Sectors: Gaming
Yesterday saw Light & Wonder surge as much as 10%, its biggest intraday gain since early May, after reassuring investors on both earnings and growth – these gains were maintained in US trade overnight. The catalyst for the gains was management reaffirming FY26 guidance for mid-to-high single-digit earnings (AEBITDA) growth, while reiterating plans to reduce leverage below 3x net debt/EBITDA in the first half of FY27 and confirming US$180m remains under its share buyback program.
Light & Wonder (LNW) director Jamie Odell sold approximately $2.7 million worth of shares last month, just two days after the company’s AGM. Odell has now sold on at least two occasions over the past 12 months, having also disclosed a sale in August 2025 during the stock’s previous drawdown.
Hi James and Team
Can I have your current view on ALL & LNW.
Over the last fortnight Aristocrat has improved by about 12% while Light & Wonder has dropped by around 18%. MMatters hold LNW in your portfolio. What outlook do you have on these 2 stocks? I hold both ALL & LNW -I’m actually breakeven in ALL at the moment and 16% down in LNW – Is this consumer discretionary sector one to be in at the moment? Would you continue to hold ALL or redirect these funds into another sector of the market? Do you still prefer LNW to ALL?
regards
Debbie
ALL +13.28%: delivered a good 1H result, with earnings and margins ahead of expectations despite revenue coming in slightly light. The key positive was continued market share gains in Gaming alongside another major increase to the buyback program.
LNW -8.34% was hit today, down as much as 12.5% at the lows after delivering a mixed March-quarter update, with revenue and earnings missing expectations, though margins held up better than feared and management reiterated confidence in the FY26 growth profile.
Aristocrat does not report in this cycle (March yearend) however they provided a trading update at their AGM which was void of an upgrade, which many in the market were expecting, triggering a sharp pullback in the share price. Guidance was more heavily weighted to the second half, a similar story to ING, while ongoing investment in Interactive weighed on near-term earnings expectations.
Hi James and team,
Finalisation (and full admission of guilt) of copyright imfringement with Aristocrat. Even parking the view that management have effectively acknowledged questionable ethics to defend illegal activity, how in heck does the market increase the share price by 15%?
Sure, uncertainty hanging over their business now resolved – but goodness – they have to pay close to 6 months of profits to settle and then have their ongoing business crimped by withdrawing two key products.
Am I missing something or is this reflective of dumb market sentiment?
Not urgent.
david
This ETF aims to track a diversified portfolio of global video-gaming and esports companies – anyone with children or grandchildren will understand how this area is booming – not always a good thing! Gaming has become a major global entertainment and digital-culture sector, with 3.6 billion ‘gamers’’ in 2025 driving revenue more than $250bn.
