Earnings

Gaming and Leisure Properties Lifts 2026 AFFO Guidance Midpoint

The Tip Desk · July 31, 2026 · 4 min read

Second-quarter revenue reached $430.5 million and the company now forecasts AFFO of $4.10 to $4.12 a share for 2026.

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI), the gaming real estate owner, posted a second consecutive quarterly raise to its 2026 AFFO outlook after year-over-year growth in revenue, AFFO and Adjusted EBITDA all accelerated from the first quarter.

Total revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2026, was $430.5 million, up 9.0% from $394.9 million a year earlier. That pace picked up from 6.3% growth in the first quarter and 4.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025. Sequential revenue was $420.0 million in the March quarter.

AFFO was $304.0 million, or $1.03 a share, up 10.1% from $276.1 million, or $0.96 a share, a year earlier, after 9.2% growth in the first quarter and 7.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025. Adjusted EBITDA was $405.5 million, up 12.2% from $361.5 million a year earlier, versus 9.1% growth in the first quarter. Net income was $234.9 million, or $0.80 a share, compared with $156.2 million, or $0.54 a share, a year earlier. Income from operations was $332.4 million.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter Carlino said the results marked another period of record revenue, AFFO and Adjusted EBITDA, and that 2026 growth had been driven by multiple development projects, investments in tenant facility upgrades, and executed sale-leaseback transactions. He said same-store operator results showed healthy year-over-year gains through the midpoint of the calendar year, following a strong second quarter for the regional gaming sector.

The company raised the midpoint of its 2026 AFFO per share guidance to a range of $4.10 to $4.12, or $1.219 billion to $1.225 billion, from prior guidance of $4.08 to $4.12, or $1.212 billion to $1.223 billion. The first-quarter update had already lifted the low end to $4.08. The updated range incorporates additional development fundings of about $400 million to $450 million, which the company said will be funded relatively evenly by quarter through the remainder of 2026, bringing total 2026 development spending to $750 million to $800 million. The guidance excludes any possible future acquisitions, dispositions, capital markets activity or other unannounced non-recurring transactions.

In the second quarter, the company invested $191 million in tenant developments and completed the $225 million funding commitment for PENN Entertainment’s Hollywood Casino Aurora land-based conversion, including a June 24 funding of $216.3 million at a 7.75% capitalization rate. Carlino said GLPI anticipates additional development funding of approximately $400 million to $450 million in the second half of 2026. He said that activity, coupled with future funding plans, will continue to drive AFFO per share growth through 2027 and into 2028.

The board declared a second-quarter dividend of $0.82 a share, a 5.1% increase from $0.78, lifting the annualized dividend to $3.28 from $3.12. The annualized dividend implied a yield of 7.4% as of June 30, 2026.

Rental income was $366.2 million. Income from investment in leases and financing receivables was $52.9 million. Interest income from real estate loans was $7.624 million, versus $3.661 million a year earlier. The provision for credit losses, net, was $2.980 million, compared with a $53.728 million provision a year earlier. General and administrative expense was $13.245 million.

As of June 30, 2026, the portfolio consisted of interests in 71 gaming and related facilities across 21 states, including 34 facilities operated by PENN, 6 by Caesars Entertainment, 4 by Boyd Gaming, 16 by Bally’s Corporation, 3 by Cordish, 4 by Strategic Gaming Management, 1 managed by a subsidiary of Hard Rock International, 1 operated by American Racing & Entertainment, and 2 facilities under development, one with Bally’s in Chicago and the other for Cordish and Bruce Smith Enterprise in Petersburg, Virginia.

Cash and cash equivalents were $319.0 million. Long-term debt, net of unamortized costs, premiums and discounts, was $8.08 billion. Leverage stood at 4.8 times net debt to adjusted EBITDA, below the low end of the company’s 5.0 times to 5.5 times target range. Carlino said the company expects to remain at or near the low end of that range as it executes its announced pipeline.

On January 15, 2026, GLPI entered into a development agreement with Cordish to fund up to $440 million of construction costs for Live! Virginia Casino & Hotel and acquired the project land for $27 million, a $467 million commitment at an 8.0% cap rate. On February 11, it exercised its option to acquire the real property assets of Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort for $700 million and additional annual rent of $56.0 million, an 8.0% cap rate. On June 1, it settled a forward sale, issuing 7,589,487 shares and raising net proceeds of $351.0 million. On March 4, it issued $800 million of senior notes due March 1, 2036, at a 5.625% coupon, using the proceeds to repay term-loan borrowings and for working capital.

More on GLPI

September 28, 2026 QBook Stronger demand supports expansion as pricing diverges

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc. — all coverage and financials