A record revenue line and a near-doubling of headline net income pushed Accel Entertainment's (ACEL +2.38%) stock to a double-digit gain on Wednesday. On the back of the company's estimates-beating fourth quarter, investors eagerly snapped up its shares, and they closed the trading session 18% higher in price.
A game winner
Accel is a distributed gaming operator, i.e. it specializes in the installation and operation of casino games. It reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results just after market close on Tuesday. Both periods featured new all-time revenue highs for the company. For the quarter, the top line expanded by almost 8% year-over-year to more than $341 million. The average analyst estimate for the metric was under $336 million.
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Net income under generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP) rose more precipitously, advancing by almost 92% to $16.2 million. The company's per-share earnings were $0.19, beating the consensus pundit projection of $0.15.
Accel management chalked up the increases to "the growth and resilience of our distributed
gaming model combined with our disciplined capital deployment."
NYSE: ACEL
Key Data Points
Large footprint
Scale was a factor too; Accel didn't hesitate to point out that its products are now live in over 4,500 locations, comprising almost 28,000 gaming terminals.
Investors willing to gamble on gambling-related stocks -- which are always subject to travel industry trends and overall economic health -- should consider this rather sideways play on the sector. Those who aren't so bullish on such titles might be better served with other investments.
