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What happened
Shares of regional gaming company Pinnacle Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ: PNK) jumped 10.3% in August, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after both earnings and a buyback got investors' attention.
So what
Second quarter revenue fell 2.7% to $566.2 million and consolidated adjusted EBITDA rose 4.5% to $63.0 million, showing cost controls are driving results. Financials are a bit murky given the recent REIT sale, so investors don't quite know where to set expectations right now.
What did grab attention in August was news that the company's Board of Directors approved a new $50 million share buyback program after completing a $50 million buyback program in July.
Now what
The U.S. regional gaming market is starting to stabilize, and that's given Pinnacle Entertainment some stability and allowed cost cuts to offset a small decline in revenue. But investors shouldn't lose sight of the fact that revenue is still declining. The gaming market is built to leverage growth on the top line, and now that Pinnacle has sold its real estate it has more leverage than ever in the business. That could offset some of the gains from the buyback, which was really why investors got excited about shares last month.
