MGM Buying Back $2 Billion of Its Shares

The repurchase is the second in less than a year and signals the bright future the resort giant sees as it completes some $6 billion in new resort development, remodelings and rebrandings. When all is said and done the company expects to have $5 billion in cash flow to invest by 2020.

MGM Resorts International plans to buy back $2 billion of its shares.

Coming off the completion of a $1 billion repurchase announced last September, the new round of buy-backs equal about 10 percent of the company’s current market value. They come as the Las Vegas-based gaming giant is enjoying soaring profits from some $6 billion in investments in new and remodeled casinos and hotels in the U.S. and Macau, a cycle set for completion later this year with the opening of a $950 million resort in western Massachusetts.

MGM expects those projects to boost cash flows by as much as 39 percent to $3.9 billion by 2020 on revenues forecasted to hit $14.5 billion.

The company said it plans to spend about $2.1 billion in maintenance capex over the next three years, including upgrades to The Mirage and Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip, which will leave it with a projected total of $5 billion in free cash flow for share repurchases and dividends, debt reduction, acquisitions and expansion into new markets, notably Japan.

Recent Articles

History Playbook

On This Day In Sports History

On November 5, 1968, Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Denny McLain became the first American League player to win both the AL Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award in the same season, following a historic 31–6 campaign.

On This Day In Sports History

On November 4, 1928, high-stakes gambler and bootlegger Arnold Rothstein was fatally shot following a high-roller poker game in New York City. Best known for fixing the 1919 World Series, Rothstein’s legendary life and betting exploits inspired classic mob and casino lore, including characters in The Great Gatsby and Boardwalk Empire.