CHDN vs MLCO vs PENN Stock Comparison

Churchill Downs, Melco Resorts & Entertainment and PENN Entertainment Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CHDN Churchill Downs Inc
$81.52 +2.2% 1M -20.9% 1Y
Market cap
$5.77B
P/E
13.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.99B
Div. yield
–
Casinos Consumer Discretionary
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Churchill Downs leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Churchill Downs 4, Melco Resorts & Entertainment 4, PENN Entertainment 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCHDNMLCOPENNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.77B $1.47B $1.98B CHDN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.9x 6.3x -2.2x MLCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.6x 10.7x 17.7x MLCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.7% +5.2% +6.1% PENN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.8% 5.0% -12.7% CHDN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.4% 231.9% -11.9% MLCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.8x -2.9x -18.9x PENN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -20.9% -55.6% -17.8% PENN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.3%/yr -19.6%/yr -27.3%/yr CHDN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 34.3% 39.4% 52.4% CHDN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 85/100 51/100 MLCO

Percentile Scorecard

CHDNMLCOPENN

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCHDNMLCOPENN
Valuation 63 #17 of 44 100 #1 of 44 61 #18 of 44
Growth 69 #14 of 43 91 #5 of 43 26 #32 of 43
Profitability 83 #8 of 41 88 #6 of 41 28 #30 of 41
Financial Health 20 #38 of 47 61 #19 of 47 46 #26 of 47
Shareholder Returns 21 #23 of 29 – 93 #3 of 29
Overall 51 85 51
  • CHDN ranked among 48 companies in Gaming and Leisure
  • MLCO ranked among 48 companies in Gaming and Leisure
  • PENN ranked among 48 companies in Gaming and Leisure

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCHDNMLCOPENNSPY
1 month +2.2%-20.7%-5.2% -0.2%
3 months -8.6%-33.5%-29.6% +3.9%
6 months -18.1%-32.4%-17.6% +8.2%
Year to date -28.4%-50.5%+0.5% +12.9%
1 year -20.9%-55.6%-17.8% +12.3%
3 years -24.9%-55.3%-19.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year -9.1%-23.6%-7.0% +23.3%
5 years -31.6%-66.3%-79.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year -7.3%-19.6%-27.3% +10.9%
10 years +256.3%-77.9%+13.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year +13.6%-14.0%+1.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCHDNMLCOPENNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 34.3%39.4%52.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.5%46.9%46.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.490.671.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.61-1.41-0.34 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.4%-74.1%-84.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -30.7%-60.1%-32.8% -1.2%
52-week high $117.59$9.39$22.06 $779.14
52-week low $73.95$3.73$11.76 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCHDNMLCOPENN
P/E now vs peer median 13.8xmedian 17.0x 6.4xmedian 17.0x -2.2xmedian 17.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.9x 0.3xmedian 1.9x 0.3xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.8xmedian 10.8x 7.1xmedian 10.8x -38.8xmedian 10.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.0xmedian 11.2x 3.0xmedian 11.2x 20.7xmedian 11.2x
P/B now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 2.4x 173.9xmedian 2.4x 1.1xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.65median 0.56 0.19median 0.56 0.04median 0.56

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCHDNMLCOPENN
Revenue $2.99B $4.69B $7.16B
Gross profit $1.02B $4.54B $2.47B
Operating income $721.50M $477.81M -$565.10M
Net income $415.70M $196.16M -$908.20M
Free cash flow $567.90M $506.29M $96.10M
R&D – $4.78M –
EPS (diluted) $5.91 $0.59 $-6.61
Cash & equivalents $196.00M $454.26M $887.20M
Total debt $4.77B $14.51M $2.77B
Shares (diluted) 70.00M 400.63M 137.10M
Enterprise value $4.99B -$1.46B -$960.47M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCHDNMLCOPENN
P/E 13.8x 6.4x -2.2x
P/FCF 10.0x 3.0x 20.7x
P/Operating cash flow 7.1x 1.9x 3.1x
P/S 1.9x 0.3x 0.3x
P/B 4.2x 173.9x 1.1x
P/Tangible book -4.8x -8.7x 4.2x
EV/EBITDA 10.8x 7.1x -38.8x
EV/EBIT 14.2x 2.3x -6.9x
EV/Revenue 3.4x 0.2x 0.5x
EV/FCF 18.1x 2.1x 40.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.9x 1.4x 6.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.65 0.19 0.04

