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Year-over-year tone shift - average net-tone change across Risk Factors and MD&A vs the prior 10-K. This filing is -0.07pp more bearish than last year's.
Why YoY instead of absolute: the LM lexicon has ~6.6× more negative words than positive (legal/risk-disclosure language is heavy on hedging), so every 10-K reads bearish on raw tone. Year-over-year change strips that bias and surfaces the actual shift in management's framing.
Tone shift by section
The two components the gauge averages: how Risk Factors and MD&A each shifted in net tone versus last year's 10-K. The headline above is their average, so a green needle over a soft section just means the other section carried it.
Risk Factors
-0.15pp
Flat
Net-tone change vs last year's 10-K.
MD&A
+0.01pp
Flat
Net-tone change vs last year's 10-K.
Per-snippet highlights
Sentence-level sentiment highlighting with category and subcategory filters is coming once the snippet-scoring pipeline lands. For now, dig into the actual section text on the Sections tab.
Language change vs prior 10-K
Risk Factors (Item 1A) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase
Negative rising
cyberattacks+4
threat+2
disruption+2
vulnerabilities+2
incident+1
Positive rising
successful+1
adequately+1
Risk Factors (Item 1A)
11,293 words
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Risks Relating to Operating Our Business
We face substantial competition and expect that such competition will continue.
The gaming industry is highly competitive and competition is intense in most of the markets in which we operate. We compete with a variety of gaming operations, including land-based casinos, dockside casinos, riverboat casinos, casinos located on racing tracks, casinos located on Native American reservations and other forms of legalized gaming such as video gaming terminals at bars, restaurants and truck stops and online gambling and sports betting. We also compete, to a lesser extent, with other forms of legalized gaming and entertainment such as bingo, pull tab games, card parlors, sportsbooks, fantasy sports websites, cruise line operations, pari-mutuel or telephonic betting on horse racing and dog racing, state-sponsored lotteries and, in the future, may compete with gaming at other venues. In addition, we compete more generally with other forms of entertainment for the discretionary spending of our customers. In some instances, particularly in the case of Native American casinos, our competitors pay lower taxes or no taxes.
In recent years, many casino and online gaming operators, including us, have reinvested in existing jurisdictions to attract new customers or to gain market share, thereby increasing competition in those jurisdictions. In particular, we and other online betting and gaming operators have undertaken extensive marketing campaigns and made significant investments in customer acquisition through pricing and promotional policies. In addition, in response to changing trends, Las Vegas operators have focused on expanding their non-gaming offerings, including upgrades to hotel rooms, new food and beverage offerings, and new entertainment offerings. The expansion of online betting and gaming in new jurisdictions and the growth of the number of competitors in the online betting and gaming market, the expansion of existing casino entertainment properties, the increase in the number of properties, and the aggressive marketing strategies of many of our competitors have increased competition in many markets in which we operate, and this intense competition is expected to continue. These competitive pressures have and are expected to continue to affect our financial performance.
Language change vs prior 10-K
MD&A (Item 7) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase
Negative rising
losses+5
impairments+3
declines+3
litigation+2
disclosed+1
Positive rising
gains+2
favorable+1
MD&A (Item 7)
11,471 words
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified in its entirety by, the audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto and other financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Caesars Entertainment, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries, may be referred to as the “Company,” “CEI,” “Caesars,” “we,” “our,” “us,” or the “Registrant.”
We also refer to (i) our Consolidated Financial Statements as our “Financial Statements,” (ii) our Consolidated Balance Sheets as our “Balance Sheets,” (iii) our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) as our “Statements of Operations,” and (iv) our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows as our “Statements of Cash Flows.” References to numbered “Notes” refer to Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 .
The statements in this discussion regarding our expectations of our future performance, liquidity and capital resources, and other non-historical statements are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those contained in or implied by any forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information.”
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Objective
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to be a narrative explanation of the financial statements and other statistical data that should be read in conjunction with the accompanying financial statements to an investor’s understanding of our financial condition, changes in financial condition and results of operations. Our objectives are: (i) to provide a narrative explanation of our financial statements that will investors to see the Company through the eyes of management; (ii) to the overall financial disclosure and provide the context within which financial information should be analyzed; and (iii) to provide information about the quality of, and potential variability of, our earnings and cash flows so that investors can ascertain the likelihood of whether past performance is indicative of future performance.
Our brick-and-mortar operations face increasing competition as a result of the expansion of legalized online gaming and betting, including our own online betting and gaming operations, in a number of the jurisdictions in which we operate. Additionally, we face new competition from sports event trading as derivative products in prediction markets regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. This new competition purports to be available nationwide and is currently being offered by a growing number of providers. While we believe that we are well positioned to compete with new entrants to the betting and gaming market through our online betting and gaming offerings, the competitive dynamic is evolving and we cannot assure you that our results of operations will not be adversely impacted by the expansion of legalized online gaming and betting.
States that already have legalized casino gaming may further expand gaming, and other states that have not yet legalized gaming, may do so in the future. We also compete with Native American gaming operations in California and other jurisdictions where Native American tribes operate large-scale gaming facilities or otherwise conduct gaming activities on Native American lands, which we expect will continue to expand. Further expansion of legalized casino gaming in jurisdictions in or near our markets or changes to gaming laws in states in which we have operations and in states near our operations could increase competition and could adversely affect our operations.
Increased competition may require us to make substantial expenditures in marketing, customer development and capital projects to maintain and enhance the competitive positions of our online and brick and mortar operations to increase the attractiveness and add to the appeal of our facilities and product offerings. Because a significant portion of our cash flow is required to pay obligations under our outstanding indebtedness and our lease obligations, there can be no assurance that we will have sufficient funds to undertake, or that we will be able to obtain sufficient financing to fund, such expenditures. If we are unable to make such expenditures, our competitive position could be negatively affected.
Our business is sensitive to reductions in discretionary consumer spending as a result of downturns in the economy and other factors outside our control.
Consumer demand for leisure activities such as casinos, hotels, racetracks, online betting, iGaming and other forms of hospitality or gambling is particularly sensitive to downturns in the economy, inflation and the associated impact on discretionary spending. Changes in discretionary consumer spending or consumer preferences brought about by factors such as perceived or actual general economic conditions, effects of declines in consumer confidence in the economy, the impact of high energy and food costs, rising interest rates, the increased cost of travel, decreased disposable consumer income and wealth, fears of war and future acts of terrorism, or widespread illnesses, epidemics, or similar public health emergencies, can have a material adverse effect on leisure and business travel, discretionary spending and other areas of economic behavior that directly impact the gaming and entertainment industries in general and could further reduce customer demand for the amenities and
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products that we offer. In addition, increases in gasoline prices, including increases prompted by global political and economic instabilities, can adversely affect our casino operations because most of our patrons travel to our properties by car or on airlines that may pass on increases in fuel costs to passengers in the form of higher ticket prices.
Win rates (hold rates) for our casino operations depend on a variety of factors, some of which are beyond our control, and participation in the sports betting industry exposes us to trading, liability management and pricing risks. We may experience lower than expected profitability and potentially significant losses as a result of factors beyond our control or a failure to accurately determine odds.
The gaming industry is characterized by an element of chance. Accordingly, we employ theoretical win rates to estimate what a certain type of game, on average, will win or lose in the long run. In addition to the element of chance, win rates (hold percentages) are also affected by the spread of table limits and factors that are beyond our control, such as a player’s skill, experience and behavior, the mix of games played, the financial resources of players, the volume of bets placed, and the amount of time players spend gambling. As a result of the variability in these factors, the actual win rates at our casinos may differ from the theoretical win rates we have estimated and could result in the winnings of our gaming customers exceeding those anticipated. The variability of win rates (hold rates) also has the potential to negatively impact our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Our fixed-odds betting products involve betting where winnings are paid on the basis of the amounts wagered and the odds quoted. Odds are determined with the objective of providing an average return to the bookmaker over a large number of events. However, there can be significant variation in gross win percentage event-by-event and day-by-day. We have systems and controls that seek to reduce the risk of daily losses occurring on a gross-win basis, but there can be no assurance that these will be effective in reducing our exposure to this risk. As a result, we may experience (and we have from time to time experienced) significant losses with respect to individual events or betting outcomes, in particular if large individual bets are placed on an event or betting outcome or series of events or betting outcomes. Any significant losses on a gross-win basis could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, the odds that we offer in our sportsbook operations may occasionally contain an obvious error. Examples of such errors are inverted lines between teams, or odds that are significantly different from the true odds of the outcome in a way that all reasonable persons would agree is an error. If regulatory restrictions do not permit us to void or re-set odds to correct odds on bets associated with large obvious errors in odds making, we could be subject to covering significant liabilities.
We rely on third parties to provide services that are essential to the operation of our online betting and gaming business, including, player account management, geolocation and identity verification, payment processing and sports data.
We rely on third parties to provide services that are essential to the operation of our online betting and gaming business, including player account management, geolocation and identity verification systems to ensure we comply with laws and regulations, processing deposits and withdrawals made by our online users and providing information regarding schedules, results, performance and outcomes of sporting events to determine when and how bets are settled. Additionally, we rely on third-party sports data providers, such as SportRadar and Genius Sports, among others, to obtain accurate information regarding schedules, results, performance and outcomes of sporting events for our sportsbook product. We rely on this data to determine when and how bets are settled. The software, systems and services provided by our third-party providers may not meet our expectations, contain errors or weaknesses, be compromised or experience outages. A failure of such third-party systems to perform effectively, or any service interruption to those systems, could adversely affect our business by preventing users from accessing our online platform, delaying payment or resulting in errors in settling bets, which could give rise to regulatory issues relating to the operation of our business. By way of example, incorrect or misleading geolocation and identity verification data with respect to current or potential users received from third-party service providers may result in us inadvertently allowing access to our offerings to individuals who are not permitted to access them or otherwise inadvertentlydenying access to individuals who are permitted to access them, and errors or failures by our payment processors and sports data providers could result in a failure to timely and accurately process payments to and from users or errors in settling bets. Any such errors or failures could result in violations of applicable regulatory requirements and adversely affect our reputation and our ability to attract and retain our online users. Furthermore, negative publicity related to any of our third-party partners could adversely affect our reputation and brand, and could potentially lead to increased regulatory or litigation exposure.
