Let's be real for a second. If you’ve been holding penn national gaming inc stock (now known officially as PENN Entertainment) over the last couple of years, you’ve probably felt like you’re riding a roller coaster that only goes down. It’s been rough. We are talking about a stock that was once the darling of the "Barstool era," flying high on hype and stimulus checks, only to find itself hovering around the $14 mark as of mid-January 2026.
Yesterday, January 13, 2026, the stock closed at roughly $13.84. That’s a far cry from the glory days. But here is the thing: the narrative is shifting. The noise isn't just about gambling anymore; it’s about a massive, messy, and potentially brilliant corporate pivot that most people are completely misreading.
The ESPN BET Breakup Was a Shock, But Was It a Mistake?
The biggest bombshell recently was the early termination of the ESPN BET partnership. It was supposed to be a ten-year marriage. Instead, it lasted about two. In November 2025, PENN and ESPN mutually agreed to pull the plug, effective December 1, 2025.
Basically, PENN realized that paying $150 million a year to Disney just for the privilege of using a name wasn’t hitting the "podium position" they wanted. They were spending a fortune and still lagging behind DraftKings and FanDuel.
Now, PENN is betting the house on theScore Bet.
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If you're in Canada, you know theScore is legendary. PENN owns it. By rebranding their US operations to theScore Bet—which launched in Missouri just last month—they are trying to prove they can build a "sticky" ecosystem without paying massive licensing fees to media giants. Some analysts think this is a desperate retreat. Others, like the folks at Macquarie who have maintained a bullish outlook, see it as a necessary move to protect margins. Honestly, it’s a gutsy call.
The Numbers Nobody Wants to Talk About
Looking at the Q3 2025 results, the headline looked ugly. A net loss of $865.1 million. Ouch.
But you have to look under the hood. Most of that loss was tied to the digital strategy shift and non-cash charges. Their retail property segment (the actual brick-and-mortar casinos) is actually doing okay. They pulled in $1.4 billion in revenue from their physical locations alone last quarter.
People forget that PENN isn't just an app on your phone. They own or managed 43 properties in 20 states. These are the "cash cows" that fund the digital experiments. In places like Ohio and Illinois, their regional casinos are consistently hitting their marks.
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- P/S Ratio: Currently around 0.29x.
- Industry Average: Typically closer to 1.6x.
- The Disconnect: The market is pricing PENN like it’s going out of business, while the actual revenue is still in the billions.
Simply Wall St recently ran a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggesting the "intrinsic value" could be as high as $58. If that’s even half right, $14 is a steal. But—and this is a big "but"—that value only unlocks if Jay Snowden and his team can stop the bleeding in the interactive segment.
The 2026 Restructuring
On January 5, 2026, PENN announced a new corporate organizational structure. This isn't just moving desks around. They are trying to squeeze every bit of "operational efficiency" out of the company to maximize free cash flow.
They are basically admitting: "The wild spending era is over."
Investors are cautious. The technicals look a bit shaky in the short term, with some analysts flagging "sell" signals because the stock is trading below its 20-day and 50-day moving averages. It’s a classic battle between the "value" crowd who sees a bargain and the "momentum" crowd who sees a falling knife.
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What’s Actually Next?
The next big date is February 26, 2026. That is when PENN reports its Q4 2025 earnings.
This will be the first real look at how the transition from ESPN BET to theScore Bet is actually going. If they show even a tiny bit of improvement in user retention or a narrowing loss in the digital segment, the stock could snap back. If they miss again? Well, that $13.24 52-week low might start looking like a ceiling instead of a floor.
The Actionable Reality:
If you are looking at penn national gaming inc stock right now, you aren't buying a tech company. You’re buying a massive regional casino operator with a "lottery ticket" digital business attached to it.
- Watch the Missouri Data: Missouri is the test kitchen for the newly rebranded theScore Bet in the US. If they can’t gain traction there, the digital dream is in trouble.
- Monitor the Insider Buying: Over the last year, 14 different insiders have been buying shares. Usually, when the people running the company are reaching into their own pockets to buy the stock at $14, they think the market is wrong.
- Hedge Your Bets: This is a high-volatility play. Until they prove they can turn a profit in the interactive space without the ESPN crutch, the stock will likely remain a battleground.
Stop looking at the five-year chart; it will only make you sad. Start looking at the cash flow from the regional casinos and whether theScore Bet can actually convert the 2.9 million users PENN says they've acquired. That’s the real story.