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCHDNMLCOPENN
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.7% 5.2% 6.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.9% 35.8% 3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.0% 5.4% 25.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 35.9% -2.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.0% 24.6% -504.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 19.7% 53.5% -39.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -4.1% 914.5% -1,067%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 32.2% -47.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -1.0% 347.7% -1,203%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 34.2% -51.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1.0% 3.7% 30.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.3% 84.2% -5.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 54.7% -3.5% 168.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 160.6% 38.1% -42.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCHDNMLCOPENN
Gross margin 34.2% 96.6% 34.6%
EBITDA margin 31.8% 3.3% -1.4%
Operating margin 24.1% 10.2% -7.9%
Pretax margin 19.6% 4.0% -12.9%
Net margin 13.8% 5.0% -12.7%
FCF margin 19.0% 10.8% 1.3%
Operating cash flow margin 26.6% 16.9% 9.1%
Return on equity 34.1% 1,233% -49.3%
Return on assets 5.5% 3.2% -6.4%
Return on invested capital 8.4% 231.9% -11.9%
Return on capital employed 11.7% 9.4% -4.5%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 4.0x -0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% – 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCHDNMLCOPENN
Debt / assets 63.5% 0.2% 19.7%
Debt / equity 3.6x 1.7x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.8x -2.9x -18.9x
Debt / FCF 8.4x 0.0x 28.9x
Liabilities / assets 82.2% 99.9% 86.8%
Equity / assets 17.8% 0.1% 13.2%
Interest coverage 2.5x 1.4x –
Current ratio 0.4x 1.0x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.2x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.5x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 1.37 0.72 0.31

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCHDNMLCOPENN
Dividend yield 0.5% – –
Net buyback yield 1.5% – 12.0%
Shareholder yield 2.1% 0.0% 12.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCHDNMLCOPENN
Forward P/E 11.6xFY2026 10.7xFY2026 17.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.03FY2026 $0.35FY2026 $0.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.7%FY2026 -23.9%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after -3.0% +57.1% +85.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.17BFY2026 $5.39BFY2026 $7.14BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.2%FY2026 +4.4%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.4% -8.0% +1.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCHDNMLCOPENN
Held by institutions 85.5% 25.7% 100.0%
Institutions holding 462 165 379
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.5% -6.1% +1.5%
Institutions buying 239 84 196
Institutions selling 146 49 109
Buyers to sellers 1.64 1.71 1.80

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CHDNMLCOPENN
CHDN 1.00 0.21 0.46
MLCO 0.21 1.00 0.20
PENN 0.46 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CHDN, MLCO and PENN?

Churchill Downs (CHDN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Churchill Downs (CHDN) $5.77B, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) $1.47B, PENN Entertainment (PENN) $1.98B.

Which stock is cheaper, CHDN, MLCO and PENN?

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Churchill Downs (CHDN) 13.9x, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) 6.3x, PENN Entertainment (PENN) -2.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) is cheapest (Churchill Downs (CHDN) 11.6x, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) 10.7x, PENN Entertainment (PENN) 17.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

PENN Entertainment (PENN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Churchill Downs (CHDN) +5.7%, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) +5.2%, PENN Entertainment (PENN) +6.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Churchill Downs (CHDN) has the highest net margin (Churchill Downs (CHDN) 13.8%, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) 5.0%, PENN Entertainment (PENN) -12.7%). On return on invested capital, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) leads (Churchill Downs (CHDN) 8.4%, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) 231.9%, PENN Entertainment (PENN) -11.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year PENN Entertainment (PENN) returned the most: Churchill Downs (CHDN) -20.9%, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) -55.6%, PENN Entertainment (PENN) -17.8%. Over five years, Churchill Downs (CHDN) compounded fastest (Churchill Downs (CHDN) -7.3%/yr, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) -19.6%/yr, PENN Entertainment (PENN) -27.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Churchill Downs (CHDN) has been the steadiest (Churchill Downs (CHDN) 34.3%, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) 39.4%, PENN Entertainment (PENN) 52.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CHDN, MLCO and PENN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Churchill Downs (CHDN) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.