CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Accel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: ACEL), a leading locals-focused gaming operator partnering with small businesses, local communities, and state governments to provide entertaining, convenient, and safe gaming experiences nationwide, today announced financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2025.
Highlights:
Record revenue of $341.4 million for Q4 ’25; an increase of 7.5% compared to Q4 ’24
Ended Q4 ’25 with 4,501 locations; an increase of 2.2% compared to Q4 ’24
Ended Q4 ’25 with 27,950 gaming terminals; an increase of 2.9% compared to Q4 ’24
Record revenues of $1.3 billion for YE 2025; an increase of 8.1% compared to YE 2024
Net income of $16.2 million for Q4 ’25; an increase of 91.7% compared to Q4 ’24, partially attributable to a gain of $0.6 million on the change in the fair value of the contingent earnout shares (Accel Class A-2 common stock) compared to a loss of $2.9 million in the prior period
Net income of $51.3 million for YE 2025; an increase of 45.3% compared to YE 2024
Diluted earnings per share of $0.60 for YE 2025, an increase of 46% compared to $0.41 in YE 2024
Record Adjusted EBITDA of $56.3 million for Q4 ’25; an increase of 18.9% compared to Q4 ’24
Record Adjusted EBITDA of $210.1 million for YE 2025; an increase of 11.1% compared to YE 2024
Cash and cash equivalents of $296.6 million and net debt of approximately $311 million at December 31, 2025
Repurchased 1.5 million shares of Accel Class A-1 common stock in Q4 ’25 for approximately $16.2 million
Completed new $900.0 million credit facility in September 2025, extending maturities to 2030, lowering cost of capital and further enhancing growth capital flexibility
First full year of racing operations and almost nine months of casino operations at Fairmount Park Casino & Racing
Accel CEO, Andy Rubenstein, commented, “Accel delivered a strong finish to 2025, highlighted by 7.5% revenue growth and an 18.9% increase in Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter. For the full year, we generated record revenue of $1.3 billion and $210 million in Adjusted EBITDA, reflecting the growth and resilience of our distributed gaming model combined with our disciplined capital deployment. We ended the year supporting more than 4,500 locations and nearly 28,000 gaming terminals, underscoring the scale and durability of our platform.
“In Illinois and Montana, we continue to optimize our footprint and machine base, driving steady hold-per-day improvement and margin expansion. The Illinois rollout of ticket-in, ticket-out technology is progressing as planned and is expected to enhance player convenience and operational efficiency over time. We are excited by the potential to bring our distributed gaming and local entertainment model to the city of Chicago following public announcements regarding the possible introduction of Video Gaming Terminals in licensed locations. We believe we are well positioned to leverage our strong balance sheet, existing fixed operating infrastructure, route management capabilities, and fixed asset base to capitalize on opportunities in a Chicago Video Gaming Terminals market, and we continue to monitor developments as we establish our strategies for maximizing returns from this possible opportunity.
“Across our developing markets, we are seeing meaningful scale and momentum. Nevada terminal count increased 13% year-over-year, supported by recent strategic accretive route expansions, while Louisiana revenue increased approximately 75% compared to the prior year as we execute on our bolt-on acquisition strategy. Nebraska and Georgia also delivered strong growth, demonstrating the continued expansion and increased leverage of our operating platform. At Fairmount Park Casino & Racing, we completed our first full year of operations and continue to see steady customer engagement as the property ramps.
“With the completion of our previously-announced $900 million credit facility, we strengthened our balance sheet, extended maturities to 2030, and enhanced our growth capital flexibility. Reflecting our commitment to shareholder returns and our view that Accel shares remain undervalued, during 2025, we repurchased approximately 3.7 million shares of our common stock, including 1.5 million shares in the fourth quarter.
“Looking ahead, we remain focused on driving steady organic growth, capturing efficiencies at scale, executing accretive tuck-in opportunities, and delivering strong free cash flow. We believe our scalable platform and disciplined capital deployment position us to convert earnings into cash while investing in high-return growth opportunities and returning capital to shareholders.”
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Other Data
Net Revenues
Gross Margin Percentage
Key Business Metrics
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Data
Non-GAAP Financial Information
This press release includes certain financial information not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States (“GAAP”), including Adjusted EBITDA and Net debt. Adjusted EBITDA and Net debt are non-GAAP financial measures and are key metrics that Accel’s management uses to monitor ongoing core operations. Accel’s management believes Adjusted EBITDA and Net debt enhance the understanding of Accel’s underlying drivers of profitability and trends in Accel’s business and facilitates company-to-company and period-to-period comparisons because these non-GAAP financial measures exclude the effects of certain non-cash items or nonrecurring items that are unrelated to core operating performance. Accel’s management also believes that these non-GAAP financial measures are used by investors, analysts and other interested parties as measures of Accel’s financial performance and to evaluate Accel’s ability to fund capital expenditures, service debt obligations and meet working capital requirements. The non-GAAP financial measures presented in this press release should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP that are also presented in this press release. These measures are not substitutes for their comparable GAAP financial measures and there are limitations to using non-GAAP financial measures. For example, the non-GAAP financial measures presented in this press release may differ from similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures presented by other companies, and other companies may not define these non-GAAP financial measures the same way as Accel does.
