Global industry supplier Light & Wonder reported Thursday a 2% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue to US$774 million, driven by strength in the gaming and iGaming segments and representing a 16th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth. Adjusted EBITDA also rose by 11% year-on-year to US$311 million.
However, consolidated revenue was down 3% compared with the December 2024 quarter and Adjusted EBITDA down 1% to US$311 million.
Despite this, as well as concerns over the impact of US tariffs on the company’s supply chains, Light & Wonder said it remains confident it can achieve it’s a annualized EBITDA target of US$1.4 billion by the end of this year.
The company’s 1Q25 results highlighted a 4% year-on-year increase in gaming revenue to US$495 million with growth across all lines of business, including 9% growth in table products and 5% growth in both gaming systems and gaming operations, it said.
This growth, Light & Wonder added, was fueled by the success of its diversified portfolio of game franchises and gaming solutions and was particularly evident in North America and Australia.
The iGaming segment also saw revenue increase by 4% to US$77 million on continued momentum in the US and expansion of the company’s partner network, however social gaming segment SciPlay saw revenue fall by 2% to US$202 million.
Light & Wonder’s results announcement included an update on two key issues, namely the impact of litigation brought by rival Aristocrat in relation to alleged IP infringement and the impact of recent trade tariffs.
On the litigation linked to the company’s Dragon Train and Jewel of the Dragon series, Light & Wonder revealed that external experts had now completed a review of all Hold & Spin games released since 2015 to determine whether any presented issues with respect to Aristocrat math values similar to those identified with the two titles. No evidence was found that Aristocrat math values were used in any of these games, it explained.
On tariffs, the company acknowledged that it currently sources a portion of its raw materials and components for its gaming business from China and across Asia.
“We have evaluated various mitigation strategies, including but not limited to supplier diversification, adjusting supply chain operations, supplier pricing negotiations and cost control initiatives, among other measures,” Light & Wonder stated. “Over the past several quarters, through margin enhancement initiatives, we have successfully executed meaningful operational efficiencies. While we expect recent tariffs and trade policies to create incremental cost pressures in the near term, our realized and ongoing operational efficiency initiatives coupled with other measures are expected to mitigate these effects.
“We remain on track to deliver our 2025 Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA target of US$1.4 billion.”
Commenting on the Q1 results, Light & Wonder’s President and CEO Matt Wilson said, “Our R&D investment, vast array of product offerings and comprehensive content strategy continue to deliver success in game deployment and franchise expansions. We continue to see our omni-channel strategy prosper with enhanced game development and performance fueling our existing businesses, and further opportunity to extend this strategy with the pending Grover Charitable Gaming acquisition.
“We remain confident in the various avenues of growth that we see for 2025 with continued execution on our robust product roadmap driving performance across the business. We are committed to executing off the strong foundation of world class talent and game portfolio that we have built for long-term success.”
