PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) is a regional casino operator that also runs a digital betting and iCasino business under theScore Bet and Hollywood brands. Investors typically weigh its steady brick-and-mortar cash flow against a digital segment that has consumed billions and is only now narrowing losses.
PENN stock price
As of 2026-08-21, PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN) last closed at $18.65, down 4.3% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $11.76 and $22.06.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or PENN Entertainment, Inc.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN) do?
PENN Entertainment operates roughly 40 casino, racing, and entertainment properties across North America, organized into Northeast, South, West, Midwest, and Interactive segments. The retail casinos generate the bulk of revenue and nearly all of the profit, while the Interactive unit runs online sports betting (rebranded to theScore Bet after the ESPN Bet partnership ended December 1, 2025) and a fast-growing standalone Hollywood iCasino product. The company reported about $1.78 billion of revenue in Q1 2026, up roughly 6% year over year, with adjusted EBITDA of about $265.8 million, though it still posted a small net loss.
The investment picture centers on a turnaround in digital. Activist investor HG Vora publicly argued that PENN committed more than $4 billion to building an online betting business through acquisitions and brand deals without meaningful market-share gains, and the two sides settled a proxy fight in 2026 by expanding the board to 11 directors. Since exiting the expensive ESPN deal, PENN has leaned into a leaner model emphasizing higher-margin iCasino and its Canadian operations, alongside new physical projects like the Hollywood Casino Columbus hotel tower and the relocated Hollywood Casino Aurora. Whether these moves convert the digital segment from a cash drain into a durable profit engine is the key open question.
What's driving PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN)?
1. Regional casino cash engine
PENN's Northeast, South, West, and Midwest properties produce steady gaming and hospitality revenue that funds the rest of the company. New capital projects, including the Hollywood Casino Columbus hotel tower and the relocated Hollywood Casino Aurora, are aimed at refreshing this base. This retail foundation is what gives PENN room to keep experimenting with digital.
2. iCasino momentum
Online casino has become PENN's fastest-growing digital line, with the standalone Hollywood iCasino product setting quarterly revenue records (about $70.9 million in Q1 2026, up nearly 15% year over year). iCasino carries higher margins than sports betting and benefits from cross-sell with the retail loyalty base. Management has reframed the digital strategy around this higher-margin category.
3. Post-ESPN digital reset
After mutually ending the ESPN Bet partnership eight years early, PENN rebranded its U.S. sportsbook to theScore Bet and shifted to a more cost-disciplined model. The change removed a large brand-fee obligation and let the company narrow interactive losses. The reset is intended to prove the online business can grow without unsustainable marketing spend.
4. Activist-driven governance change
PENN settled a year-long proxy fight with HG Vora by expanding its board to 11 members and adding independent directors. The activist pressure has sharpened focus on capital discipline and shareholder returns. How management balances continued digital investment against buybacks and margins is a live question the new board will influence.
What are the risks to PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN)?
PENN carries meaningful risk. The Interactive segment has absorbed billions of dollars and still runs thin or negative, so a failure to sustain iCasino growth or control sports-betting costs would weigh heavily on results. The sports-betting market is dominated by DraftKings and FanDuel, which together hold roughly 75 to 80 percent share, leaving PENN a smaller challenger. Regional casino revenue is sensitive to consumer discretionary spending, weather, and new-supply competition in shared markets. The company also carries leverage tied to its property and gaming operations, and regulatory or tax changes across the many states it operates in could pressure margins.
What is the PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN) forecast?
19 analysts publish price targets on PENN, averaging $23.45 against a $20.53 price as of August 2026, or +14.2%. The published targets run from $17.00 to $28.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 12 buy, 8 hold, 0 sell. Over the last six months there have been 10 raises and 1 cut among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.
Read the full PENN forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.
Is PENN a buy or a sell?
We give no verdict on PENN Entertainment, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.
The case for buying. Regional casino cash engine. PENN's Northeast, South, West, and Midwest properties produce steady gaming and hospitality revenue that funds the rest of the company. The most optimistic published target, $28.00, assumes this works close to its best case.
The case against. PENN carries meaningful risk. The most pessimistic target, $17.00, is roughly what PENN is worth if this bites instead.
