Churchill Downs Incorporated Reports 2026 Second Quarter Results

LOUISVILLE, Ky., July 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Churchill Downs Incorporated (Nasdaq: CHDN) (the "Company," "CDI," "we") today reported business results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026.

Company Highlights

• Second quarter 2026 financial results, as compared to the prior year quarter:

  • All-time record net revenue of $980 million, up $46 million or 5%

  • Net income attributable to CDI of $241 million, up $24 million or 11%

  • All-time record Adjusted EBITDA of $477 million, up $26 million or 6%

• Churchill Downs Racetrack ran the 152nd Kentucky Derby with all-time record Derby Week contribution to Adjusted EBITDA.

  • All-time record all-sources wagering for Kentucky Derby Week

  • Highest peak viewership of 24.4 million, up 12% vs. prior year and highest average viewership of 19.6 million, up 11% vs. prior year

  • 152nd Kentucky Oaks in primetime for the first time with 2.4 million viewers and record all sources wagering for the Kentucky Oaks race day card

• We ended second quarter of 2026 with net bank leverage of 3.7x.
  
  

The summaries below present revenue from external customers and intercompany revenue from each of our reportable segments. All comparisons are against the applicable prior year period unless otherwise noted.

Live and Historical Racing

Second quarter 2026 revenue increased $34 million due to a $21 million increase from Churchill Downs Racetrack, a $12 million increase from our Kentucky HRM venues, and a $1 million increase from our Virginia HRM venues. The Churchill Downs Racetrack increase was primarily due to a record-breaking Derby Week, including increased NBC broadcast revenue, increased ticketing revenue, increased sponsorship and licensing revenue, and increased wagering revenue. The Kentucky HRM increase was due to a $5 million increase from our Southwestern Kentucky venues, a $3 million increase from our Northern Kentucky venues, a $3 million increase from our Western Kentucky venues, and a $1 million increase from our Louisville venues. The Virginia HRM increase was due to a $5 million net increase primarily from our Northern Virginia venues, partially offset by a $4 million net decrease from our Central Virginia venues primarily from increased competition.

Second quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA increased $21 million due to a $16 million increase from Churchill Downs Racetrack, a $6 million increase from our Kentucky HRM venues, and a $1 million increase from our Virginia HRM venues, partially offset by a $2 million decrease at our New Hampshire venues primarily due to the planned closure of our temporary Casino Salem venue during the construction of the Rockingham Grand Casino venue. The Churchill Downs Racetrack increase was primarily due to a record-breaking Derby Week, including increased NBC broadcast revenue, increased ticketing revenue, increased sponsorship and licensing revenue, and increased wagering revenue, partially offset by higher operating expenses. The Kentucky HRM increase was due to a $2 million increase from our Northern Kentucky venues, a $2 million increase from our Southwestern Kentucky venues, and a $2 million increase from our Western Kentucky venues. The Virginia HRM increase was primarily due to a $4 million net increase from our Northern Virginia venues, a $1 million increase from our Western Virginia venue, and a $1 million increase from our Southern Virginia venues, partially offset by a $5 million net decrease from our Central Virginia venues primarily from increased competition.

Wagering Services and Solutions

Second quarter 2026 revenue increased $10 million due to $9 million growth in our Horse Racing business from record-breaking Derby Week wagering and a $1 million increase from our Exacta business.

Second quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA increased $4 million due to a $3 million increase from our Horse Racing business and a $1 million increase from our Exacta business.

Gaming

Second quarter 2026 revenue increased $4 million primarily due to an $8 million increase primarily from our New York, Indiana, and Maryland properties, partially offset by a $4 million decrease primarily from the cessation of HRM operations in Louisiana in May 2025.

Second quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA increased $6 million. Our equity investments increased $4 million from strong performance at Rivers Des Plaines in Illinois and Miami Valley Gaming in Ohio. Our wholly-owned gaming properties increased $4 million primarily from strong performance at our New York venue, partially offset by a $2 million decrease primarily from the cessation of HRM operations in Louisiana in May 2025.

All Other

Second quarter 2026 revenue is consistent with the prior year. All intercompany captive revenue is eliminated in consolidation.

Second quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA decreased $5 million primarily due to a reduction of corporate legal-related fees in the prior year quarter and claim development within our captive insurance company.

The Company's second quarter 2026 net income attributable to CDI was $241 million compared to $217 million in the prior year quarter.

The following factors impacted the comparability of the Company's second quarter 2026 net income to the prior year quarter:

• a $4 million after-tax decrease in transaction, pre-opening, and other expenses; and

• a $2 million after-tax impairment charge in the prior year quarter related to a write-off of obsolete HRMs in Virginia.

Excluding the items above, second quarter 2026 adjusted net income attributable to CDI increased $18 million primarily due to the following:

• a $10 million after-tax increase primarily driven by the results of our operations;

• a $4 million after-tax decrease in interest expense; and

• a $4 million after-tax increase in equity income from our unconsolidated affiliates.
  

Conference Call

A conference call regarding this news release is scheduled for Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 9 a.m. ET. Investors and other interested parties may listen to the teleconference by accessing the online, real-time webcast and broadcast of the call at http://ir.churchilldownsincorporated.com/events.cfm, or by registering in advance via teleconference here. Once registration is completed, participants will be provided with a dial-in number containing a personalized conference code to access the call. All participants are encouraged to dial-in 15 minutes prior to the start time. An online replay will be available by noon ET on Thursday, July 30, 2026. A copy of the Company's news release announcing quarterly results and relevant financial and statistical information about the period will be accessible at www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to the results provided in accordance with GAAP, the Company also uses non-GAAP measures, including adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), and Adjusted EBITDA.

