Light & Wonder has “taken foot off the accelerator” over Australia listing plan

Light & Wonder CEO Matt Wilson has admitted plans to list its shares on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) have taken a backseat for the time being. 

In February of this year, the supplier revealed it was mulling over the prospect of either a sole ASX listing, or a dual listing.

Currently, the firm’s primary listing is on the Nasdaq, but it had hired two investment banks in Jarden and Goldman Sachs to put together a listing proposal. 

However, Wilson has suggested that momentum surrounding such a plan has slowed in recent weeks, with other topics such as President Donald Trump’s tariff war coming more into focus. 

Speaking to analysts in the aftermath of Light & Wonder’s Q1 2025 results release, Wilson explained: “In our Q4 [2024] call, we talked about exploring the avenues to accelerate the Australian listing. Our commitment was we’d go and engage with all stakeholders. 

“We’ve done that now, we’ve spoken with major shareholders and potential shareholders to get their perspective. I would say they are largely supportive of the idea of pushing the Australia listing, which is happening organically.” 

Wilson continued, detailing that while he is a big believer in the “efficacy” of the idea, any significant developments appear some way away. 

He added: “I would say given everything else that’s happening in the world, we know there’s a lot on investors’ minds, whether its the macro or tariffs or any number of things. 

“In times of uncertainty, it’s probably worth kind of taking the foot off the accelerator with this initiative for a period of time.  

“We’re still interested in continuing to push the agenda with the dual listing, that’s happening organically, but for the moment don’t expect a big announcement from us and a change of direction in terms of our strategy, just given all the uncertainty in the broader market.” 

Alongside Wilson’s assessment, Light & Wonder reported a 2% year-on-year (YoY) climb in revenue for Q1 2025, generating $774m, up from the $756m posted in the corresponding quarter last year. That topline figure marks a 16th consecutive quarter of YoY revenue growth. 

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA saw a more significant rise of 11% YoY, sitting at $311m, a rise driven by both retail and igaming revenue increases, as well as expanding margins across all business segments. 

Net income remained flat in the year’s opening quarter at $82m, with revenue and margin gains offset by higher restructuring costs and income tax expense, according to bosses. 

Breaking Light & Wonder’s revenue down by vertical, its gaming segment reported growth of 4% YoY, amassing $495m as a result of an improved performance in gaming systems and table products, both of which produced 5% and 9% growth YoY, respectively. 

Adjusted EBITDA for the arm also grew 9% YoY to sit at $254m, expanding its corresponding margin by two percentage points to 51% in the process. 

Light & Wonder’s igaming division followed a similar trajectory, posting a 4% YoY improvement, producing $77m in revenue, alongside adjusted EBITDA of $27m, representing an increase of 8% YoY. 

Management attributed the stronger showing within its igaming segment to a mix of “continued market expansion and content launches”. 

SciPlay revenue saw a marginal slump of 2% YoY to $202m, though the firm noted it continued to outpace the rest of the social casino market. 

The rate of player engagement remained strong, with average revenue per daily user (ARPDU) climbing 5% to a record total of $1.06. 

However, SciPlay’s monthly active users fell 5% to 550,000, though there was a 3% uptick in average monthly revenue per paying user, which totalled $116.96. 

Analysing the first three months ending 31 March, Wilson issued an optimistic look to the remainder of the year. 

“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.” 

The post Light & Wonder has “taken foot off the accelerator” over Australia listing plan first appeared on EGR Intel.

 CEO Matt Wilson notes that talk of becoming ASX-listed, or even dual-listed, have slowed with investors’ minds elsewhere amid global tariff disruption
The post Light & Wonder has “taken foot off the accelerator” over Australia listing plan first appeared on EGR Intel.