Playtech shares surged on Thursday after it lifted its 2026 profit forecast on booming US and Latin American growth.
Shares in Playtech (LSE:PTEC) jumped sharply on Thursday after the gambling technology group forecast full-year profit well above analysts’ expectations, driven by rapid growth in the United States and Latin America. The update marks a sharp turnaround for a stock that hit a 52-week low less than a year ago.
Shares were trading at 371p by mid-morning in London, up 15.9% on the day. The stock had earlier surged as much as 19% to 375.60p by 0750 GMT, according to Reuters. Even after paring some of the advance, shares remain well below the roughly 428p peak reached in April 2026, but far above the 210p low touched in October 2025.
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Playtech said first-half adjusted EBITDA, a measure of core profit, is expected to exceed 155 million euros, up 70% year-on-year, with full-year adjusted EBITDA now guided to at least 270 million euros, comfortably above the company-compiled analyst consensus of 219 million euros, according to Reuters. Growth was led by Playtech’s partnership with Hard Rock Digital in the US, which the company said had become “one of its largest customers,” alongside continued momentum in Mexico, Colombia and parts of Europe, according to InterGame Online. Chief executive Mor Weizer said performance in the US had been “exceptionally strong,” adding the group was “delighted to see returns on our investments over recent years accelerate and contribute significantly to profitability and cash flow.”
Thursday’s update is the third time in six months that Playtech has raised or beaten profit expectations: it flagged in February that 2025 earnings would beat consensus, then confirmed in March that full-year adjusted EBITDA had come in around a fifth ahead of forecasts, according to Investing.com.
The upgrade caps a turbulent period for Playtech. Shares fell to their 52-week low in October 2025 as the group adjusted to life after selling its Snaitech and HappyBet businesses and amending its Caliente joint venture in Mexico, a shift that initially weighed on revenue amid tighter UK affordability checks. Playtech has since leaned further into deals such as its partnership with Hard Rock Digital, while absorbing a rise in UK Remote Gaming Duty to 40% from April 2026 and preparing a new partnership in Brazil that management said would support growth into 2027.
Playtech’s latest update flagged that second-half adjusted EBITDA is expected to be lower than the first half, as revenue from Hard Rock Digital settles at a “lower, more sustainable level” and the business absorbs the full impact of the higher gambling duty.
Playtech will report interim results for the six months to 30 June on 10 September 2026, when it is expected to give more detail on the Brazil partnership and the trajectory of its Hard Rock Digital relationship. With guidance already raised once this year, attention now turns to whether September’s results confirm the momentum or show how quickly the Hard Rock windfall is fading.