In addition, if any of our third-party service providers terminates its relationship with us, is unable to maintain necessary regulatory approvals, or refuses to renew its agreement with us on commercially reasonable terms, we would have to find alternate service providers. We cannot be certain that we would be able to secure favorable terms from alternative service providers that are critical to the operation of our business or enter into alternative arrangements in a timely manner. Our digital business, results of operations and prospects would be adversely impacted by our inability or delay in securing replacement services that are sufficient to support our online business or are on comparable terms.
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The growth of our digital business will require investments in our online offerings, technology and strategic marketing initiatives, which could be costly and negatively impact the economics of our online business.
The online betting and gaming industry is subject to rapid and frequent changes in standards, technologies, products and service offerings, as well as in customer demands and preferences and regulations, which will require us to continually introduce and successfully implement new and innovative technologies, marketing strategies, product offerings and enhancements to remain competitive and effectively stimulate customer demand, acceptance and engagement. The process of developing new online offerings and systems is inherently complex and uncertain, and new offerings may not be well received by users, even if they are well-reviewed and of high quality. Developing new offerings and marketing strategies can also divert our management’s attention from other business issues and opportunities. New online offerings that attain market acceptance and aggressive marketing strategies implemented in the competitive online market environment could impact the mix of our existing business, including our casino business, or the share of our patron’s wallets in a manner that could negatively impact our results of operations. In addition, online betting and gaming operates in a competitive environment that requires significant investment in marketing initiatives, including free play and use of a variety of free and paid marketing channels, including television, radio, social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and other digital channels. We cannot be sure that our investments in technology, products, service offerings and marketing initiatives will be successful or generate the return on investment that we expect. We have incurred losses in the past in our digital business and cannot be sure that our profitability will continue. If new or existing competitors offer more attractive offerings or engage in marketing initiatives that are better received by customers, we may lose users or users may decrease their spending on our offerings. Further, new customer demands, superior competitive offerings, new industry standards or changes in the regulatory environment could render our offerings unattractive, unmarketable or obsolete and require us to make substantial unanticipated changes to our technology or business model. Failure to adapt to a rapidly changing market or evolving customer demands, and costs required to be incurred to react to dynamic market conditions, could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We face the risk of fraud, theft, and cheating.
We face the risk that gaming customers may attempt or commit fraud or theft or cheat in order to increase winnings. Such acts of fraud, theft, or cheating could involve the use of counterfeit chips or other tactics, possibly in collusion with our employees. Internal acts of cheating could also be conducted by employees through collusion with dealers, surveillance staff, floor managers, or other casino or gaming area staff. Additionally, we also face the risk that customers may attempt or commit fraud or theft with respect to our non-gaming offerings or against other customers. Such risks include stolen credit or charge cards or cash, falsified checks, theft of retail inventory and purchased goods, and unpaid or counterfeit receipts. Failure to discover such acts or schemes in a timely manner could result in losses in our operations. Negative publicity related to such acts or schemes could have an adverse effect on our reputation, potentially causing a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We extend credit to a portion of our customers, and we may not be able to collect gaming receivables from our credit customers.
We conduct our gaming activities on a credit and cash basis. Any such credit we extend is unsecured. High-stakes players typically are extended more credit than customers who tend to wager lower amounts. High-end gaming is more volatile than other forms of gaming, and variances in win-loss results attributable to high-end gaming may have a significant positive or negative impact on cash flow and earnings in a particular period. We extend credit to those customers whose level of play and financial resources warrant, in the opinion of management, an extension of credit. These large receivables could have a significant impact on our results of operations if deemed uncollectible. Gaming debts evidenced by a credit instrument, including what is commonly referred to as a “marker,” and judgments on gaming debts are enforceable under the current laws of the jurisdictions in which we allow play on a credit basis, and judgments on gaming debts in such jurisdictions are enforceable in all U.S. states under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution; however, other jurisdictions may determine that enforcement of gaming debts is against public policy. Although courts of some foreign nations will enforce gaming debts directly and the assets in the U.S. of foreign debtors may be reached to satisfy a judgment, judgments on gaming debts from U.S. courts are not binding on the courts of many foreign nations.
In addition, the Chinese government has taken steps to prohibit the transfer of cash for the payment of gaming debts. These developments may have the effect of reducing the collectability of gaming debts of players from China. It is unclear whether these and other measures will continue to be in effect or become more restrictive in the future. These and any future foreign currency control policy developments that may be implemented by foreign jurisdictions could significantly impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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The outbreak of pandemics and other public health matters and related impacts have had, and may once again have, a significant impact on our operations and results of operations.
Public health issues and mitigation measures recommended or required by public health officials have had a material adverse effect on our operations. For example, all of our casino properties were temporarily closed for several weeks during 2020 due to orders issued by various government agencies and tribal bodies. Following re-opening of our properties, our operations were affected by social distancing measures, including reduced gaming operations, limitations on number of customers present in our facilities, restrictions on hotel, food and beverage outlets and limits on events that would otherwise attract customers to our properties. As required restrictions were eased, prolonged impacts on the economy, our industry and our business continued, with increased challenges arising from labor shortages, higher labor costs, supply chain challenges, increasing costs of goods and services, inflation and rising interest rates, among other impacts. The extent and duration of the impact of such measures on our business in the future is difficult to predict and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Acts of terrorism, war, natural disasters, severe weather, and political, economic and military conditions may impede our ability to operate or may negatively impact our financial results.
Terrorist attacks and other acts of war or hostility have created many economic and political uncertainties. For example, a substantial number of the customers of our properties in Las Vegas use air travel. As a result of terrorist acts that occurred on September 11, 2001, domestic and international travel was severelydisrupted, which resulted in a decrease in customer visits to our properties in Las Vegas. Visitation to Las Vegas also declined for a period of time following the mass shooting tragedy on October 1, 2017. We cannot predict the extent to which disruptions in air or other forms of travel as a result of any further terrorist act, security alerts or war, uprisings, or hostilities in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Ukraine, and/or Syria or other countries throughout the world, and governmental responses to those acts or hostilities, will directly or indirectly impact our business and operating results. For example, a third party that is responsible for our player account management has employees located internationally in countries impacted by such hostility and further negative developments in such countries could negatively impact our digital business. As a consequence of the threat of terrorist attacks and other acts of war or hostility in the future, premiums for a variety of insurance products have increased, and some types of insurance may no longer be available. If any such event were to affect our properties, we would likely be adversely affected.
In addition, natural and man-made disasters such as major fires, floods, severe snowstorms, hurricanes, earthquakes, and oil spills could also adversely impact our business and operating results. Severe weather and natural disasters may increase in frequency and severity as a result of climate change. Such events could lead to the loss of use of one or more of our properties for an extended period of time and disrupt our ability to attract customers to certain of our gaming facilities. For example, our property in Lake Charles, Louisiana was closed in August 2020 until December 2022 due to damage resulting from Hurricane Laura. Inadequate insurance or lack of available insurance for these and other certain types or levels of risk could expose us to significant losses in the event that a catastrophe occurred for which we are underinsured. In most cases, we have insurance that covers portions of any losses from a natural disaster, but it is subject to deductibles and maximum payouts in many cases. Although we may be covered by insurance from a natural disaster, the timing of our receipt of insurance proceeds, if any, may be out of our control. In some cases, however, we may receive no proceeds from insurance. In addition, if such events increase in frequency and/or severity, insurance premiums may increase significantly or insurance may not be available to protect against future events. Further, if properties subject to our leases with VICI and GLPI are impacted by a casualty event, such leases require us to repair or restore the affected properties even if the cost of such repair or restoration exceeds the insurance proceeds that we receive. Under such circumstances, the rent under such leases is required to be paid during the period of repair or restoration even if all or a portion of the affected property is not operating. In addition to the damage caused to our properties by a casualty loss, we may suffer business disruption as a result of the casualty event or be subject to claims by third parties that may be injured or harmed. While we carry general liability insurance and business interruption insurance, there can be no assurance that insurance will be available or adequate to cover all loss and damage to which our business or our assets might be subjected and the timing and receipt of insurance proceeds, if any, may be out of our control.
Increased scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, consumers, employees, regulators, and others regarding our environmental, social and governance practices and reporting could cause us to incur additional costs, devote additional resources and expose us to additional risks, which could adversely impact our reputation or expose us to claims.
Companies across all industries are facing increasing scrutiny related to their environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) practices and reporting. Many investors, consumers, employees and other stakeholders are focused on ESG practices and the implications and social cost of their investments, purchases and other interactions with companies. Regulators are also focused on compliance with applicable laws. If our ESG practices and reporting do not meet investor, consumer, employee or regulator expectations, which continue to evolve, our brand, reputation and business may be negatively impacted.
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As ESG practices and reporting standards continue to develop, we may incur increasing costs related to ESG monitoring and reporting and compliance with ESG initiatives. We publish an annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report, which highlights, among other things, our climate change mitigation activities and how we are supporting our workforce. Our disclosures on these matters, or a failure to meet our goals or evolving expectations and requirements for ESG practices and reporting, may potentially expose us to liabilities or criticism.
Our ability to achieve any ESG objective is subject to numerous risks, many of which are outside of our control. Examples of such risks include:
• the availability and cost of low or non-carbon-based energy sources;
• the evolving regulatory requirements affecting ESG standards or disclosures;
• the availability of suppliers that can meet sustainability and other ESG standards that we may set;
• our ability to recruit, develop and retain talent in our labor markets; and
• the success of our organic growth and acquisitions or dispositions of businesses or operations.
If we fail, or are perceived to be failing, to meet the standards or objectives included in any sustainability disclosure or the expectations of our various stakeholders, it could negatively impact our reputation, customer attraction and retention, access to capital and employee retention. In addition, new sustainability rules and regulations have been adopted and may continue to be introduced. Our failure to comply with any applicable rules or regulations could lead to penalties and adversely impact our reputation or business.
