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Accel Entertainment, Inc.: Q3 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q3 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 3 November 2026: press release. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Revenue and net income rose: Revenue was $364 million, up 10% from Q3 2025. Net income was $21 million, up 55%. Diluted EPS was $0.25 against $0.16. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA grew faster than revenue: Adjusted EBITDA was $57.5 million, up from $51.2 million. Management linked the faster growth to operating leverage in the business model. Source
  • Illinois excluding Fairmount grew 7%: Illinois revenue excluding Fairmount Park rose about 7% year over year, and hold-per-day rose about 9%. Source
  • Gross margin edged higher: Total gross margin was 31.38% against 31.32% a year earlier. The margin on other state splits, revenues and fees was 28.10% against 27.86%. Source
  • Free cash flow of $62 million: Operating cash flow was $79 million and free cash flow was $62 million in the quarter. Free cash flow conversion was 107.8% of Adjusted EBITDA. Source
  • Repurchased 624,000 shares in Q3: The company bought back about 624,000 Class A-1 shares for $7.2 million in Q3 2026, up from about 500,000 shares for $5.6 million in Q2. Source
  • Chicago rollout has started: Management said the Chicago rollout began with receipt of the first licenses, and Chicago is named as a growth focus. Source
  • Senior leadership build-out completed: Management said it recently completed the build-out of its senior leadership team to pursue growth in Chicago and Fairmount. Source

“We delivered another period of double-digit revenue growth in the third quarter”

Accel CEO Mark Phelan

What changed from last quarter

  • New: Chief executive role changed: the Q2 release said Andy Rubenstein was preparing to move from CEO to Chairman; the Q3 release names Mark Phelan as CEO.
  • New: Chicago and Wyoming were classified as emerging markets from July 2026. The Q2 release said no markets were emerging after June 2025. Source
  • Ended: The Q2 release defined and reported net leverage, about 1.4 times. The Q3 release lists no net leverage measure among its non-GAAP metrics.
  • New: The Q3 release adds adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share as non-GAAP measures. The Q2 release did not present them. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Revenue and net income rose: Revenue was $364 million, up 10% from Q3 2025. Net income was $21 million, up 55%. Diluted EPS was $0.25 against $0.16. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA grew faster than revenue: Adjusted EBITDA was $57.5 million, up from $51.2 million. Management linked the faster growth to operating leverage in the business model. Source
  • Earnout gain lifted net income: Net income included a $6 million gain on the fair value change of contingent earnout shares, which the release says is $3.6 million above the Q3 2025 gain. Source
  • Adjusted EPS rose to $0.22: Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.22 against $0.19. Weighted average diluted shares fell to 83.4 million from 86.1 million. Source

Segments and regions

  • Illinois excluding Fairmount grew 7%: Illinois revenue excluding Fairmount Park rose about 7% year over year, and hold-per-day rose about 9%. Source
  • Nevada revenue rose: Nevada revenue was $32.9 million, against $26.2 million a year earlier. Source
  • Nebraska, Georgia and Louisiana revenue rose: Louisiana revenue was $11.3 million, Georgia $7.2 million and Nebraska $12.1 million, each above its Q3 2025 level. Source
  • Montana revenue was flat: Montana revenue was $41.1 million, against $40.5 million, and included $0.9 million of manufacturing revenue. Source

“which provides us with significant flexibility to invest organically, pursue disciplined acquisitions and return capital to shareholders when we believe doing so represents an effective use of capital.”

Accel CEO Mark Phelan

Locations, machines and hold-per-day

  • Illinois locations fell, Nevada rose: Illinois locations fell by 43 to 2,685. Montana added 6 locations and Nevada added 183, to 553. Source
  • Nevada hold-per-day fell: Nevada hold-per-day was $613 against $734 a year earlier, down 16.5%. Nebraska hold-per-day rose 31.9% to $405. Source
  • Louisiana and Georgia hold-per-day rose: Louisiana hold-per-day rose 15.1% to $1,125, and Georgia rose 24.7% to $182. Source

Costs, margins and pricing

  • Gross margin edged higher: Total gross margin was 31.38% against 31.32% a year earlier. The margin on other state splits, revenues and fees was 28.10% against 27.86%. Source
  • G&A and cost of revenue rose: General and administrative expense was $61.0 million, up from $55.6 million. Cost of revenue was $249.0 million, up from $225.5 million. Source
  • Leadership transition costs excluded: Adjusted net income excluded one-time expenses for the senior leadership transition in 2026. Source

“We are very excited about Accel’s future and remain focused on executing initiatives that we believe can enhance long-term shareholder value.”

Accel CEO Mark Phelan

Cash, capital and shareholder returns

  • Free cash flow of $62 million: Operating cash flow was $79 million and free cash flow was $62 million in the quarter. Free cash flow conversion was 107.8% of Adjusted EBITDA. Source
  • Tax credit refund received in Q3: The company received the refund in Q3 on $18 million of federal tax credits bought in Q2 for $17 million. Source
  • Repurchased 624,000 shares in Q3: The company bought back about 624,000 Class A-1 shares for $7.2 million in Q3 2026, up from about 500,000 shares for $5.6 million in Q2. Source
  • Cash and net debt at quarter end: At September 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $294 million, total debt $566 million and net debt $272 million. Source
  • Capital spending fell year over year: Purchases of property and equipment were $18.7 million in Q3 and $52.7 million for nine months, against $73.8 million a year earlier. Source

Strategy, leadership and investment

  • Chicago rollout has started: Management said the Chicago rollout began with receipt of the first licenses, and Chicago is named as a growth focus. Source
  • Fairmount gaming revenue up 84%: Management cited significant momentum at Fairmount Park, where gaming revenue rose about 84% year over year. Source
  • Illinois portfolio pruned for productivity: Management said it is optimizing the Illinois portfolio by pruning lower-performing locations and directing resources to higher-performing ones. Source
  • Senior leadership build-out completed: Management said it recently completed the build-out of its senior leadership team to pursue growth in Chicago and Fairmount. Source

Coming up, as management said on 3 November 2026

  • Chicago and Fairmount development continues: Management said the Chicago rollout has begun and development of Fairmount continues. The release gives no dated milestone. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Total locations Source4,705
Electronic gaming machines Source29,548
Illinois locations Source2,685
Illinois hold-per-day (Q3) Source$957

Risks management discussed

  • Operational: Costs from theft, vandalism and destruction of electronic gaming machines were excluded from Adjusted net income. Source
  • Operational: Q3 included a $0.6 million loss on fixed-asset sales tied to asset rationalization. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Not stated: The Q2 release expected benefits from early TITO adoption to build over time. The Q3 release does not restate this.
  • Not stated: The Q2 release said the company remained committed to a permanent casino at the property. The Q3 release refers to continued development of Fairmount.

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.