Why Accel Entertainment (ACEL) Shares Are Trading Lower Today

What Happened?

Shares of slot machine and terminal operator Accel Entertainment (NYSE:ACEL) fell 17.3% in the afternoon session after the company reported second-quarter results that showed a significant drop in profit and missed Wall Street's expectations. While the company posted record quarterly revenue of $335.9 million, an 8.6% increase from the prior year, its net income plummeted. Profits fell by over 50% to $7.3 million. This resulted in earnings per share of $0.08, which was less than half of the $0.17 reported in the same quarter last year and well below analysts' forecasts. The company attributed the sharp decline in net income primarily to a loss related to the changing value of contingent earnout shares, a form of common stock, which contrasted with a gain from the same item in the previous year.

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What Is The Market Telling Us

Accel Entertainment’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 4 moves greater than 5% over the last year. Moves this big are rare for Accel Entertainment and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.

Accel Entertainment is down 1.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $10.38 per share, it is trading 20.1% below its 52-week high of $12.99 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Accel Entertainment’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,127.

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