What Happened:
Shares of slot machine and terminal operator Accel Entertainment (NYSE:ACEL) jumped 8.3% in the morning session after the company reported fourth-quarter results that blew past analysts' EPS expectations. Revenue and adjusted EBITDA also outperformed Wall Street's estimates. No financial guidance was given in the earnings release, so it is hard to tell the company's outlook for near-term financial performance. However, the company continued to expand to new locations and grow the number of gaming terminals, highlighting the opportunity to expand the business. This is promising as the terminals in Illinois and Nevada continued to outperform following the acquisition of Century. Overall, we think this was a really good quarter that should please shareholders.
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What is the market telling us:
Accel Entertainment's shares are not very volatile than the market average and over the last year have had only 4 moves greater than 5%. In context of that, today's move is indicating the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
Accel Entertainment is up 9.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $11.30 per share it is trading close to its 52-week high of $12.01 from August 2023. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Accel Entertainment's shares at the IPO in November 2019 would now be looking at an investment worth $1,030.
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