Churchill Downs Posts Record Q3, Launches New $750M Buyback and Raises Dividend 7%
CHDN sits 16% above its 52-week low of $73.085.
Summary
Churchill Downs reported record Q3 revenue of $696 million and net income of $80 million, and paired it with a new $750 million buyback, a 7% dividend increase and a $500 million Term Loan B refinancing.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · CHDN
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Record Q3 Revenue and Net Income
Net revenue rose 2% to a record $696 million, while net income attributable to CDI jumped to $80 million, or $1.15 per diluted share, from $38 million a year earlier; Adjusted EBITDA was a record $264 million, up 1%.
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New $750M Buyback Authorized
The board approved a $750 million repurchase program that includes, and is not in addition to, the $306 million remaining under the July 2025 program as of the close of trading on October 27, 2026. During Q3 the company bought back 570,169 shares for $48 million.
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Dividend Raised 7% to $0.469
The annual dividend rises to $0.469 per share, payable January 5, 2027 to shareholders of record December 4, 2026 — the sixteenth consecutive annual increase.
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Debt Termed Out to 2033
A new $500 million Term Loan B due 2033 was issued at 99.875% of principal at SOFR plus 175 basis points, and revolver and Term Loan A maturities were extended from July 2029 to September 2031. Net bank leverage was 3.8x at quarter end.
Analysis · CHDN · Trade & Services
Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA both set records, but growth of just 2% and 1% respectively means the quarter itself is steady rather than accelerating. The bigger story is capital return: a new $750 million repurchase authorization (which includes, not adds to, the $306 million left on the July 2025 program) plus a 7% dividend increase to $0.469 per share, the sixteenth consecutive annual raise. Management is also terming out debt, with a new $500 million Term Loan B due 2033 at SOFR plus 175 basis points and maturities pushed to 2031, lowering refinancing risk while net bank leverage sits at 3.8x. The soft spot is Virginia, where increased competition and a new live-racing tax cost the HRM segment $6 million of EBITDA.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Oct 29, 2026, 31% of the 1656 measured filings Wiseek scored 7 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.01%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
Measured one observation per ticker per day, after exclusions. Current figures: Filing Impact Tracker · open dataset
At the time of this filing, CHDN was trading at $84.55 on NASDAQ in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $5.7B. The 52-week trading range was $73.09 to $118.35. This filing was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10.