Top executives of Light & Wonder are still confident they can hit their 2026 and 2028 financial targets. That’s according to Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas, who met with Light & Wonder management recently and reported back to investors in a September 2 note.
According to Light & Wonder execs, the competitive environment remains intense, but they have confidence in their upcoming products. They were also expecting gains in market share, as some smaller rivals were in transitional periods. Jonas was moved to reiterate his Buy rating on the stock, which trades on the Australian bourse.
Jonas called Light & Wonder’s Gaming Operations division the company’s “shining star,” coming off two full years of consecutive growth in its installed base of slot machines. He cited a 652-device increase in the second quarter of 2026.
Executives, he said, “noted that operators are continuing to gain comfort with the recurring-revenue model.” Jonas also looked forward to October’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas as a platform for new Light & Wonder games, which “could drive continued growth.”
Given that International Game Technology was midstream with going private, Jonas saw an opportunity for Light & Wonder and its arch rival, Aristocrat Leisure, to capture more market share. The three companies accounts for 70 percent of the slot market, according to the analyst. Execs also cited unnamed smaller companies as ripe targets for capturing share. They also said they had the capacity to take on further merger-and-acquisition activity.
The gap between Light & Wonder and Aristocrat, management believed, could be closed if the former can keep adding 500-plus machines to its North American installed base per quarter. Other goals include introducing as many as 150 Grover Gaming charitable-gambling machines to the market each quarter.
Disputed “skill games” in Pennsylvania and slot routes in Chicago were also seen as prime opportunities for Light & Wonder. Execs cited rival Accel Entertainment’s opinion that it is “a matter of months” before those markets open. “Timelines remain somewhat uncertain, given final approvals, though it appears 4Q26 may now be more likely than 1Q27,” Jonas wrote.
The analyst also noted that Light & Wonder already enjoyed a substantial presence in Illinois and had a “meaningful” one in the Keystone State. Were skill games to be legalized in Pennsylvania, it could present a benefit to Light & Wonder, he opined.
Light & Wonder’s capital-expenditure priorities were several and various. They included stock repurchases, debt reduction, and reinvestment in the product. Jonas noted that Light & Wonder had AU$180 million in dry powder, but that debt reduction was likelier a higher priority than more share buybacks at this time.
