Vici defends $2bn share-buyback authorisation amid stock concerns

Vici Properties has authorised its first share buyback, a $2bn programme, the company said during its third-quarter earnings call. Chief executive Ed Pitoniak said shareholders had raised concerns about the company's share performance during 2026, and he discussed the buyback alongside the company's growth prospects and its Caesars lease.

Pitoniak said shareholders raised three points of contention: recent negativity around net-lease-based stocks driven by pessimism over consumer spending, Vici's ability to generate accretive growth, and uncertainty over the fate of its master lease over Caesars Entertainment's regional casinos. On the first, he said Vici would aim to keep indebtedness at no more than five times cash flow, against a current burden of 4.8 times, and would take a conservative approach to general and administrative expenses. On the second, he said Vici had not lost access to capital.

According to chief financial officer David Kieske, loan repayments to Vici and free cash flow would be the main funding sources for the buybacks, while asset sales ranked third. A later restatement on the call put it this way: "asset sales were not preferred to cash flow or loan recoupment as a capital source". Pressed on whether loans might be sold, Kieske pointed to the Hard Rock Ottawa notes as a precedent and said everything was liquid.

Chief operating officer John Payne said Vici was continuing to diversify, citing four new tenants acquired in 2026, bringing the real estate investment trust's total to 17. He said Vici was in continuous dialogue with gaming and other experiential real estate owners, adding that it would be patient, selective and disciplined. Payne said consumers were still showing up, particularly in Las Vegas and regional casinos, with gaming industry revenue up 6% in 2026.

Turning to the Caesars lease, Pitoniak said the period after the Caesars buyout would give Vici room to map out every option on the regional lease. Two core questions frame the decision, in his account: whether to "fix" the lease or sell it, and he also floated a possible third, compromise path. Amid "market chatter", he went on, the company has to restate its ownership position, and he characterised its holdings as "real assets within which significant economic activity is produced."

Chief accounting officer Gabe Wasserman told the call that the Fontainebleau Las Vegas loan was nearing an extension test, and he anticipated recovering the loan and putting the funds to work elsewhere. Asked about a joint venture that could hold some leases, Pitoniak answered that distribution income does not command much value in the public markets. Payne explained that new tenants such as Club Med were picked for "our ability to grow with them", with further deals hinging on the cost of capital.