Posted on: April 3, 2024, 03:36h.
Last updated on: April 3, 2024, 03:36h.
Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT), the parent of FanDuel, is looking to move its primary share listing to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) by the end of 2024 in a bid to attract more retail investors.
The news surfaced barely more than two months after the Dublin-based gaming company debuted on the NYSE, scrapping its EURONEXT listing along the way. For now, Flutter’s primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), which is one of the largest bourses in Europe. The gaming company is also a member of the widely followed FTSE 100 Index.
Shares of Flutter are up 11.84% year-to-date, but have traded slightly lower since the Jan. 29 NYSE debut with those declines attributable to the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report, which signaled weakness in some markets outside the US.
The gaming company intends to ask shareholders at its annual meeting on May to approve the primary listing to the NYSE from the LSE. With a current market capitalization of $34.49 billion, Flutter is the second-largest gaming firm trading in the US behind only Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS).
Why Flutter Primary Listing in New York Matters
Flutter pursuing a primary listing in New York is the latest blow to the LSE. UK-based semiconductor maker Arm Holdings made a similar decision last year. Brexit could be one reason for that trend.
Brexit has played a part as well. The European financial centers of London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Paris are much more likely to view each other as rivals since the UK withdrew from the European Union. The US tends to benefit when overseas exchanges compete rather than collaborate with each other,” noted Craig Clay, president of DFIN Solutions.
Another reason foreign companies such as Flutter pursue primary listings in the US is that those moves open the door to potential inclusion in widely observed US equity benchmarks, such as the S&P 500. Based on market cap and profitability metrics, Flutter would be eligible for inclusion in some marquee domestic equity indexes should it shift its primary listing to New York.
That could be a motivating factor in jettisoning the primary listing in London because active and passive fund managers that benchmark to US gauges in which Flutter could be included would be forced to buy shares of the stock if it’s added to those indexes.
Flutter’s Increasing US Footprint
While Flutter is an international company, FanDuel is readily associated with the US sports wagering industry, which is growing faster than other parts of the world. Coming off 2023, which was FanDuel’s first full year as a profitable entity, Flutter told investors its US business could generate core profits of $635 million to $785 million this year, up from $167 million in 2023.
FanDuel is Flutter’s biggest brand by revenue and is the biggest online sports wagering operator in the US. It controls 43% of the market compared to 36% for rival DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG).
Another possible advantage of shifting the primary listing to the US is that Flutter could receive more attention from retail investors – a group of market participants that have embraced online gaming equities.