Climate change regulations and greenhouse gas effects may adversely impact our operations.
We may become subject to legislation and regulation regarding climate change, and compliance with any new rules could be difficult, burdensome and costly. Concerned parties, such as legislators and regulators, stockholders and nongovernmental organizations, as well as companies in many business sectors, are considering ways to reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. Many states have announced or adopted programs to stabilize and reduce GHG emissions and, in the past, federal legislation has been proposed in Congress. We expect to incur increased energy, environmental and other costs and capital expenditures to comply with new regulations and legislation. Further, regulation of GHG emissions may limit our customers’ ability to travel to our properties (e.g. as a result of increased fuel costs or restrictions on transport-related emissions).
Our business may be subject to fluctuations due to seasonality and other factors that could result in volatility and have an adverse effect on our operating results.
Our business may fluctuate due to seasonality and other factors. Our casino business is impacted by weather conditions that may deter or prevent customers from reaching the facilities or undertaking trips, which would particularly affect customers who are traveling longer distances to visit our properties. Our casino business can also fluctuate due to specific holidays (particularly when the holiday falls in a different quarter than the prior year) or other significant events, the World Series of Poker tournament (with respect to our Las Vegas properties), city-wide conventions, a large sporting event or concert, or visits by our premium players. Our sportsbook business may also be impacted by availability or scheduling of major sporting events or the cancellation or postponement of sporting events or races, including lockouts, strikes or similar disruptions. Seasonality, holiday, or other significant events may affect our digital operations, properties or regions differently. These factors, among other things, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results, cause volatility in the trading price of our stock and impact our cash flow from quarter to quarter.
Our business is particularly sensitive to energy or water prices and a rise in these prices could harm our operating results.
We are a large consumer of electricity, water and other energy and utility services and, therefore, higher prices may have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Accordingly, increases in water, energy and other utility costs may have a negative impact on our operating results. Additionally, higher electricity and gasoline prices that affect our customers may result in reduced visitation to our resorts and a reduction in our revenues. Further, our operations or the operations of our critical suppliers could be negatively impacted by the duration of drought conditions, or other cause of water stress or shortages, such as those experienced in recent years in the southwest United States, or other areas in which we operate. We may be indirectly impacted by regulatory requirements aimed at reducing the impacts of climate change directed at up-stream utility providers, and we could experience potentially higher utility, fuel, water and transportation costs.
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Any deterioration in our reputation or the reputation of our brands could adversely impact our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Our business is dependent on the quality and reputation of our Company and brands. Events beyond our control could affect the reputation of one or more of our properties, including our digital operations, or more generally impact our corporate or brand image. Other factors that could influence our reputation include the quality of the services we offer and our actions with regard to social issues such as human rights and support for local communities. Broad access to social media makes it easy for anyone to provide public feedback that can influence perceptions of us, our brands or our properties. It may be difficult to control or effectively manage negative publicity, regardless of whether it is accurate. Negative events and publicity could quickly and materially damage perceptions of us, our brands or our properties, which, in turn, could adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations through loss of customers, loss of business opportunities, lack of acceptance of our Company to operate in host communities, employee retention or recruiting difficulties or other difficulties.
Risks Relating to Information Systems and Technology
We are vulnerable to compromises of our information systems and unauthorized access to confidential information or our customers’ personal information which could materially harm our reputation and business.
We collect and store confidential, personal information relating to our customers for various business purposes, including marketing and financial purposes, and credit card information for processing payments. For example, we handle, collect and store personal information in connection with our customers staying at our hotels and enrolling in Caesars Rewards. We may share this personal and confidential information with vendors or other third parties in connection with processing of transactions, operating certain aspects of our business, or for marketing purposes. Our collection and use of personal data are governed by state and federal privacy laws and regulations as well as the applicable laws and regulations in other countries in which we operate. Privacy law is subject to frequent changes and varies significantly by jurisdiction. We may incur significant costs in order to ensure compliance with the various applicable privacy requirements. In addition, privacy laws and regulations may limit our ability to market to our customers.
We assess and monitor the security of our IT systems as well as the collection, storage, and transmission of customer information on an ongoing basis, including utilizing commercially available software and technologies to monitor, assess and secure our network. Further, some of the systems currently used for transmission and approval of payment card transactions and the technology utilized in payment cards themselves, all of which can put payment card data at risk, are determined and controlled by the payment card industry, and other such systems are determined and controlled by us. Although we had taken steps designed to safeguard our customers’ confidential personal information and important internal company data, on September 14, 2023, we announced that we identified suspicious activity in our information technology network resulting from a social engineering attack on one of our outsourced IT support vendors and that we determined that the unauthorized actor acquired a copy of, among other data, our loyalty program database, which includes driver’s license numbers and/or social security numbers for a significant number of members in the database (the “Data Incident”). We took steps to ensure that the stolen data was deleted by the unauthorized actor, implemented corrective measures, and continue to work with industry-leading third-party IT advisors to harden our systems and protect against future attacks. We also took steps to require that the specific outsourced IT support vendor involved in the matter implement corrective measures to protect against further attacks that could have posed a threat to our systems. While we took these actions, we cannot assure that the stolen data was deleted by the unauthorized actor or that our network and other systems and those of third parties, such as service providers, will not be compromised, damaged, or disrupted by a third-party breach of our system security or that of a third-party provider or as a result of purposeful or accidental actions of third parties, our employees, or those employees of a third party, power outages, computer viruses, system failures, natural disasters, or other catastrophic events in the future. Our third-party information system service providers face risks relating to cybersecurity similar to ours, and we do not directly control any of such parties’ information security operations. As an example, the Data Incident arose from a social engineering attack on one of our outsourced IT vendors resulting in our customer information and other data being accessed by an unauthorized actor. Advances in computer and software capabilities, encryption technology, new tools used by threat actors (including artificial intelligence), and other developments substantially increase the risk of successfulcyberattacks and security breaches in the future that can cause operational disruption (e.g., ransomware), compromises to customer information or other proprietary data and other losses. Despite the measures we have implemented to safeguard our information, including actions taken following the Data Incident, there can be no assurance that we are adequately protecting our or our third-party service providers’ systems or information.
As a result of the Data Incident, we have become subject to multiple lawsuits and inquiries from state regulators and we may become subject to additional lawsuits, claims and inquiries related to the Data Incident. While the Data Incident did not impact our customer-facing operations, we are unable to predict the full impact of the Data Incident, including any regulatory effects or
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changes in guest behavior in the future, including whether a change in our guests’ behavior could negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations on an ongoing basis.
We have cybersecurity insurance to respond to a breach which is designed to cover expenses associated with a cybersecurity incident, including costs related to notification, credit monitoring, investigation, crisis management, public relations and legal advice. We also carry other insurance which may cover ancillary aspects of cybersecurity events. While we have submitted claims for insurance coverage relating to the costs incurred as a result of the Data Incident, we are not certain of the extent to which such coverage or third-party indemnification will cover such costs.
A future cyberattack or incident that causes material operational disruption or material loss, disclosure of, misappropriation of, or access to customers’ or other proprietary information could result in significant legal claims or proceedings, including regulatory investigations and actions, or liability for failure to comply with privacy and information security laws, including for failure to protect personal information or for misusing personal information could damage our reputation, and expose us to fines, penalties and injunctive relief, as well as claims from customers, financial institutions, regulators, payment card associations, employees, and other persons, any of which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flow. Any such damages and claims arising from a future breach may not be completely covered or may exceed the amount of any insurance available.
Our operations, and particularly our digital betting and gaming operations, are reliant on information technology and other systems and services, and any failures, errors, defects or disruptions in our systems or services could adversely affect our operations.
Our technology infrastructure is critical to the performance of our digital betting and gaming operations and to user satisfaction and we rely significantly on our computer systems and software to receive and properly process internal and external data, including data related to Caesars Rewards. We devote significant resources to our technology infrastructure, but our systems may not be adequate to avoid performance delays or outages that could be harmful to our online business. In addition, while we believe we have taken appropriate steps, working with industry-leading third-party IT advisors, to harden our systems following the Data Incident and implement corrective measures to protect against future attacks that could pose a threat to our systems, we cannot assure you that such measures or any additional measures we take to prevent cyber-attacks and protect our systems, data and user information and to prevent outages, data or information loss, fraud and to prevent or detect security breaches will be sufficient to ensure uninterrupted operation of our digital platform and provide absolute security. We have experienced, and are likely in the future to experience, website disruptions, outages and other performance problems due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors and capacity constraints, as well as cyberattacks. Disruptions from unauthorized access to, fraudulentmanipulation of, or tampering with our computer systems and technological infrastructure, or those of third parties that provide support to our operations, could result in a wide range of negative outcomes, each of which could materially adversely affect the operation of our online business and our financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Additionally, our computer systems and software may fail or may contain errors, bugs, flaws or corrupted data, and these defects may only become apparent after the launch of our online products. These types of issues could disrupt our operations or render a product unavailable when users attempt to access it or cause access to our offerings to be slower than our users expect. Inaccessibility or slow access to our products could make users less likely to return to our digital platform as often, if at all, or to recommend our offerings to other potential users, which could harm our brand perception, cause our users to stop utilizing our online offerings, divert our resources and delay market acceptance of our online offerings. We also deploy scanning tools in our IT environment that allow us to regularly identify and track known security vulnerabilities but we cannot guarantee that patches or mitigating measures will be applied before vulnerabilities can be exploited by a threat actor.
Our information systems are not fully redundant and our disaster recovery planning cannot account for all eventualities. If our systems are damaged, breached, attacked, interrupted, or otherwise cease to function properly, we may have to make a significant investment to repair or replace them, and may experience loss or corruption of critical data as well as sufferinterruptions in our business operations in the interim.
