Light & Wonder Achieves Strong Q3 Revenue Growth Across Gaming, SciPlay, and iGaming Segments

Q3 Revenue Up 12% Driven by Gaming, SciPlay and iGaming

Light & Wonder’s Q3 2024 revenue was $817 million, up 12% from the same period last year. Gaming was the growth driver, with revenue up 15% to $537 million, driven by 38% growth in gaming machine sales and strong North America performance.

SciPlay, the social gaming segment, was up 5% to $206 million, due to high player engagement and monetization in social casino gaming. iGaming was up 6% to $74 million, driven by North America demand and new game launches.

Financials and Shareholder Returns

As part of its capital return strategy, Light & Wonder bought back around 400,000 shares in Q3 and returned $44 million to shareholders.

This is in line with the company’s $1 billion share repurchase program announced earlier this year.

Financial leverage also improved with the debt ratio decreasing to 2.9x from 3.1x and the company had $347 million in cash as of September 30, 2024.

Strategic Roadmap

CFO Oliver Chow said, “We stay highly convicted to our strategy and roadmap as we reaffirm our 2025 $1.4bn consolidated AEBITDA target and look to remain a compounder of growth for years to come.”

Legal Development on Dragon Train Product Line

In September, a U.S. District Court granted Aristocrat a preliminary injunction against Light & Wonder, preventing the sale and distribution of Light & Wonder’s Dragon Train games in North America.

Light & Wonder responded by using its broad game portfolio to replace almost all of the affected units with alternatives and achieved a 95% replacement rate by the end of the quarter.

Dragon Train was expected to be less than 5% of the $1.4bn EBITDA in 2025 and the company moved quickly to protect its growth plans.

Gaming Segment Performs Well

Gaming was up 15% to $537 million. Key drivers were 38% growth in global gaming machine sales and 7% growth in the North American installed base to 33,151 units.

New gaming cabinets like Cosmic and Kascada are also driving customer engagement.

SciPlay Success Through Player Engagement

SciPlay, the social gaming segment, was up 5% to $206 million. Social casino gaming and 12% from direct-to-consumer platforms were the growth drivers.

SciPlay’s active payer metrics and revenue per paying user were steady in Q3.

iGaming Grows with New Content and Market Demand

iGaming was up 6% to $74 million driven by North American market expansion and new content releases.

The segment processed $22.8 billion in wagers in the quarter. The revenue growth number excludes $3 million in license termination fees from the prior year.

Focus on Innovation and Cross-Platform

Earlier this year, Light & Wonder reported similar growth trends in Q2 driven by gaming machine sales and a growing North American installed base.

At recent gaming industry events like G2E in Las Vegas, Light & Wonder showcased its expanded portfolio and cross-platform strategy and commitment to innovation.

CEO Matt Wilson said: “We will continue to execute on our cross-platform strategy focused on innovative content and products as a leading global end-to-end gaming technology solutions provider. Our team is committed and engaged as we stay on course through the execution chapter of our journey to reach our target.”