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income plus:
Amortization of intangible assets and route and customer acquisition costs
Stock-based compensation expense
Loss from unconsolidated affiliates
(Gain) loss on change in fair value of contingent earnout shares
Gain on expiration of warrants
Other expenses, net which consists of (i) non-cash expenses including the remeasurement of contingent consideration liabilities, (ii) non-recurring lobbying and legal expenses related to distributed gaming expansion in current or prospective markets, and (iii) other non-recurring expenses
Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment
Interest expense, net
Emerging markets, which reflects the results, on an Adjusted EBITDA basis, for non-core jurisdictions where our operations are developing
Markets are no longer considered emerging when we have installed or acquired at least 500 gaming terminals in the jurisdiction, or when 24 months have elapsed from the date we first install or acquire gaming terminals in the jurisdiction, whichever occurs first.
Prior to June 2025, Pennsylvania was considered an emerging market.
Prior to January 2024, Iowa was considered an emerging market.
As of June 2025, we no longer have any emerging markets.
Income tax expense
Loss on debt extinguishment
Net debt is defined as debt, net of current maturities:
plus Current maturities of debt
less Cash and cash equivalents
Reconciliation of Net income to Adjusted EBITDA
Reconciliation of Debt, net of current maturities to Net debt
Conference Call
Accel will host a conference call and webcast at 5:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM CT today to review the results. Interested parties may join the live webcast by registering at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/820426147. Registering in advance of the call will provide listeners with a personalized link to view the webcast and an individual dial-in for the call. This registration link to the live webcast, as well as a replay following the call, will also be available on Accel’s investor relations website: ir.accelentertainment.com.
About Accel
Accel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: ACEL) is a growing provider of locals-focused gaming and one of the largest terminal operators in the United States, supporting nearly 28,000 electronic gaming terminals in over 4,500 third-party local and regional establishments and 20 self-operated gaming locations across ten states. Through exclusive long-term contracts, Accel serves licensed non-casino locations including bars, restaurants, convenience stores, truck stops, gaming cafes, and fraternal and veteran establishments. Accel also owns and operates a racino venue.
Accel provides its local partners with a turnkey, full-service, capital-efficient gaming solution that encompasses manufacturing, content, payments, loyalty, 24/7 customer service, data analysis and reporting, and cash logistics. The Company’s racino, Fairmount Park – Casino & Racing, opened in April 2025 and features approximately 260 electronic gaming machines, food and beverage amenities, a sports book, pari-mutuel betting, and approximately 57 racing days planned for 2026.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, any statements regarding our ability to continue to drive steady organic growth, capture efficiencies at scale, execute accretive tuck-in opportunities, and deliver strong cash flow, estimates of number of gaming terminals, locations, revenues, and Adjusted EBITDA, the opportunities in distributed gaming and local entertainment within the broader gaming market, including in the city of Chicago, our ability to roll out new technology to enhance player convenience and operational efficiency over time, and our expansion into casino operations and horse racing, including at Fairmount. The words “predict,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “will,” “would,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements represent our current reasonable beliefs, expectations and assumptions and involve inherent risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance and achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: Accel’s ability to operate in existing markets and to expand into new jurisdictions; Accel’s ability to introduce new and appealing products and services amid uncertain market demand and regulatory outcomes; Accel’s ability to maintain or improve its competitive advantages in a highly competitive industry; Accel’s dependence on with a concentrated network of key manufacturers, developers and third party providers for gaming terminals, amusement machines, and related software, content and technologies; Accel’s heavy dependency on its ability to win, maintain and renew contracts with location partners; Accel’s expansion into casino operations and horse racing; decreased discretionary consumer spending due to broader macroeconomic and socio-political conditions; geographical concentration of Accel’s business, which heightens exposure to local or regional conditions; strict government regulations that are constantly evolving and may be amended, repealed, or subject to new interpretations, which may limit existing operations, have an adverse impact on Accel’s ability to grow or may expose Accel to fines or other penalties; Accel’s dependence on the security, integrity and regulatory compliance of products, services and systems offered, which, if breached or disrupted, could expose Accel to liability; Accel’s dependence on the protection of trademarks and other intellectual property; opponents’ efforts to curtail the expansion of legalized gaming; and other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in documents filed or to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) including those described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (the “Form 10-K”).
Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We are under no obligation to, and expressly disclaim any obligation to, publicly update or alter any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Industry and Market Data
Unless otherwise indicated, information contained in this press release concerning our industry and the markets in which we operate, including our general expectations and market position, market opportunity, and market size, is based on information from various sources, on assumptions that we have made that are based on those data and other similar sources, and on our knowledge of the markets for our services. This information includes a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such information. In addition, projections, assumptions, and estimates of our future performance and the future performance of the industry in which we operate are necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in the Form 10-K, as well as Accel’s other filings with the SEC. These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates made by third parties and by us.
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