We expect that we will continue to expand our online betting and gaming offerings as our user base grows and we enter into new markets, which will require an enhancement of our technical infrastructure, including network capacity and computing power, and may require additional reliance on third party providers to support the growth of our digital business and to satisfy our users’ needs. Such infrastructure expansion may be complex and costly, and unanticipateddelays in completing these projects or availability of components may lead to increased project costs, operational inefficiencies, or interruptions in the delivery or degradation of the quality of our offerings. In addition, there may be issues related to our online infrastructure that are not identified during the testing phases of design and implementation and become evident after we have started to fully use the underlying equipment or software, which could impact the user experience or increase our costs. An inability to effectively
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scale our technical infrastructure to accommodate increased demands could adversely impact our ability to grow our digital betting and gaming business.
Our online business is dependent on the Internet and we rely on Amazon Web Services and other third-party technology, platforms and services to deliver our offerings to users.
A substantial portion of the infrastructure that is required to enable users to access our digital betting and gaming offerings is provided by third parties, including Internet service providers and other technology-based service providers. In particular, we currently host our online betting and gaming offerings and support our operations using Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) and other third-party technology, platforms and services. Our third-party providers may experience service interruptions, delays, outages or damage, including due to capacity constraints, an event causing an unusually high volume of Internet use (such as a pandemic or public health emergency), infrastructure changes or upgrades (such as 5G or 6G services), human or software errors, website hosting disruptions, natural disasters, cybersecurity attacks, terrorist attacks, power outages and similar events or acts of misconduct. We exercise little control over our third-party providers and any difficulties that these providers experience, including the potential of certain network traffic receiving priority over other traffic (i.e., lack of net neutrality) and any future cyberattacks that disrupt our providers’ operations and services, which may adversely affect our business. Because our ability to provide our users with continuing and uninterrupted access to our platform is critical to the success of our digital business, we prioritize our efforts to ensure that our facilities and infrastructure and the facilities and infrastructure of our third-party providers support our current and expected operations and are designed to mitigate the impacts of system malfunctions. Nevertheless, there can be no guarantee that such systems will be able to meet the demand of our current and future digital business, the overall online betting and gaming industry and the growth of the Internet, or that such systems are adequately protected from cyberattacks and other security incidents. Furthermore, if we do not maintain business relationships with our third-party providers, and in particular, AWS, we may not be able to secure required third-party services on terms that are acceptable to us or on an acceptable time frame. Any of these risks could result in a loss of revenue and cause us to incur unexpected costs that could be significant, which could have a material adverse effect on our online business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our online business model depends upon the continued compatibility between our apps and the major mobile operating systems and upon third-party platforms for the distribution of our product offerings, which depend on factors beyond our control such as the design of third-party operating systems and continued access to our apps on third-party distribution platforms like the Apple App Store.
Our digital business is dependent on the interoperability of our technology with popular mobile operating systems, technologies, networks and standards as our users access our online betting and gaming product offerings primarily on mobile devices. As a result, our business model depends upon the continued compatibility between our app and the major mobile operating systems, such as the Android and iOS operating systems, and we rely upon third-party platforms for distribution of our product offerings. We do not have formal or informal relationships with parties that control design of mobile devices and operating systems and there is no guarantee that popular mobile devices will start or continue to support or feature our product offerings. Any changes, bugs, technical or regulatory issues in such operating systems, our relationships with mobile manufacturers and carriers, or in their terms of service or policies that degrade our offerings’ functionality, reduce or eliminate our ability to distribute our offerings, give preferential treatment to competitive products, limit our ability to deliver high quality offerings, or impose fees or other charges related to delivering our offerings, could adversely affect our product usage and monetization on mobile devices. In addition, if any of the third-party platforms used for distribution of our product offerings were to limit or disable the availability of our app or advertising on their platforms, our ability to generate revenue could be harmed. These changes could materially impact the way we do business, and if we are unable to adjust to those changes quickly and effectively, there could be an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Risks Related to Human Capital
We rely on our key personnel and we may face difficulties in attracting and retaining qualified employees for our casinos and racetracks.
Our future success will depend upon, among other things, our ability to keep our senior executives and highly qualified employees. The operation of our business requires qualified executives, managers and skilled employees with gaming and horse racing industry experience and qualifications who are able to obtain the requisite licenses and approval from the applicable gaming authorities. We compete with other potential employers for employees, and we may not succeed in hiring or retaining the executives and other employees that we need. A sudden loss of or inability to replace key employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, there has from time to time been a shortage of skilled labor in our markets and the continued expansion of gaming near our facilities, including the expansion of Native American gaming and internet betting and gaming, may make it more difficult for us to attract qualified candidates.
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While we believe that we will continue to be able to attract and retain qualified employees, shortages of skilled labor will make it increasingly difficult and expensive to attract and retain the services of a satisfactory number of qualified employees, and we may incur higher costs than expected as a result.
Work stoppages and other labor problems could negatively impact our future profits.
As of December 31, 2025, we had collective bargaining agreements covering approximately 21,000 employees. A lengthy strike or other work stoppages at any of our casino properties could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. New contracts, such as the ones we signed in 2023, increase our labor costs.
From time to time, we have also experienced attempts by labor organizations to organize certain of our non-union employees, which have achieved some past success. We cannot provide any assurance that we will not experience additional successful unionization attempts in the future. The impact of this union activity is undetermined and could negatively impact our results of operations.
We cannot assure you that we will be able to retain our performers and other entertainment offerings on acceptable terms or at all.
Historically, our performers have drawn customers to our properties and have been a significant source of our revenue. We cannot assure you that we will be able to retain our performers or other shows on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, the third parties that we depend on for our properties’ entertainment offerings may become incapable or unwilling to provide their services at the level agreed upon or at all. Disruptions in the performance schedule can leave us without entertainment offerings, which could negatively impact our business.
Risks Relating to Our Capital Structure
Our substantial indebtedness and the fact that a significant portion of our cash flow is used to make interest payments and rent payments under our debt and lease agreements could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry and prevent us from making debt service payments and rent payments.
As of December 31, 2025, we had $11.9 billion of outstanding indebtedness, in addition to leases with VICI and GLPI that require an annual rent payment of $1.4 billion in 2026 and are subject to annual escalation, including annual escalations based on the CPI. See Note 7 for a description of our obligations under our leases with VICI and GLPI and Note 9 for details regarding our debt outstanding and related restrictive covenants. As a result, a significant portion of our cash flow is applied to make interest payments with respect to our outstanding debt and payments under our leases. These financial obligations may have important negative consequences for us, including:
• limiting our ability to use operating cash flow in other areas of our business because we must dedicate a significant portion of these funds to make payments on our debt and lease obligations;
• limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our businesses and the markets in which we operate;
• placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to competitors with debt and rent obligations that are less than ours;
• increasing our vulnerability to, and limiting our ability to react to, changing market conditions, public health emergencies and related public health restrictions, changes in our industry and economic downturns;
• limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund working capital requirements, capital expenditures, debt service, acquisitions, general corporate or other obligations;
• subjecting us to a number of restrictive covenants that, among other things, require us to make capital expenditures and limit our ability to pay dividends and distributions, make acquisitions and dispositions, borrow additional funds and make other investments;
• exposing us to interest rate risk due to the variable interest rate on borrowings under our credit facility; and
• affecting our ability to renew gaming and other licenses necessary to conduct our business.
Our ability to service our current and future levels of indebtedness will depend upon, among other things, our future financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions, including the interest rate environment and financial, business, regulatory and other factors, some of which are beyond our control.
There is no assurance that we will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future debt or equity financings will be available to us to enable us to pay our indebtedness or to fund other needs and we may be forced to take actions such as reducing or delaying business activities, acquisitions, investments or capital expenditures, selling assets, restructuring or
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refinancing debt, reducing or discontinuing dividends we may pay in the future, or seeking additional equity capital. These actions may not be effected on satisfactory terms, or at all. Any inability to generate sufficient cash flow or refinance our indebtedness on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. While we expect to refinance or replace our debt facilities when they mature, we cannot be sure that we will be able to obtain financing on commercially reasonable terms.
Despite our current indebtedness levels, we and our subsidiaries may still incur significant additional indebtedness. Incurring more indebtedness could increase the risks associated with our substantial indebtedness.
We and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness, including additional secured indebtedness, and may enter into financing obligations similar to our leases with VICI and GLPI in the future. As of December 31, 2025, we had $1.9 billion of borrowing capacity under our CEI Revolving Credit Facility and the Caesars Virginia Revolving Credit Facility, after consideration of $83 million in outstanding letters of credit and $46 million committed for regulatory purposes, the outstanding amount on the CEI Revolving Credit Facility, and $40 million of other reserves which is only available for certain permitted uses. Further, our existing debt agreements currently permit, and we expect that agreements governing debt that we incur in the future will permit, us to incur certain other additional secured and unsecured debt. Further, we may incur other liabilities that do not constitute indebtedness. The risks that we face based on our outstanding indebtedness may intensify if we incur additional indebtedness or financing obligations in the future.
Our variable rate indebtedness exposes us to interest rate volatility, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.
Borrowings under certain of our facilities are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate volatility. As of December 31, 2025, $6.1 billion of aggregate principal amount of our debt had variable rates. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on certain of our variable rate indebtedness will increase even though the amount borrowed remains the same.
A significant portion of our casinos are located on leased property. If we default on one or more leases, the applicable lessors could terminate the affected leases and we could lose possession of the affected casino.