Read the full bull and bear case on PENN, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
How is PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN) valued? (approximate, MAY 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see PENN Entertainment, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$7.07B
- Q1 2026 revenue: ~$1.78B (+6% YoY)
- Q1 2026 adj. EBITDA: ~$266M
- Q1 2026 diluted EPS: ~$0.11
- Market cap: ~$2.3B
- 2026 adj. EBITDA guidance: ~$1.88B-$1.98B
PENN trades at a modest market cap relative to its roughly $7 billion of annual revenue, reflecting slim overall profitability as digital losses offset strong retail cash flow. Wall Street price targets in 2026 spanned a wide range, a sign of genuine disagreement over whether the digital turnaround will work. The valuation is best read as a bet on margin recovery rather than on current earnings.
What themes does PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN) fit?
These are the investment theses PENN naturally fits into. Each links to a full theme guide listing every other stock that belongs and the ETFs commonly used as a passive proxy.
Who competes with PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN)?
Online sports betting leaders
DraftKings and FanDuel (Flutter) together control roughly 75 to 80 percent of the U.S. sports-betting market, dwarfing theScore Bet's share. Their scale in marketing, product, and data makes them the benchmark PENN's digital unit is measured against.
Regional and destination casino operators
Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Bally's, and Churchill Downs compete with PENN's brick-and-mortar properties, often in the same states and markets. Caesars and BetMGM also tie online sportsbooks to large physical loyalty programs, competing on both fronts at once.
iCasino and integrated operators
In online casino, PENN's Hollywood iCasino faces BetMGM, DraftKings, Caesars Palace Online, and Rush Street Interactive. These rivals compete for the same higher-margin iCasino players that PENN is now prioritizing.
What stocks are similar to PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN)?
Other names that sit close to PENN: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.
How to invest in PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN)
There are three common ways to get PENN exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so PENN sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where PENN fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.
The bottom line on PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN)
PENN pairs a durable regional-casino base with a costly, still-evolving online betting and iCasino bet, so the story hinges on whether the digital reset finally turns into sustained profit.
More on PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN)
Whether PENN is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is PENN a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the PENN stock forecast.
For income investors, whether PENN pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does PENN pay a dividend? And to weigh PENN against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: PENN vs CHDN and PENN vs CZR.
Wondering how PENN fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in PENN Entertainment, Inc. with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how PENN fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What does PENN Entertainment do?
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PENN operates roughly 40 casino, racing, and entertainment properties across North America and runs a digital business that includes theScore Bet online sportsbook and a Hollywood-branded online casino. Retail casinos supply most of its revenue and profit, while the digital segment is the growth and turnaround story.
Is PENN Entertainment profitable?
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PENN generates strong adjusted EBITDA from its retail casinos (about $266 million in Q1 2026), but overall net income has been thin or slightly negative because the Interactive segment has run at a loss. The company reported a small net loss in Q1 2026 even as revenue grew about 6 percent.
What happened to ESPN Bet?
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PENN and ESPN mutually ended their sports-betting partnership effective December 1, 2025, roughly eight years before the deal was set to expire. PENN rebranded the U.S. sportsbook to theScore Bet and shifted to a leaner digital strategy focused on higher-margin iCasino and Canadian operations.
Who is HG Vora and why did it fight PENN?
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HG Vora is an activist investor that ran a proxy campaign criticizing PENN's more than $4 billion of digital spending without meaningful market-share gains, plus its governance and strategy. The dispute was settled in 2026 when PENN expanded its board to 11 members and added independent directors.
How big is PENN's online casino business?
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iCasino is PENN's fastest-growing digital line. Its standalone Hollywood iCasino product set a quarterly revenue record of about $70.9 million in Q1 2026, up nearly 15 percent year over year. iCasino carries higher margins than sports betting and is now central to the digital strategy.
Who are PENN's main competitors?
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In online sports betting, DraftKings and FanDuel dominate with roughly 75 to 80 percent combined market share. In regional casinos and iCasino, PENN competes with Boyd Gaming, Caesars, Bally's, Churchill Downs, BetMGM, and Rush Street Interactive across overlapping markets.
What are the biggest risks for PENN stock?
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Key risks include continued losses or slow scaling in the digital segment, the dominance of DraftKings and FanDuel in sports betting, sensitivity of casino revenue to consumer spending and new competition, leverage on its operations, and regulatory or tax changes across the many states where it operates.
What is PENN's 2026 outlook?
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PENN guided to 2026 retail revenue of about $5.73 billion to $5.86 billion and adjusted EBITDA of roughly $1.88 billion to $1.98 billion, and it is opening new projects such as the Hollywood Casino Columbus hotel tower and a relocated Hollywood Casino Aurora. The central question is whether the digital reset turns into sustained profit.
Guides that feature PENN
PENN is one of the names covered in these guides. Each one puts the stock next to its peers so you can see where it fits rather than judging it alone.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with PENN Entertainment, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.