GLPI Q3 AFFO Rises 10.5% To $311.7m As Execs Back Bally's
Gaming and Leisure Properties reported record third-quarter results on October 29, 2026 and raised the low end of its full-year AFFO guidance, while executives used the following day's call to defend their exposure to Bally's. The gaming landlord's largest development exposure is the Chicago casino covered in our report on Chicago aldermen and Bally's construction.
According to the company's results release, total revenue rose 9.5% to $435.4 million from $397.6 million a year earlier. Adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, climbed 10.5% to $311.7 million, and AFFO per diluted share rose 7.2% to $1.04. Adjusted EBITDA increased 13% to $413.9 million.
Net income fell to $213.8 million from $248.5 million, and funds from operations dropped to $275.9 million from $315.5 million. Chairman and chief executive Peter Carlino said the share price looks disconnected from fundamentals, pointing to a dividend yield of 8.6% on an annualised dividend of $3.28 per share.
Guidance Nudged Higher
GLPI now expects 2026 AFFO of between $1.222 billion and $1.225 billion, or $4.11 to $4.12 per diluted share and unit. The previous range was $1.219 billion to $1.225 billion, or $4.10 to $4.12.
The update includes roughly $265 million of additional development funding, which takes planned 2026 development spending to $800 million.
The company also said on October 27 that it signed agreements for a joint venture with Prologis to redevelop the former Hollywood Casino Joliet site in Illinois into a warehouse and distribution park of more than 3.8 million square feet. GLPI will contribute the land in three phases for a $61 million capital account credit and hold roughly 20% of the completed project.
Confidence In Bally's
On the call, covered by a Motley Fool transcript, analysts pressed management on Bally's after the operator added going concern language to its latest 10-Q. Executives said their view of the credit has not changed. Brandon Moore said the language was not a surprise and that Bally's holds assets that could be sold if needed to fund its projects.
Carlo Santarelli said GLPI's two large Bally's leases are covered 1.98 times and 2.13 times, well clear of any default trigger, and that Chicago is on track for a first-half 2027 opening. Bally's has slowed construction of the hotel, which could delay the full room count, but management said that does not change how it views the market. GLPI has committed $940 million to the Chicago project and had funded $640.7 million by September 30.
Moore added that funded dollars earn rent as they are spent, so a delay affects Bally's cash flow rather than GLPI's income. He said that if Bally's could not finish the project, several parties would be interested in a property so far advanced. Carlino noted that GLPI's other Bally's properties are performing well.
Portfolio And Leverage
GLPI's portfolio held interests in 71 gaming and related facilities at September 30, including 16 operated by Bally's. Management said nine of its 13 reported leases had rent coverage that was stable or higher than the previous quarter, and leverage stood at 4.8 times, below the company's 5 to 5.5 times target range.
Investors will watch Bally's financing and the Chicago opening date as the main tests of that confidence.
