GLPI Lifts AFFO Guidance as Revenue Growth Accelerates to 9%
Gaming and Leisure Properties raised its full-year AFFO outlook after quarterly revenue growth accelerated to 9.0%, the fastest pace in three quarters.
Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI) reported second-quarter revenue of $430.5 million, up 9.0% from a year earlier, and raised its full-year adjusted funds from operations guidance for the second consecutive quarter. The casino-property real estate investment trust said AFFO grew 10.1% to $304.0 million in the period.
The growth rate has been building each quarter this year. Revenue rose 6.3% in the first quarter and 4.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024, while AFFO growth climbed from 7.5% to 9.2% to 10.1% over the same stretch. Adjusted EBITDA followed the same pattern, rising 12.2% to $405.5 million from $393.0 million in the first quarter and $379.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Net income rose to $234.9 million, or $0.80 a diluted share, from $156.2 million, or $0.54 a share, a year earlier. That figure slipped from $239.4 million, or $0.82 a share, in the first quarter, a sequential move driven largely by the provision for credit losses. GLPI recorded a $2.98 million provision expense in the quarter, down sharply from $53.7 million a year earlier, and for the first six months of 2025 the company posted a $7.2 million net benefit compared with a $93.0 million expense in the same period last year.
General and administrative expense fell to $13.2 million from $15.9 million, and stock-based compensation dropped to $4.6 million from $6.2 million, contributing to the wider margin expansion behind the EBITDA gains.
GLPI completed its $225 million Hollywood Casino Aurora development commitment in the quarter, funding a final $216.3 million on June 24 after the project remained in progress as of the first-quarter release. The company also raised its 2025 total development spending guidance to a range of $750 million to $800 million, layering in an incremental $400 million to $450 million of second-half funding after investing $191 million in tenant developments during the quarter. The portfolio is held in 21 states, unchanged since GLPI entered Virginia in the first quarter.
GLPI funded the growth pipeline with a $351.0 million equity raise through the settlement of a forward sale agreement, issuing 7,589,487 shares on June 1, alongside an $800 million senior notes offering priced in March at a 5.625% coupon. Cash and equivalents rose to $319.0 million from $224.3 million at year-end 2024, and total assets grew to $14.16 billion from $12.91 billion as real estate investments increased to $9.56 billion from $8.47 billion. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA stood at 4.8 times as of June 30, below the company's 5.0-to-5.5-times target range, a position it has held since year-end 2024.
The company also disclosed a second amendment to its Hard Rock Casino Rockford loan, under which the borrower repaid $16.0 million of principal, the maturity was extended to December 31, 2029, and GLPI gained an option to acquire the building improvements.
GLPI raised its full-year 2025 AFFO guidance midpoint to a range of $4.10 to $4.12 a share from a prior range of $4.08 to $4.12, the second straight quarterly increase.
The board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.82 a share, a 5.1% increase from $0.78, following an identical raise declared for the first quarter. The dividend yield expanded to 7.4% at quarter-end from 7.03% in the first quarter and 6.98% at the end of 2024.