As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q1. Today, we are looking at consumer discretionary - gaming solutions stocks, starting with Churchill Downs (NASDAQ: CHDN).

The Consumer Discretionary sector, by definition, is made up of companies selling non-essential goods and services. When economic conditions deteriorate or tastes shift, consumers can easily cut back or eliminate these purchases. For long-term investors with five-year holding periods, this creates a structural challenge: the sector is inherently hit-driven, with low switching costs and fickle customers. As a result, only a handful of companies can reliably grow demand and compound earnings over long periods, which is why our bar is high and High Quality ratings are rare. Gaming solutions companies provide the technology infrastructure behind gambling—slot machines, table game systems, lottery terminals, sports-betting platforms, and back-end software for casinos and online operators. Tailwinds include the ongoing legalization of sports betting across U.S. states and international markets, growing adoption of digital and mobile wagering, and casino operators' demand for data-driven player engagement tools. However, headwinds include stringent and evolving regulatory requirements across jurisdictions, high upfront R&D costs to develop next-generation platforms, and customer concentration risk given the limited number of large casino operators. Increasing competition from in-house technology development by major operators also pressures demand.

The 6 consumer discretionary - gaming solutions stocks we track reported a strong Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.9%.

Luckily, consumer discretionary - gaming solutions stocks have performed well with share prices up 11.7% on average since the latest earnings results.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ: CHDN)

Famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs (NASDAQ: CHDN) operates a horse racing, online wagering, and gaming entertainment business in the United States.

Churchill Downs reported revenues of $663 million, up 3.2% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, and overall, it was a satisfactory quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but a miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Even though it had a relatively good quarter, the market seems discontent with the results. The stock is down 2.2% since reporting and currently trades at $87.01.

Is now the time to buy Churchill Downs? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q1: Rush Street Interactive (NYSE: RSI)

Specializing in online casino gaming and sports betting, Rush Street Interactive (NYSE: RSI) is an operator of digital gaming platforms.

Rush Street Interactive reported revenues of $370.4 million, up 41.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 11.3%. The business had a stunning quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income and revenue estimates.

Rush Street Interactive scored the biggest analyst estimate beat, fastest revenue growth, and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 23.1% since reporting. It currently trades at $29.56.

Is now the time to buy Rush Street Interactive? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q1: PlayStudios (NASDAQ: MYPS)

Founded by a team of former gaming industry executives, PlayStudios (NASDAQ: MYPS) offers free-to-play digital casino games.

PlayStudios reported revenues of $58.41 million, down 6.9% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 9.4%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

PlayStudios delivered the slowest revenue growth in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 13.1% since the results and currently trades at $0.58.

Read our full analysis of PlayStudios’s results here.

Inspired (NASDAQ: INSE)

Specializing in digital casino gaming, Inspired (NASDAQ: INSE) is a provider of gaming hardware, virtual sports platforms, and server-based gaming systems.

Inspired reported revenues of $57.2 million, down 5.3% year on year. This result lagged analysts’ expectations by 5.8%. Taking a step back, it was still a strong quarter as it recorded a beat of analysts’ EPS and adjusted operating income estimates.

Inspired had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The stock is up 15.3% since reporting and currently trades at $8.31.

Read our full, actionable report on Inspired here, it’s free.

DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG)

Getting its start in daily fantasy sports, DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) is a digital sports entertainment and gaming company.

DraftKings reported revenues of $1.65 billion, up 16.8% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations. Taking a step back, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also produced a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates but full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations.

DraftKings had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The company reported 4.2 million users, down 2.3% year on year. The stock is up 15% since reporting and currently trades at $28.99.

Read our full, actionable report on DraftKings here, it’s free.

Market Update

Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand-wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?

These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our 9 Best Market-Beating Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.