We currently lease certain parcels of land on which a significant portion of our properties are located. As a ground lessee, we have the right to use the leased land; however, we do not hold fee ownership of the underlying land. Accordingly, we have no interest in the leased land or improvements thereon at the expiration of the ground leases. If our use of the land underlying our casino properties is disrupted permanently or for a significant period of time, then the value of our assets could be impaired and our business and operations could be adversely affected. Our leases provide that they may be terminated for a number of reasons, including failure to pay rent, taxes or other payment obligations or the breach of other covenants contained in the leases. In particular, our leases with VICI and GLPI require annual rent payments of $1.4 billion in 2026, which is subject to escalation annually, and obligate us to make specified minimum capital expenditures with respect to the leased properties. If our business and properties fail to generate sufficient earnings, the payments required to service the rent obligations under our leases with VICI and GLPI could materially and adversely limit our ability to react to changes in our business and make acquisitions and investments in our properties. If we were to default on any one or more of these leases, the applicable lessors could terminate the affected leases and we could lose possession of the affected land and any improvements on the land, including the hotels and casinos. A termination of our ground leases or our leases with GLPI or VICI could result in a default under our debt agreements and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, in the event that any lessor of our leased properties, including GLPI or VICI, encounters financial, operational, regulatory or other challenges, there can be no assurance that such lessor will be able to comply with its obligations under the applicable lease.
Certain of our leases, including our leases with VICI and GLPI, are “triple-net” leases. Accordingly, in addition to rent, we are required to pay, among other things, the following: (1) lease payments to the underlying ground lessor for properties that are subject to ground leases; (2) facility maintenance costs; (3) all insurance premiums for insurance with respect to the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties; (4) taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties (other than taxes on the income of the lessor); and (5) all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties. We are responsible for incurring the costs described in the preceding sentence notwithstanding the fact that many of the benefits received in exchange for such costs shall in part accrue to the lessor as the owner of the associated facilities. In addition, we remain obligated for lease payments and other obligations under our leases with VICI and GLPI and other ground leases even if one or more of such leased facilities is unprofitable or if we decide to withdraw from those locations. We could incur special charges relating to the closing of such facilities including lease termination costs, impairment charges and other special charges that would reduce our net income and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Legal and Regulatory Risks
We are subject to extensive governmental regulation, taxation policies and licensing, and gaming authorities have significant control over our operations, which could have an adverse effect on our business.
Licensing Requirements . The ownership and operation of casino gaming, online betting and gaming, riverboat and horse racing facilities are subject to extensive federal, state and local regulation, and regulatory authorities at local, state and national levels have broad powers with respect to the licensing of gaming businesses. We currently hold all state and local licenses and related approvals necessary to conduct our present gaming operations, but we must periodically apply to renew many of our licenses and registrations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such renewals. Any failure to maintain or renew our existing licenses, registrations, permits or approvals would have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, we are required to provide information relating to our operations to various gaming regulatory agencies. A failure to provide accurate information could result in the imposition of fines or other penalties by the relevant regulatory authority. Furthermore, if additional laws or regulations are adopted or existing laws or regulations are amended or interpreted differently, these regulations could impose additional restrictions or costs that could have a significant adverse effect on us.
Gaming authorities with jurisdiction over our operations may, in their discretion, require the holder of any securities issued by us to file applications, be investigated, and be found suitable to own our securities, and, if a holder is found unsuitable, we can be sanctioned, including the loss of approvals that are required for us to continue our gaming operations in the relevant jurisdictions, if such unsuitable person does not timely sell our securities. Our officers, directors and key employees are also subject to similar findings of unsuitability and the gaming authorities may require us to terminate the employment of any person who refuses to file appropriate applications. See “ Item 1 - Gaming Licenses and Governmental Regulations ” and Exhibit 99.1 for further description of the regulations to which we are subject. We may be required under applicable gaming laws and regulations to obtain approval of applicable gaming authorities to issue securities, incur debt and undertake other financing activities and our financing counterparties, including lenders, might be subject to various licensing and related approval procedures in the various jurisdictions in which we operate gaming facilities.
Compliance with Other Laws . We are also subject to a variety of other federal, state and local laws, rules, regulations and ordinances that apply to non-gaming businesses, including restrictions enacted in response to public health concerns such as pandemics, zoning, environmental, construction and land-use laws and regulations governing smoking and the serving of alcoholic beverages. Our operations have been and may again be adversely impacted by regulations enacted to limit the impact of public health concerns. In addition, legislation in various forms to ban indoor tobacco smoking has been enacted or introduced in many states and local jurisdictions, including several of the jurisdictions in which we operate. If additional restrictions are enacted in our jurisdictions, we could experience a significant decrease in gaming revenue and operating results at our properties and, particularly if such restrictions are not applicable to all competitive facilities in that gaming market, our business could be materially adversely affected. The likelihood or outcome of similar legislation in other jurisdictions and referendums in the future cannot be predicted, though any additional limitations on our operations would be expected to negatively impact our financial performance.
Regulations adopted by FINCEN require us to report currency transactions in excess of $10,000 occurring within a gaming day. U.S. Treasury Department regulations also require us to report certain suspicious activity, including any transaction that exceeds $5,000, if we know, suspect or have reason to believe that the transaction involves funds from illegal activity or is designed to evade federal regulations or reporting requirements. Substantial penalties can be imposed if we fail to comply with these regulations. FINCEN has recently increased its focus on gaming companies.
We are required to report certain customer’s gambling winnings via Form W-2G to comply with current Internal Revenue Service regulations. Should these regulations change, we would expect to incur additional costs to comply with the revised reporting requirements.
Taxation and Fees . In addition, gaming companies are generally subject to significant revenue-based taxes and fees in addition to normal federal, state and local income taxes, and such taxes and fees are subject to increase at any time. We pay substantial taxes and fees with respect to our operations. Tax laws are dynamic and subject to change as new laws are passed and new interpretations of the law are issued or applied, affecting the gaming industry. The large number of state and local governments with significant current or projected budget deficits makes it more likely that those governments that currently permit gaming will seek to fund such deficits with new or increased gaming taxes and/or property taxes and worsening economic conditions could intensify those efforts. Any material increase, or the adoption of additional taxes or fees, could have a material adverse effect on our future financial results.
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The growth of our online betting and gaming business will depend on expansion of online betting and gaming into new jurisdictions and our ability to obtain required licenses.
Our ability to achieve growth in our online betting and gaming business will depend, in large part, upon expansion of online betting and gaming into new jurisdictions, the terms of regulations relating to online betting and gaming and our ability to obtain required licenses. Following the 2018 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the federal ban on sports betting, a number of jurisdictions have legalized sports betting and online gaming and we expect that additional jurisdictions may do so in the future. Our ability to further expand our sports betting and online operations is dependent on the adoption of regulations permitting such activities. However, the expansion of betting and online gaming in new jurisdictions is dependent on a number of factors that are beyond our control and there can be no assurances of when, or if, such regulations will be adopted or the terms of such regulations, including restrictions, tax rates and license fees and availability of such licenses to casino owners exclusively or at all.
We may not be able to protect the intellectual property rights we own or may be prevented from using intellectual property necessary for our business.
The development of intellectual property is part of our overall business strategy, and we regard our intellectual property to be an important element of our success. We rely primarily on trade secret, trademark, domain name, copyright, and contract law to protect the intellectual property and proprietary technology we own. We also actively pursue business opportunities in the United States and in international jurisdictions involving the licensing of our trademarks to third parties. It is possible that third parties may copy or otherwise obtain and use our intellectual property or proprietary technology without authorization or otherwise infringe on our rights. For example, while we have a policy of entering into confidentiality, intellectual property invention assignment, and/or non-competition and non-solicitation agreements or restrictions with our employees, independent contractors, and business partners, such agreements may not provide adequate protection or may be breached, or our proprietary technology may otherwise become available to or be independently developed by our competitors. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries may not protect proprietary rights or intellectual property to as great an extent as do the laws of the United States. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, the unauthorized use or reproduction of our trademarks could diminish the value of our trademarks and our market acceptance, competitive advantages, or goodwill, which could adversely affect our business.
Our technology contains software modules licensed to us by third-party authors under “open source” licenses. Use and distribution of open source software may entail greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide support, warranties, indemnification or other contractual protections regarding infringementclaims or the quality of the code. In addition, the public availability of such software may make it easier for others to compromise our technology and, under certain open source licenses, we could be required to release the source code of our proprietary software to the public. This would allow our competitors to create similar offerings with lower development effort and time and ultimately could result in a loss of our competitive advantages.
Third parties have alleged and may in the future allege that we are infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights. Third parties may initiate litigationagainst us without warning or may send us letters or other communications that make allegations without initiating litigation. We may elect not to respond to these letters or other communications if we believe they are without merit, or we may attempt to resolve these disputes out of court by negotiating a license, but in either case it is possible that such disputes will ultimately result in litigation. Any such claims could interfere with our ability to use technology or intellectual property that is material to the operation of our business. Such claims may be made by competitors seeking to obtain a competitive advantage or by other parties, such as entities that purchase intellectual property assets for the purpose of bringing infringementclaims. We also periodically employ individuals who were previously employed by our competitors or potential competitors, and we may therefore be subject to claims that such employees have used or disclosed the alleged trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers.
We may have to rely on litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our trade secrets, determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others, or defendagainstclaims of infringement or invalidity, including with respect to technology that we believe to be “open source.” Any such litigation could result in substantial costs and the diversion of resources and the attention of management. If unsuccessful, such litigation could result in the loss of important intellectual property rights, require us to pay substantial damages, subject us to injunctions that prevent us from using certain intellectual property, require us to make admissions that affect our reputation in the marketplace, or require us to enter into license agreements that may not be available on favorable terms, re-engineer our technology or discontinue or delay the provision of our offerings. Finally, even if we prevail in any litigation, the remedy may not be commercially meaningful or fully compensate us for the harm we suffer or the costs we incur. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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We rely on licenses to use the intellectual property rights of third parties which are incorporated into our products and services. Failure to renew or expand existing licenses may require us to modify, limit or discontinue certain offerings.
We rely on products, technologies and intellectual property that we license from third parties, for use in our business-to-business and business-to-consumers offerings. Certain of our offerings and services use intellectual property licensed from third parties and we expect that our future products will require the use of third-party intellectual property. The future success of our business may depend, in part, on our ability to obtain, retain and/or expand licenses for popular technologies and games in a competitive market. We cannot assure that third-party licenses that may be necessary or desirable for the operation of our products, or support for such licensed products and technologies, will be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. If we are unable to renew and/or expand existing licenses or obtain new licenses, including as a result of reluctance of third parties to subject themselves to regulatory review that may be required to operate as our supplier, we may be required to discontinue or limit our use of the products that include or incorporate the licensed intellectual property, which could adversely impact our business, results of operations and prospects.
