MLCO vs PENN vs CHDN Stock Comparison

Melco Resorts & Entertainment, PENN Entertainment and Churchill Downs Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CHDN Churchill Downs Inc
$81.52 +2.2% 1M -20.9% 1Y
Market cap
$5.68B
P/E
13.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.99B
Div. yield
0.54%
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.

QuestionMLCOPENNCHDNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.53B $1.99B $5.68B CHDN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 6.4x -2.2x 13.8x MLCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.7x 17.7x 11.6x MLCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.2% +6.1% +5.7% PENN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.0% -12.7% 13.8% CHDN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 231.9% -11.9% 8.4% MLCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.9x -18.9x 4.8x PENN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.54% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -55.6% -17.8% -20.9% PENN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -19.6%/yr -27.3%/yr -7.3%/yr CHDN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 39.4% 52.4% 34.3% CHDN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 85/100 51/100 51/100 MLCO

Percentile Scorecard

MLCOPENNCHDN

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

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

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

Risk

MeasureMLCOPENNCHDNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 39.4%52.4%34.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 46.9%46.6%34.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.671.040.49 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.41-0.34-0.61 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -74.1%-84.3%-50.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -60.1%-32.8%-30.7% -1.2%
52-week high $9.39$22.06$117.59 $779.14
52-week low $3.73$11.76$73.95 $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.

MultipleMLCOPENNCHDN
P/E now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 17.0x -2.2xmedian 17.0x 13.8xmedian 17.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 1.9x 0.3xmedian 1.9x 1.9xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.1xmedian 10.8x -38.8xmedian 10.8x 10.8xmedian 10.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 3.0xmedian 11.2x 20.7xmedian 11.2x 10.0xmedian 11.2x
P/B now vs peer median 173.9xmedian 2.4x 1.1xmedian 2.4x 4.2xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.19median 0.56 0.04median 0.56 1.65median 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 monthsMLCOPENNCHDN
Revenue $4.69B $7.16B $2.99B
Gross profit $4.54B $2.47B $1.02B
Operating income $477.81M -$565.10M $721.50M
Net income $196.16M -$908.20M $415.70M
Free cash flow $506.29M $96.10M $567.90M
R&D $4.78M – –
EPS (diluted) $0.59 $-6.61 $5.91
Cash & equivalents $454.26M $887.20M $196.00M
Total debt $14.51M $2.77B $4.77B
Shares (diluted) 400.63M 137.10M 70.00M
Enterprise value -$1.10B -$961.19M $4.95B

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

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMLCOPENNCHDN
Dividend yield – – 0.5%
Net buyback yield – 12.0% 1.5%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 12.0% 2.1%
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.

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

Institutional Ownership

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

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.

MLCOPENNCHDN
MLCO 1.00 0.20 0.21
PENN 0.20 1.00 0.46
CHDN 0.21 0.46 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MLCO, PENN and CHDN?

Churchill Downs (CHDN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) $1.53B, PENN Entertainment (PENN) $1.99B, Churchill Downs (CHDN) $5.68B.

Which stock is cheaper, MLCO, PENN and CHDN?

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) 6.4x, PENN Entertainment (PENN) -2.2x, Churchill Downs (CHDN) 13.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) is cheapest (Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) 10.7x, PENN Entertainment (PENN) 17.7x, Churchill Downs (CHDN) 11.6x). 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: Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) +5.2%, PENN Entertainment (PENN) +6.1%, Churchill Downs (CHDN) +5.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

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

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) 0.00%, PENN Entertainment (PENN) 0.00%, Churchill Downs (CHDN) 0.54%. Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) and PENN Entertainment (PENN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

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

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

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.