Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas stood by a Hold rating and a low price target for Bally’s Corp. in a May 27 investor note. His projected price for the stock remained at $13 per share.
In his report, Jonas observed that Bally’s missed revenue forecasts for the first quarter, especially in the Casinos & Resorts division. Although the company didn’t hold an earnings call, Jonas reported that management “has not seen any impact from elevated gas prices thus far and expects growth for the remainder of 2026 in C&R.”
He also noted that no construction updates were given for Bally’s megaresort projects in Chicago, New York City, and Las Vegas. The Truist analyst raised concerns regarding Bally’s business strategy.
Bally’s reported $756 million net revenue and $179 million in cash flow. Jonas remarked that the $96 million earned by Casinos & Resorts was 12 percent below his forecast. Bally’s online cash flow and revenue from Intralot were $15 million and $87 million, respectively, below Jonas’s projections of $29 million and $92 million. North American interactive cash flow was negative $7 million, again more adverse than had been modeled.
The Casinos & Resorts division of Bally’s grew two percent to $380 million. Jonas credited “strong growth” at the company’s Illinois casinos, as well as in Marquette, Iowa, and Baton Rouge, where its operations moved ashore in December 2025. Marquette also went land-based in February of this year, ceasing riverboat operations.
Bally’s management cited competition in Shreveport and Dover, Delaware, to account for the cash-flow miss. However, it stated that Bally’s casinos “grew at a higher rate than competitors in relevant markets.”
Executives also remarked that Bally’s “hasn’t seen a pronounced impact thus far from rising gas prices and continues to see a dynamic of resilience at the high end and softness at the low end.” It expected improved cash-flow performance throughout the balance of 2026.
The United Kingdom was a bastion of strength for Intralot, with revenue climbing 10.5 percent in the quarter, as player volumes grew. Execs said, “Revenue growth outpaced competitors, given reduced marketing spend as a result of the UK tax increase announcement.”
North American online activity, per Jonas, was briefly positive in the final quarter of 2025 but returned to negative terrain. He said the positive return on investment may have been short-lived, but he perceived improvement. The $7 million negative ROI was an incremental gain, while online revenues leapt 36 percent to $62 million.
In other Bally’s news, Evoke has extended the company’s window for making a takeover offer through June 8. “Today, Intralot management acknowledged that the company is actively pursuing this opportunity and expects to have more color in the next few days,” Jonas added.
Bally’s remained committed to a 2030 opening of the $4 billion Bally’s Bronx and topped out $2 billion Bally’s Chicago in April. Bally’s ended the first quarter with $4.4 billion in long-term debt and $654 million cash on hand.