We are or may become involved in legal proceedings that, if adversely adjudicated or settled, could impact our business and financial condition.
From time to time, we are named in lawsuits or other legal proceedings relating to our respective businesses. Some of these matters involve commercial or contractual disputes, intellectual property claims, legal compliance, personal injuryclaims, and employment claims. As a result of the Data Incident (defined below), numerous putative class action lawsuits have been filed against us purporting to represent various classes of persons whose personal information was affected by the Data Incident. As with all legal proceedings, no assurances can be given as to the outcome of these matters. Moreover, legal proceedings can be expensive and time consuming, and we may not be successful in defending or prosecuting these lawsuits, which could result in settlements or damages that could significantly impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Overview
We are a geographically diversified gaming and hospitality company that was founded in 1973 by the Carano family with the opening of the Eldorado Hotel Casino in Reno, Nevada. Beginning in 2005, we grew through a series of acquisitions, including the acquisition of MTR Gaming Group, Inc. in 2014, Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. in 2017, Tropicana Entertainment, Inc. in 2018, Caesars Entertainment Corporation in 2020, and William Hill PLC in 2021. O ur ticker symbol on the NASDAQ Stock Market is “CZR.”
We own, lease or manage an aggregate of 52 domestic properties in 18 states with approximately 51,400 slot machines, video lottery terminals and e-tables, approximately 2,700 table games and approximately 45,600 hotel rooms as of December 31, 2025. In addition, we have other properties in North America that are authorized to use the brands and marks of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. Our primary source of revenue is generated by our gaming operations, which includes our casino properties, retail and online sports betting and online gaming. Additionally, we utilize our hotels, restaurants, bars, entertainment, racing, retail shops and other services to attract customers to our properties.
As of December 31, 2025, we owned 22 of our casinos and leased 24 casinos in the U.S. We lease 18 casinos from VICI Properties L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“VICI”) pursuant to a regional lease, a Las Vegas lease and a Joliet lease (the “VICI Leases”). In addition, we lease six casinos from GLP Capital, L.P., the operating partnership of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (“GLPI”), pursuant to a Master Lease (as amended, the “GLPI Master Lease”) and a Lumière lease (together with the GLPI Master Lease, the “GLPI Leases”). See descriptions below under the “GLPI Leases” and “VICI Leases.”
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We operate and conduct retail and online sports wagering across 34 jurisdictions in North America, 27 of which offer online sports betting. Additionally, we operate iGaming in five jurisdictions in North America. The map below illustrates Caesars Digital’s presence as of December 31, 2025:
We have a partnership with NYRABets LLC, the official online wagering platform of the New York Racing Association, Inc., and operate the Caesars Racebook app in 22 states as of December 31, 2025. The Caesars Racebook app provides access for pari-mutuel wagering at over 300 racetracks around the world as well as livestreaming of races. Wagers placed can earn credits towards our Caesars Rewards loyalty program or points which can be redeemed for free wagering credits.
We are also in the process of continuing the expansion of our Caesars Digital footprint into other states in the near term with our Caesars Sportsbook, Caesars Racebook and iGaming mobile apps as jurisdictions legalize or provide necessary approvals. No customers under 21 years old are allowed to wager on any of our Caesars Sportsbook, Caesars Racebook and iGaming mobile apps.
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We periodically divest assets to raise capital or, in previous cases, to comply with conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions imposed by antitrust, gaming and other regulatory entities. The following is a summary of divestitures completed as of December 31, 2025:
Segment
Property/Assets
Date Sold
Sales Price
Caesars Digital
World Series of Poker (“WSOP”) Trademark
October 29, 2024
$500 million
Las Vegas
The LINQ Promenade
December 12, 2024
$275 million
In addition to the divestitures above, the operations of Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino (“Rio”) were assumed by the lessor on October 2, 2023, and we exited our management agreement with Caesars Dubai on November 16, 2023. See Note 3 for further discussion on these key transactions and any applicable gain (loss) recorded.
Investments and Partnerships
We have investments in unconsolidated affiliates accounted for under the equity method which are recorded in Investment in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates on the Balance Sheets.
Pompano Joint Venture
In April 2018, we entered into a joint venture with Cordish Companies (“Cordish”) to plan and develop a mixed-use entertainment and hospitality destination expected to be located on unused land adjacent to our Pompano property. As the managing member, Cordish will operate the business and manage the development, construction, financing, marketing, leasing, maintenance and day-to-day operation of the various phases of the project. Additionally, Cordish is responsible for the development of the master plan for the project with our input and will submit it for our review and approval. While we hold a 50% variable interest in the joint venture, we are not the primary beneficiary; as such the investment in the joint venture is accounted for using the equity method. We participate evenly with Cordish in the profits and losses of the joint venture, which are included in Transaction and other costs, net on our Statements of Operations.
During the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, we received distributions of $23 million and $39 million, respectively, and recorded $19 million and $11 million of income related to our investment due to the joint venture’s gains on the sales of certain land parcels, respectively. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, our investment in the joint venture totaled $115 million and $119 million, respectively.
Reportable Segments
Segment results in this MD&A are presented consistent with the way our management reviews operating results, assesses performance and makes decisions on a “significant market” basis. Management views each of the Company’s casinos as an operating segment. Operating segments are aggregated based on their similar economic characteristics, types of customers, types of services and products provided, and their management and reporting structure. Our principal operating activities occur in four reportable segments: (1) Las Vegas, (2) Regional, (3) Caesars Digital, and (4) Managed and Branded, in addition to Corporate and Other. See Item 2. “Properties” for listing of properties by segment.
Presentation of Financial Information
The financial information included in this Item 7 for the periods after the Company’s divestiture of various properties or assets, described above, is not fully comparable to the periods prior to the date of divestiture.
This MD&A is intended to provide information to assist in better understanding and evaluating our financial condition and results of operations. Our historical operating results may not be indicative of our future results of operations because of the factors described in the preceding paragraph and the changing competitive landscape in each of our markets, including changes in market and societal trends, increased competition, as well as by factors or trends discussed elsewhere herein. We recommend that you read this MD&A together with our audited consolidated financial statements and the notes to those statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Key Performance Metrics
Our primary source of revenue is generated by our gaming operations, which includes our casino properties, retail and online sports betting and online gaming. Additionally, we utilize our hotels, restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, retail shops, racing and other services to attract customers to our properties. Our operating results are highly dependent on the volume and quality of customers staying at, or visiting, our properties and using our sports betting, horse racing and iGaming applications.
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Key performance metrics include volume indicators such as drop or handle, which refer to amounts wagered by our customers. The amount of volume we retain, which is not fully controllable by us, is recognized as casino revenues and is referred to as our win or hold. Slot win percentage is typically in the range of approximately 9% to 11% of slot handle. Table games hold percentage is typically in the range of approximately 16% to 23% of table games drop. Sports betting hold is typically in the range of 7% to 11% and iGaming hold typically ranges from 3% to 5%. In addition, hotel occupancy, which is the average percentage of available hotel rooms occupied during a period, is a key indicator for our hotel business in the Las Vegas segment. Complimentary and discounted rooms are treated as occupied rooms in our calculation of hotel occupancy. The key metrics we utilize to measure our profitability and performance are Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin. See “Results of Operations” section below.
Results of Operations
The following table highlights the results of our operations:
Years Ended December 31,
(Dollars in millions)
Net revenues:
Las Vegas
Regional
Caesars Digital
Managed and Branded
Corporate and Other (a)
Total
Net income (loss)
Adjusted EBITDA (b) :
Las Vegas
Regional
Caesars Digital
Managed and Branded
Corporate and Other (a)
Total
Net income (loss) margin
Adjusted EBITDA margin
(a) Corporate and Other includes revenues related to certain licensing arrangements and various revenue sharing agreements and includes eliminations of transactions among segments to reconcile to the Company’s consolidated results. Corporate and Other Adjusted EBITDA includes corporate overhead costs, which consist of certain expenses, such as: payroll, professional fees, cybersecurity and other general and administrative expenses.
(b) See the “Supplemental Unaudited Presentation of Consolidated Adjusted Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”)” discussion later in this MD&A for a description of Adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA.
Consolidated comparison for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023
The tables below highlight the results of our operations. Comparisons between 2025 and 2024 are described below. A discussion of changes in our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to 2023 has been omitted from this Annual Report on Form 10-K and can be found in “ Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ” of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
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Net Revenues
Net revenues were as follows:
Years Ended December 31,
Variance
Percent Change
Variance
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)
Casino
Food and beverage
Hotel
Other
Net Revenues
Consolidated net revenues increased for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same prior year period. The increase in casino revenues was primarily driven by significant growth in iGaming handle coupled with improved iGaming and sports betting hold in our Caesars Digital segment. The completion of Caesars Virginia’s permanent facility in December 2024 and the renovation and expansion of the rebranded Caesars New Orleans in October 2024 also contributed incremental gaming and non-gaming revenues in 2025. These increases were partially offset by declines in net revenues in certain competitive markets in our Regional segment and net revenues in our Las Vegas region which was due to lower customer visitation, consistent with city-wide trends, and lower table games hold compared to the same prior year period.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses were as follows:
Years Ended December 31,
Variance
Percent Change
Variance
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)
Casino
Food and beverage
Hotel
Other
General and administrative
Corporate
Impairment charges
Depreciation and amortization
Transaction and other costs, net
Total operating expenses
* Not meaningful.
Casino expenses consist primarily of salaries and wages, gaming taxes, and marketing and advertising costs associated with our gaming operations. Food and beverage expenses consist principally of salaries and wages and costs of goods sold associated with our food and beverage operations. Hotel expenses consist principally of salaries and wages, supplies and costs of services associated with our hotel operations. Other expenses consist principally of salaries and wages and costs of goods sold associated with our retail operations, entertainment costs (including professional talent fees), reimbursable management costs and other operations.