The Company uses non-GAAP measures as key performance measures of the results of operations for purposes of evaluating performance internally. These measures facilitate comparison of operating performance between periods and help investors to better understand the operating results of the Company by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of the Company's core business or operating results. The Company believes the use of these measures enables management and investors to evaluate and compare, from period to period, the Company's operating performance in a meaningful and consistent manner. The non-GAAP measures are supplemental measures of our performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP, and should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income or diluted EPS (as determined in accordance with GAAP) as a measure of our operating results.

We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate segment performance, develop strategy, and allocate resources. We utilize the Adjusted EBITDA metric to provide a more accurate measure of our core operating results and enable management and investors to evaluate and compare from period to period our operating performance in a meaningful and consistent manner. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to operating income as an indicator of performance, as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity, or as an alternative to any other measure provided in accordance with GAAP. Our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA may be different from the calculation used by other companies and, therefore, comparability may be limited.

Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS exclude discontinued operations net income or loss; net income or loss attributable to noncontrolling interests; transaction expense, which includes acquisition and disposition related charges, as well as legal, accounting, and other deal-related expense; pre-opening expense; and certain other gains, charges, recoveries, and expenses.

Adjusted EBITDA includes our portion of EBITDA from our equity investments and the portion of EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interests.

Adjusted EBITDA excludes:

• Transaction expense, net, which includes:

  • Acquisition, disposition, and property sale related charges; and

  • Other transaction expense, including legal, accounting, and other deal-related expense;

• Stock-based compensation expense;

• Rivers Des Plaines' impact on our investments in unconsolidated affiliates from legal reserves and transaction costs;

• Asset impairments, net;

• Gain on property sales;

• Legal reserves;

• Pre-opening expense; and

• Other charges, recoveries, and expenses

For segment reporting, Adjusted EBITDA includes intercompany revenue and expense totals that are eliminated in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. See the Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA included herewith for additional information.

About Churchill Downs Incorporated

Churchill Downs Incorporated ("CDI") (Nasdaq: CHDN) has created extraordinary entertainment experiences for over 150 years, beginning with the Company's most iconic and enduring asset, the Kentucky Derby. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, CDI has expanded through the acquisition, development, and operation of live and historical racing entertainment venues, the growth of the online wagering businesses, and the acquisition, development, and operation of regional casino gaming properties. https://www.churchilldownsincorporated.com/

This news release contains various "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "predict," "project," "seek," "should," "will," "scheduled," and similar words or similar expressions (or negative versions of such words or expressions), although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include the following: the occurrence of extraordinary events, such as terrorist attacks, public health threats, civil unrest, and inclement weather, including as a result of climate change; the effect of economic conditions on our consumers' confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit, including the impact of inflation; changes in, or new interpretations of, applicable tax laws or rulings that could result in additional tax liabilities; the impact of any pandemics, epidemics, or outbreaks of infectious diseases, and related economic matters on our results of operations, financial conditions, and prospects; lack of confidence in the integrity of our core businesses or any deterioration in our reputation; negative shifts in public opinion regarding gambling that could result in increased regulation of, or new restrictions on, the gaming industry; loss of key or highly skilled personnel, as well as general disruptions in the general labor market; the impact of significant competition, and the expectation that competition levels will increase; changes in consumer preferences, attendance, wagering, and sponsorships; risks associated with equity investments, strategic alliances and other third-party agreements; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; concentration and evolution of slot machine and historical racing machine ("HRM") manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; failure to enter into or maintain agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; cybersecurity risk, including cybersecurity breaches, loss or misuse of our confidential information as a result of a breach including customers' personal information, or IT system operational disruptions, could lead to government enforcement actions or other litigation; costs of compliance with increasingly complex laws and regulations regarding data privacy and protection of personal information; reliance on our technology services and catastrophic events, system failures, errors or defects disrupting our operations; inability to identify, complete, or fully realize the benefits of our proposed acquisitions, divestitures, development of new venues or the expansion of existing facilities on time, on budget, or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; cost overruns and other uncertainties associated with the development of new venues and the expansion of existing facilities; general risks related to real estate ownership and significant expenditures, including risks related to environmental liabilities; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or other similar laws and regulations, or applicable anti-money laundering regulations; payment-related risks, such as risk associated with fraudulent credit card or debit card use; work stoppages and labor problems; risks related to pending or future legal proceedings and other actions; highly regulated operations and changes in the regulatory environment could adversely affect our business; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; failure to comply with the financial ratios and other covenants in our debt facilities and other indebtedness; increases to interest rates, disruption in the credit markets or changes to our credit ratings may adversely affect our business; increase in our insurance costs, or inability to obtain similar insurance coverage in the future, and any inability to recover under our insurance policies for damages sustained at our properties in the event of inclement weather and casualty events; whether the objective of a strategic alternative review process will be achieved; the terms, structure, benefits and costs of any strategic transaction; the timing of any strategic transaction and whether any strategic transaction will be consummated on the terms proposed or at all; the risk that the announcement or exploration of strategic alternatives could have an adverse effect on our ability to retain key personnel and maintain relationships with partners, suppliers, employees, shareholders and other business relationships; the risk of any unexpected costs or expenses resulting from the exploration of strategic alternatives; the risk of any litigation relating to the exploration of strategic alternatives or any strategic transaction; and other factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.