR missed by 4.0%, suggesting higher labor and marketing costs in the North American Interactive segment – the growth engine of recent quarters.
Management’s “Bally’s 2.0” efficiency program, expected to yield $15 million in savings starting this quarter, was likely offset by the costs of the Bronx casino site acquisition ($156.6 million) and ongoing debt servicing.
Hopes of a fast turnaround from the parlous 2024 performance in the Casino & Resorts segment have been dashed. The business is still being hurt by the closure of Tropicana Las Vegas and construction disruption in Rhode Island and Chicago.
While the EPS loss of -$1.02 is an improvement over the -$1.75 reported in Q4 2024, it still fell short of analyst hopes for the quarter. The company’s massive debt load ($5.6 billion-plus) continues to weigh on the bottom line.
However, the completion of the Intralot transaction, through which Bally’s became a 58% majority shareholder in Intralot SA, is the potential upside in iGaming and lottery synergies investors are focused on for 2026.
Also, the debt paydown in early Q1 2026, resulting from the deal, is estimated at roughly $1.3 billion, which puts a significant dent in the company’s debt.
Not surprisingly, earnings remain constrained by interest expense following the issuance of $500 million in senior secured notes due to the Standard General transaction.
Bally’s Corporation (BALY) Earnings Performance Table
| Period | Revenue ($M) | Forecast ($M) | Revenue Diff. | Adj. EBITDAR ($M) | Forecast ($M) | EBITDAR Diff. | EPS ($) | Forecast ($) | EPS Diff. |
| Q1 2024 | $618.50 | $627.30 | 🔴 -1.4% | $148.10 | $151.70 | 🔴 -2.4% | -$3.61 | -$1.13 | 🔴 -219.5% |
| Q2 2024 | $621.70 | $641.20 | 🔴 -3.0% | $161.80 | $160.00 | 🟢 +1.1% | -$1.24 | -$1.47 | 🟢 +15.6% |
| Q3 2024 | $630.00 | $654.10 | 🔴 -3.7% | $166.30 | $162.20 | 🟢 +2.5% | -$1.70 | -$0.71 | 🔴 -139.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $580.40 | $597.00 | 🔴 -2.8% | $150.20 | $161.00 | 🔴 -6.7% | -$1.75 | -$0.53 | 🔴 -230.2% |
| FY 2024 | $2,450.60 | $2,519.60 | 🔴 -2.7% | $626.40 | $634.90 | 🔴 -1.3% | -$8.30 | -$3.84 | 🔴 -116.1% |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Q1 2025 | $589.20 | $594.50 | 🔴 -0.9% | $145.50 | $153.50 | 🔴 -5.2% | -$0.48 | -$2.17 | 🟢 +77.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $657.50 | $651.00 | 🟢 +1.0% | $171.40 | $163.40 | 🟢 +4.9% | -$3.76 | -$0.42 | 🔴 -795.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $663.70 | $668.90 | 🔴 -0.8% | $173.80 | $171.70 | 🟢 +1.2% | -$1.70 | -$0.78 | 🔴 -117.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $661.20 | $669.40 | 🔴 -1.2% | $168.40 | $175.50 | 🔴 -4.0% | -$1.02 | -$0.92 | 🔴 -10.9% |
| FY 2025 | $2,571.60 | $2,583.80 | 🔴 -0.5% | $659.10 | $664.10 | 🔴 -0.8% | -$6.96 | -$4.29 | 🔴 -62.2% |
2026 guidance was cautious but growth-oriented, with an expectation of balance-sheet deleveraging in the wake of the Intralot. Revenue guidance was $2.75 billion to $2.88 billion, which is up about 9% year-over-year at the midpoint of consensus and north of FY 2024 and 2025.
Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDAR guidance was $710 million to $745 million and capex $550 million to $625 million, mostly allocated to the Chicago Permanent Resort and the early stages of its Bronx project.
Management is targeting a reduction in net leverage from the current 5.2x to below 4.5x by the end of 2026.
CEO Reeves: Queen ‘Fundamentally Altered’ Our DNA
CEO Robeson Reeves was upbeat in the conference call:
The integration of the Queen assets has provided more than just scale; it has fundamentally altered our operational DNA.
“We are successfully exporting Queen’s high-margin regional model – which focuses on localized database marketing and lean labor management – across our legacy Bally’s footprint. This is the primary driver behind our margin expansion goals for 2026.”
On Chicago, Reeves mentioned that the build had reached the 21st floor, with topping out scheduled for late Summer 2026 (August/September).
He also revealed that the Medinah Temple temporary site now has a license through to 2027 – it generated $124.6 million in Adjusted Gross Receipts (AGR) in 2025. Not bad, but well below the $250 million originally projected by the city.
‘We Have the Liquidity to Complete the Build’ – CFO Glover
Bally’s CFO Marcus Glover weighed in on Chicago too, with encouraging comments related to cash flow:
The capital stack for Chicago is fully committed. With the Intralot proceeds now on the balance sheet as of early Q1 2026, we have the liquidity to complete the build without returning to the high-yield debt markets in this current rate environment.”
There was greater clarity on the way forward for financing the Las Vegas A’s stadium-adjacent development. And funding details shared regarding “Bally’s Las Vegas” (Tropicana site) integrated resort helped anchor a tailwind narrative, with groundbreaking targeted for April this year.
Reeves expanded on the company’s vision, “We are not building a standalone casino; we are building an anchor for a 365-day entertainment district. By phasing the $1.19 billion spend, we ensure that Phase 1 – the critical infrastructure and the initial gaming floor – is online for the A’s debut without overextending our 2026 leverage targets.”
Standard General L.P. controls Bally’s Corporation following the completion of a $4.6 billion acquisition that finalized in February 2025. Soo Kim, the managing partner of Standard General, is also the chairman of Bally’s Corporation.
Now that the Queen merger is behind it, the market is focusing on delivery, so above all, that means Bally’s starting to turn the corner on the EPS bottom line. Years of losses are testing investors’ patience.
The stock traded unchanged during the call after finishing the regular session down 6.17% at $12.92.
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