Casino expenses increased for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same prior year period. Casino expenses, such as gaming taxes, platform costs and processing fees, rose in connection with increased revenues in our Caesars Digital segment. Additionally, increased gaming tax rates on sports betting wagers and iGaming in certain states took effect on July 1, 2025. Casino expenses in the Regional segment increased in connection with additional casino revenues and targeted customer reinvestment spend in certain competitive markets. Increased casino expenses were partially offset by decreased marketing expenses in our Las Vegas segment associated with the Super Bowl held in Las Vegas in the first quarter of 2024. Food and beverage and hotel expenses have increased due to incremental wages correlating with additional revenues associated with the opening of Caesars Virginia’s permanent facility and the completed renovation and expansion of Caesars New Orleans, as well as higher union and non-union wages. We continue to focus on labor efficiencies across the enterprise to manage increased labor costs.
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General and administrative expenses include items such as information technology, facility maintenance, utilities, property and liability insurance, expenses for administrative departments such as accounting, compliance, purchasing, human resources, legal, internal audit, property taxes and marketing expenses indirectly related to our gaming and non-gaming operations.
Corporate expenses include unallocated expenses such as payroll, inclusive of the annual bonus, stock-based compensation, professional fees, cybersecurity and other various expenses not directly related to the Company’s operations. Corporate expenses increased for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same prior year period, primarily driven by an increase in payroll and benefits expense.
Impairment charges for the year ended December 31, 2025 were recorded within our Regional segment as a result of a decrease in projected future cash flows at certain properties primarily due to localized competition.
Depreciation and amortization expenses increased for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same prior year period, primarily related to recently completed construction projects.
Transaction and other costs, net primarily includes non-cash losses on the write down and disposal of assets, gains and losses on the sales of certain assets, certain non-recurring litigation reserves, non-recurring asset recoveries, professional services for transaction and integration costs, various contract exit or termination costs, pre-opening costs in connection with new property openings and non-cash changes in equity method investments. For the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same prior year period, transaction and other costs, net increased primarily due to gains from the sales of the WSOP trademark and the LINQ Promenade recognized in the prior year period.
Other income (expenses)
Other income (expenses) were as follows:
Years Ended December 31,
Variance
Percent Change
Variance
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)
Interest expense, net
Loss on extinguishment of debt
Other income
Benefit (provision) for income taxes
* Not meaningful.
Interest expense, net decreased for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same prior year period, primarily due to a reduction in outstanding debt and our strategic shift in our debt mix from higher fixed rate debt to variable rate debt during the first quarter of 2024. Since September 2024, key borrowing rates have been decreased by the Federal Reserve by 175 basis points resulting in significant decreases in our cash paid for interest on our variable debt. Decreased interest expense was partially offset by lower capitalized interest for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same prior year period, due to the completion of construction projects. See Note 2 to our Financial Statements for the major components of interest expense, net.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, loss on extinguishment of debt was related to the full redemption of the CEI Senior Notes due 2027. For the year ended December 31, 2024, loss on extinguishment of debt was primarily related to the prepayments of the CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2025 and the Caesars Resort Collection (“CRC”) Senior Secured Notes and the partial prepayments of the CEI Term Loan B and the CEI Senior Notes due 2027.
Other income for the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily represents a change in estimate of our disputedclaims liability.
The income tax benefit was $11 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to an income tax provision of $87 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The reported income tax benefit in 2025 differed from the statutory income tax benefit primarily due to nondeductible goodwill impairments and nondeductible interest expense. The reported income tax expense in 2024 differed from the statutory income tax benefit primarily due to nondeductible goodwill impairments and write offs and nondeductible interest expense. See Note 14 to our Financial Statements for the effective income tax rate reconciliation.
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Segment comparison for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023
Las Vegas Segment
Years Ended December 31,
Variance
Percent Change
Variance
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)
Net revenues:
Casino
Food and beverage
Hotel
Other
Net revenues
Table games drop (a)
Table games hold %
(1.4) pts
(0.9) pts
Slot handle (a)
Hotel occupancy
(3.4) pts
0.7 pts
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA margin
(1.9) pts
(0.5) pts
Net income attributable to Caesars
(a) Prior year gaming volumes include Rio’s table games drop of $70 million and slot handle of $342 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Our Las Vegas segment’s net revenues, net income, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to the same prior year period, primarily due to declines in city-wide visitation trends resulting in lower gaming and non-gaming revenues. Casino revenues declined as a result of decreased table and slot volumes, coupled with unfavorable table games hold, which remained within the typical range. Similarly, declines in city-wide visitation resulted in lower hotel occupancy and room rates compared to the prior year period. Other revenue declined as compared to the same prior year period primarily due to the sale of the LINQ Promenade during the fourth quarter of 2024.
Slot win percentage in the Las Vegas segment during the year ended December 31, 2025 was within our typical range.
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Regional Segment
Years Ended December 31,
Variance
Percent Change
Variance
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)
Net revenues:
Casino
Food and beverage
Hotel
Other
Net revenues
Table games drop
Table games hold %
(0.6) pts
(0.4) pts
Slot handle
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA margin
(1.6) pts
(1.3) pts
Net income (loss) attributable to Caesars
* Not meaningful.
Our Regional segment’s net revenues improved for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same prior year period, primarily due to favorable results from our recently completed Caesars Virginia and Caesars New Orleans development projects. These increases were partially offset by the continued impact of competition and inclement weather in several of our regional markets, as well as construction disruption in Lake Tahoe. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased slightly for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same prior year period, primarily due to increased labor costs and targeted customer reinvestment spend in certain competitive markets. Net income (loss) decreased for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same prior year period, primarily due to additional depreciation expense resulting from the recently completed development projects.
As a result of the aforementioned factors impacting certain of our properties in the Regional segment, we recorded impairments totaling $182 million during the year ended December 31, 2025.
Slot win percentage in the Regional segment during the year ended December 31, 2025 was within our typical range.
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Caesars Digital Segment
Years Ended December 31,
Variance
Percent Change
Variance
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)
Net revenues:
Casino (a)
Other
Net revenues
Sports betting handle (b)
Sports betting hold %
1.1 pts
0.7 pts
iGaming handle
iGaming hold %
0.1 pts
0.4 pts
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA margin
6.7 pts
6.2 pts
Net income (loss) attributable to Caesars
* Not meaningful.
(a) Includes total promotional and complimentary incentives related to sports betting, iGaming, and poker of $309 million, $283 million and $253 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Promotional and complimentary incentives for poker were $14 million, $13 million and $14 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
(b) Caesars Digital generated an additional $951 million, $979 million and $1.1 billion of sports betting handle for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, which is not included in this table, for select wholly-owned and third-party operations for which Caesars Digital provides services and we receive all, or a share of, the net profits. Hold related to these operations was 11.8%, 9.3% and 10.4% for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Sports betting handle includes $40 million, $41 million and $45 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, related to horse racing and pari-mutuel wagers.
Caesars Digital’s net revenues, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA margin improved significantly for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same prior year period, primarily due to higher iGaming handle and iGaming hold coupled with improved sports betting hold. Net income decreased primarily due to the gain recognized on the sale of the WSOP trademark in the prior year period.
As sports betting and online casinos expand through increased state or jurisdictional legalization, new product launches, and customer adoption, variations in hold percentages and increases in promotional and marketing expenses in highly competitive markets may negatively impact Caesars Digital’s net revenues, net income, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin in comparison to current or prior periods.
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Managed and Branded Segment
Years Ended December 31,
Variance
Percent Change
Variance
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)
Net revenues:
Other
Net revenues
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA margin
(1.9) pts
1.1 pts
Net income attributable to Caesars
We manage several properties and license rights to the use of our brands. These revenue agreements typically include reimbursement of certain costs that we incur directly. Such costs are primarily related to payroll costs incurred on behalf of the properties under management. The revenue related to these reimbursable management costs has a direct impact on our evaluation of Adjusted EBITDA margin which, when excluded, reflects margins typically realized from such agreements. The table below presents the amount included in net revenues and total operating expenses related to these reimbursable costs.
Years Ended December 31,
Variance
Percent Change
Variance
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)
Reimbursable management revenue
Reimbursable management cost
Corporate & Other
Years Ended December 31,
Variance
Percent Change
Variance
Percent Change
(Dollars in millions)
Net revenues:
Casino
Food and beverage
Other
Net revenues
Adjusted EBITDA
* Not meaningful.
Supplemental Unaudited Presentation of Consolidated Adjusted Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”) for the Years Ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023
Adjusted EBITDA (described below), a non-GAAP financial measure, has been presented as a supplemental disclosure because it is a widely used measure of performance and basis for valuation of companies in our industry and we believe that this non-GAAP supplemental information will be helpful in understanding our ongoing operating results. Management has historically used Adjusted EBITDA when evaluating operating performance because we believe that the inclusion or exclusion of certain recurring and non-recurring items is necessary to provide a full understanding of our core operating results and as a means to evaluate period-to-period results. Adjusted EBITDA represents net income (loss) before interest income and interest expense net of interest capitalized, (benefit) provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, (gain) loss on extinguishment of debt, impairment charges, other (income) loss, net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests, transaction costs associated with our acquisitions, developments, and divestitures, and non-cash changes in equity method investments. Adjusted EBITDA also excludes the expense associated with certain of our leases as these transactions were accounted for as financing obligations and the associated expense is included in interest expense. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of performance or liquidity calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). Adjusted EBITDA is unaudited and should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss) as an indicator of our operating performance. Uses of cash flows that are not reflected
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in Adjusted EBITDA include capital expenditures, interest payments, income taxes, debt principal repayments, distributions to our noncontrolling interest owners and payments under our leases with affiliates of VICI and GLPI, which can be significant. As a result, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as a measure of our liquidity. Other companies that provide Adjusted EBITDA information may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently than we do. The definition of Adjusted EBITDA may not be the same as the definitions used in any of our debt agreements.
