Shore Capital sees 76% upside in Entain PLC (LSE:ENT) after the betting group delivered first-half earnings comfortably ahead of the broker’s expectations, helped by accelerating online growth.
The broker repeated its Buy recommendation, and 988p price target (current price: 560p) after group EBITDA came in at £574 million against its roughly £535 million forecast.
Digital net gaming revenue rose 7%, accelerating from 5% in the first quarter and reaching the top of Entain’s 5%-7% medium-term growth range. Gaming revenue increased 9% and sports 4%, while the UK and Australia were the strongest regions with growth of 13%.
Digital EBITDA fell by around £10 million, but that was considerably better than Shore Capital’s anticipated £40 million decline. Full-year digital margin guidance of 21%-22% was unchanged.
Meanwhile, BetMGM reported $99 million of adjusted EBITDA for the half and is expected to finish toward the bottom of its $300 million-$350 million full-year range.
Shore Capital maintained its FY26 group EBITDA estimate of £1.139 billion and EPS forecast of 55p. It said Entain trades on just 10 times forecast earnings and around six times EBITDA, falling below 5.5 times after adjusting for BetMGM and its Central European operations.
“We have longed struggled to understand Entain’s modest valuation given its broad revenue base, much improved operational performance and peer comparatives,” the broker said.
Earlier on Thursday, Entain delivered a stronger-than-expected first-half performance as growth across its online and retail businesses lifted net gaming revenue, while the Ladbrokes and Coral owner reiterated its 2026 earnings guidance and plans to generate around £500 million in annual adjusted cash flow by 2028.
Group net gaming revenue (NGR) from continuing operations increased 5% year-on-year on a constant-currency basis during the six months to June 30, 2026, with online NGR up 7%.
The online performance reflected 9% growth in gaming NGR and a 4% increase in sports, supported by 9% underlying volume growth and stronger customer engagement around the Men's World Cup.
Underlying group EBITDA was £479 million, down 2% year-on-year, or £473 million excluding fees received from the BetMGM joint venture.
Entain reported a loss after tax of £11.4 million from continuing operations, an improvement of £74 million compared with the previous corresponding period.
