Churchill Downs Incorporated Reports 2026 Third Quarter Results

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Churchill Downs Incorporated (Nasdaq: CHDN) (the "Company," "CDI," "we") today reported business results for the quarter ended September 30, 2026.

Company Highlights

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

Third quarter 2026 revenue increased $10 million due to an $11 million increase from our Kentucky HRM venues and a $1 million increase from Churchill Downs Racetrack, partially offset by a $1 million decrease from our Virginia HRM venues and a $1 million decrease from our New Hampshire venues. The Kentucky HRM increase was due to a $7 million increase from our Southwestern Kentucky venues, a $2 million increase from our Northern Kentucky venues, a $1 million increase from our Western Kentucky venues, and a $1 million increase from our Louisville venues. The Virginia HRM decrease was due to a $6 million net decrease from our Central Virginia venues primarily from increased competition, partially offset by a $4 million net increase from our Northern Virginia venues and a $1 million increase at our Western Virginia venue. The New Hampshire decrease was due to the closure of our temporary Casino Salem venue during the construction of our new Rockingham Grand Casino venue.

Third quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA decreased $5 million due to a $6 million decrease from our Virginia HRM venues, a $4 million decrease due to a one-time business interruption insurance recovery received in the prior year quarter for our Northern Virginia venue, and a $1 million decrease at our New Hampshire venues, partially offset by a $6 million increase from our Kentucky HRM venues. The Virginia HRM decrease was primarily due to a $10 million decrease from our Central Virginia venues that was partially offset by a $3 million increase from our Northern Virginia venue and a $1 million net increase from our Western Virginia and Southern Virginia venues. The decrease from our Central Virginia venues was primarily due to increased competition and a $5 million new tax expense related to live race days under the new racing and HRM tax structure that became effective July 1, 2026. Our Virginia HRM venues continue to benefit from a statewide HRM handle tax reduction that became effective July 1, 2025 as part of this new tax structure. The New Hampshire decrease was due to the closure of our temporary Casino Salem venue during the construction of our Rockingham Grand Casino venue. The Kentucky HRM increase was due to a $3 million increase from our Southwestern Kentucky venues, a $2 million increase from our Northern Kentucky venues, and a $1 million increase from our Louisville venues.

Wagering Services and Solutions

Third quarter 2026 revenue decreased $1 million due to a decrease from our sports betting business.

Third quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA increased $2 million primarily due to an increase in our Horse Racing business.

Gaming

Third quarter 2026 revenue increased $7 million primarily due to increases from our wholly-owned New York, Pennsylvania, and Maine properties.

Third quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA increased $5 million. Our equity investments increased $3 million from strong performance at Rivers Des Plaines in Illinois and Miami Valley Gaming in Ohio. Our wholly-owned gaming properties increased $2 million primarily from our New York property.

All Other

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

Third quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA is consistent with the prior year.

United Tote Acquisition

On August 3, 2026, the Company closed on its previously announced acquisition of 49% of United Tote Company from NYRA Content Management Solutions, LLC, a subsidiary of NYRA. Concurrent with this transaction, NYRA has agreed to extend its tote services agreement with United Tote through 2035.

Credit Agreement

On September 25, 2026, the Company closed the eighth amendment to its senior secured credit facility (the "Credit Agreement") to (i) extend the maturity date of its Revolver and Term Loan A from July 2029 to September 2031, (ii) eliminate the 10 basis points credit spread adjustment previously applicable, and (iii) amend certain other provisions of the Credit Agreement.

The Company also entered into the $500 million 2033 TLB under its Credit Agreement. The 2033 TLB was issued at 99.875% of the principal amount and has a maturity date of September 25, 2033. The 2033 TLB bears interest at SOFR plus 175 basis points. The Company used a portion of the net proceeds from the 2033 TLB to repay indebtedness outstanding under its 2028 TLB, repay indebtedness outstanding under its 2031 Revolver, to fund related transaction fees and expenses, and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

On October 19, 2026, the Company redeemed the 2027 Senior Notes with borrowings from the 2031 Revolver.

Annual Dividend

On October 27, 2026, the Company's Board of Directors declared an annual cash dividend on the Company's common stock of $0.469 per outstanding share, a seven percent increase over the prior year. The dividend is payable on January 5, 2027, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 4, 2026, with the aggregate cash dividend to be paid to each shareholder rounded to the nearest whole cent. This will be the sixteenth consecutive year that the Company has increased the dividend per share.

Share Repurchase Program

The Company repurchased 570,169 shares of its common stock at a total cost of $48 million in the third quarter of 2026. We had approximately $382 million of repurchase authority remaining under the July 2025 Stock Repurchase Program as of September 30, 2026.

On October 27, 2026, the Company's Board of Directors approved a new common stock repurchase program of up to $750 million (the "October 2026 Stock Repurchase Program"). The October 2026 Stock Repurchase Program includes and is not in addition to the $306 million remaining under the July 2025 Stock Repurchase Program as of the close of trading on October 27, 2026.

The Company's third quarter 2026 net income attributable to CDI was $80 million compared to $38 million in the prior year quarter.

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

This was offset by:

Excluding the items above, third quarter 2026 adjusted net income attributable to CDI increased $9 million primarily due to the following:

Conference Call

A conference call regarding this news release is scheduled for Thursday, October 29, 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 https://ir.churchilldownsincorporated.com/events-presentations, 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, October 29, 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 U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("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 are 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:

For segment reporting, Adjusted EBITDA includes intercompany revenue and expense totals that are eliminated in the Condensed 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, Churchill Downs Racetrack, the home of the Kentucky Derby and premier races of the Thoroughbred Championship Series. 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. 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 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 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.

Contact: Sam Ullrich

(502) 638-3906

Sam.Ullrich@kyderby.com