VICI Properties Authorizes $2 Billion Buyback and Raises AFFO Guidance

VICI Properties unveiled a share repurchase program of up to $2.0 billion and raised its full-year cash earnings forecast on Wednesday, even as a non-cash credit-loss charge cut its reported quarterly profit by more than half.

The casino and experiential real estate investment trust now expects 2026 adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, of $2.695 billion to $2.705 billion, or $2.47 to $2.48 a diluted share, according to its third-quarter earnings release filed with an 8-K on Wednesday.

A $2 billion buyback

The board authorized the repurchase program on Oct. 27, after the quarter ended. It runs through Sept. 30, 2029, and purchases may be made at management's discretion through open market buys, privately negotiated deals, 10b5-1 plans or other methods, the company said. The program does not obligate VICI to buy any particular amount of stock.

Cash earnings up, GAAP profit down

Total revenue rose 5.8% to $1.1 billion. AFFO attributable to common stockholders, the measure REITs use to gauge cash earnings, increased 7.5% to $685.2 million, or $0.62 a share, up 4.3% from $0.60.

Net income attributable to common stockholders fell 55.1% to $342.5 million, or $0.31 a share, from $762.0 million, or $0.71 a share. VICI said the decline was driven by a $478.2 million aggregate change in its CECL allowance, an accounting reserve for expected credit losses, compared with the year-earlier quarter.

"We grew our quarterly revenue by 5.8% and our AFFO per share by 4.3% year-over-year, once again demonstrating the flow-through efficiency of our business model," CEO Edward Pitoniak said in the release.

Refinancing done, new tenant coming

In August, VICI issued $1.75 billion of investment grade senior notes, split between $900 million of 5.400% notes due 2031 and $850 million of 5.750% notes due 2036. The proceeds were used to redeem the company's remaining 2026 maturities. Pitoniak said the deal carried an adjusted weighted average interest rate of 5.42% after hedges.

In September, VICI agreed to sign a new 20-year triple-net master lease with a subsidiary of Highfield Investment Group, which is buying the operations of Century Mile Racetrack and Century Downs Racetrack in Alberta from Century Casinos. The lease carries initial annual base rent of C$10.7 million, about US$7.5 million, with a matching reduction under the existing Century Casinos lease, so aggregate rent collected by VICI won't change. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027.

Balance sheet and dividend

VICI ended September with about $17.2 billion of total debt and roughly $2.5 billion of liquidity, including $270.3 million in cash and about $2.2 billion available under its revolving credit facility.

The company's quarterly dividend of $0.46 a share, declared in September, was 2.2% higher than a year earlier and marked its ninth consecutive annual increase.

Sources

1. VICI Properties Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 28, 2026 (accession 0001705696-26-000119)

This article is for informational and educational purposes only and is not investment advice. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

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