The following table summarizes our Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 in addition to reconciling net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA in accordance with GAAP (unaudited):
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)
Net income (loss) attributable to Caesars
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
(Benefit) provision for income taxes (a)
Other income (b)
Loss on extinguishment of debt
Interest expense, net
Impairment charges (c)
Depreciation and amortization
Transaction costs and other, net (d)
Stock-based compensation expense
Adjusted EBITDA
Pre-disposition EBITDA, net (e)
Total Adjusted EBITDA
(a) Benefit for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2023 includes the release of $940 million of valuation allowance against deferred tax assets.
(b) Other income for the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily represents a change in estimate of our disputedclaims liability.
(c) Impairment charges for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2023 include impairments within our Regional segment. Impairment charges for the year ended December 31, 2024 include impairments within our Regional and Las Vegas segments.
(d) Transaction costs and other, net primarily includes non-cash losses on the write down and disposal of assets, certain non-recurring litigation reserves, non-recurring asset recoveries, gains from the sales of the WSOP trademark and the LINQ Promenade, professional services for transaction and integration costs, various contract exit or termination costs, pre-opening costs in connection with new property openings and expansion projects at existing properties, and non-cash changes in equity method investments.
(e) Adjustment for pre-disposition results of operations reflecting the subtraction of results of operations for Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino and the LINQ Promenade prior to divestiture, for the relevant periods. See Item 7 - Overview above. Such figures are based on unaudited internal financial statements and have not been reviewed by our auditors for the periods presented. The additional financial information is included to enable the comparison of current results with results of prior periods.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We are a holding company, and our only significant assets are ownership interests in our subsidiaries. Our ability to fund our obligations depends on existing cash on hand, cash flows from our subsidiaries and our ability to raise capital. Our primary sources of liquidity and capital resources are existing cash on hand, cash flows from operations, availability of borrowings under our CEI Revolving Credit Facility and proceeds from the issuance of debt and equity securities. We may, from time to time, seek to repurchase our common stock or prepay our outstanding indebtedness. Any such purchases or prepayments may be funded by existing cash balances or the incurrence of debt. The amount and timing of any repurchase of debt or common stock will be based on business and market conditions, capital availability, compliance with debt covenants and other considerations. Our cash requirements may fluctuate significantly depending on our decisions with respect to business acquisitions or divestitures and strategic capital and marketing investments.
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As of December 31, 2025, our cash on hand and borrowing capacity was as follows:
(In millions)
December 31, 2025
Cash and cash equivalents
Revolver capacity (a)
Revolver capacity committed to letters of credit
Revolver capacity committed as regulatory requirement
Total
(a) Revolver capacity includes $2.1 billion under the CEI Revolving Credit Facility, maturing in January 2028, and $25 million under the CVA Revolving Credit Facility, maturing on April 26, 2029, less $40 million reserved for specific purposes.
During the year ended December 31, 2025, our operating activities generated operating cash inflows of $1.3 billion, as compared to operating cash inflows of $1.1 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to changes in working capital, coupled with the results of operations described above.
On October 2, 2024, we announced that our Board of Directors (“Board”) authorized a $500 million common stock repurchase program (the “2024 Share Repurchase Program”). Under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program, we may, from time to time, repurchase shares of common stock on the open market (either with or without a 10b5-1 plan) or through privately negotiated transactions. During the year ended December 31, 2025, we acquired 9,606,145 shares of our common stock at an aggregate value of $229 million. Under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program, as of December 31, 2025, we have authorization to repurchase up to $221 million more of our outstanding common stock. See “Share Repurchase Programs” below for details.
On July 8, 2025, we fully redeemed all of the $546 million outstanding principal amount of the CEI Senior Notes due 2027 and paid the related accrued interest and expenses with borrowings under the CEI Revolving Credit Facility and proceeds received from the partial repayment and sale of $225 million of notes receivable related to the previously disclosed WSOP trademark sale.
We expect that our primary capital requirements going forward will relate to servicing our outstanding indebtedness, rent payments under our GLPI Leases and VICI Leases, and the expansion and maintenance of our properties. Beginning in 2025 we have had, and expect to continue having, additional cash uses for operating activities as a result of federal and certain state income taxes.
A significant portion of our liquidity needs are for debt service and payments associated with our leases. Our estimated debt service (including principal and interest) is approximately $824 million for 2026 . We also lease certain real property assets from third parties, including VICI and GLPI. The VICI Leases are subject to annual escalations, that take effect in November of each year, based on the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”). In addition to the CPI escalator, our VICI leases are also subject to a variable rent adjustment based on certain historical net revenues of our leased properties which began in November 2024. The next such lease year with a variable rent adjustment begins November 2027. We estimate our lease payments to VICI and GLPI to be approximately $1.4 billion for 2026 .
We make capital expenditures and perform continuing refurbishment and maintenance at our properties to maintain our quality standards. Our capital expenditure requirements for 2026 include the completion of expansion and rebranding projects and hotel renovations. In addition, we anticipate continued investment in our Caesars Sportsbook and iGaming applications.
Cash used for capital expenditures totaled $805 million, $1.3 billion and $1.3 billion for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, related to our growth, renovation, maintenance, and other capital projects. The following table summarizes our estimates for 2026 capital expenditures.
(In millions)
Low
High
Growth and renovation projects
Caesars Digital
Maintenance projects
Total estimated capital expenditures from unrestricted cash
We have agreements with certain sporting event facilities and professional sports teams primarily for tickets, suites, advertising, marketing, promotional and sponsorship opportunities. The agreements include leasing of event suites that are generally considered short term leases for which we do not record a right-of-use asset or lease liability and recognize expenses in the period services are received. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024 , obligations related to these agreements were $318 million and $421 million, respectively, with contracts extending through 2040.
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We have periodically divested assets to raise capital or, in previous cases, to comply with conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions imposed by antitrust, gaming and other regulatory entities. If an agreed upon selling price for future divestitures does not exceed the carrying value of the assets, we may be required to record additional impairment charges in future periods which may be material.
We expect that our current liquidity, including availability of borrowings under our committed credit facility and cash flows from operations will be sufficient to fund our operations, capital requirements and service our outstanding indebtedness for the next twelve months and beyond.
Debt and Master Lease Covenant Compliance
The CEI Revolving Credit Facility, the CEI Term Loan A, the CEI Term Loan B, the CEI Term Loan B-1 and the indentures governing the CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2030, the CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2032, the CEI Senior Notes due 2029 and the CEI Senior Notes due 2032 contain covenants which are standard and customary for these types of agreements. These include negative covenants, which, subject to certain exceptions and baskets, limit our ability to (among other items) incur additional indebtedness, make investments, make restricted payments, including dividends, grant liens, sell assets and make acquisitions.
The CEI Revolving Credit Facility and the CEI Term Loan A include a maximum net total leverage ratio financial covenant of 6.50:1. In addition, the CEI Revolving Credit Facility and the CEI Term Loan A include a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio financial covenant of 2.0:1. From and after the repayment of the CEI Term Loan A, the financial covenants applicable to the CEI Revolving Credit Facility will be tested solely to the extent that certain testing conditions are satisfied. Failure to comply with such covenants could result in an acceleration of the maturity of indebtedness outstanding under the relevant debt agreement.
The GLPI Leases and VICI Leases contain certain covenants requiring minimum capital expenditures based on a percentage of net revenues along with maintaining certain financial ratios. The GLPI Leases require the Company to maintain a minimum adjusted revenue to rent ratio of 1.20:1, applicable to the operations of the underlying leased properties.
The CVA Revolving Credit Facility and the CVA Delayed Draw Term Loan contain covenants which are standard and customary for this type of agreement, including a maximum net total leverage ratio financial covenant of 4:1 and a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio financial covenant of 1.05:1, applicable to the operations of Caesars Virginia.
As of December 31, 2025, we were in compliance with all of the applicable financial covenants described above.
Share Repurchase Programs
On November 8, 2018, we announced that our Board of Directors authorized a $150 million common stock repurchase program (the “2018 Share Repurchase Program”). In September 2024 we reached the limit of authorized repurchases under the 2018 Share Repurchase Plan and on October 2, 2024, we announced that our Board authorized a $500 million common stock repurchase program. Under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program, we may, from time to time, repurchase shares of common stock on the open market (either with or without a 10b5-1 plan) or through privately negotiated transactions. The 2024 Share Repurchase Program has no time limit and may be suspended or discontinued at any time without notice. There is no minimum number of shares of common stock that we are required to repurchase under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program.
Share repurchase activity is summarized below:
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions, except share data)
Shares repurchased
Total cost
Shares repurchased
Total cost
2018 Share Repurchase Program
2024 Share Repurchase Program
Total
Under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program, as of December 31, 2025, we have authorization to repurchase up to $221 million more of our outstanding common stock.
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Debt Obligations and Leases
CEI Term Loans and CEI Revolving Credit Facility
CEI is party to a credit agreement, dated as of July 20, 2020, with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, U.S. Bank National Association, as collateral agent, and certain banks and other financial institutions and lenders party thereto (the “CEI Credit Agreement”), which, as amended, provides for the CEI Revolving Credit Facility in an aggregate principal amount of $2.25 billion (the “CEI Revolving Credit Facility”) and will mature on January 31, 2028. The CEI Revolving Credit Facility includes a letter of credit sub-facility of $388 million and contains reserves of $40 million which are available only for certain permitted uses.
On October 5, 2022, Caesars entered into an amendment to the CEI Credit Agreement pursuant to which we incurred a senior secured term loan in an aggregate principal amount of $750 million (the “CEI Term Loan A”) as a new term loan under the credit agreement and made certain other amendments to the CEI Credit Agreement. The CEI Term Loan A will mature on January 31, 2028. The CEI Term Loan A requires scheduled quarterly payments in amounts equal to 1.25% of the original aggregate principal amount of the CEI Term Loan A, with the balance payable at maturity.
Borrowings under the CEI Revolving Credit Facility and the CEI Term Loan A bear interest, paid at least quarterly, at a rate equal to, at our option, either (a) a forward-looking term rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“Term SOFR”) for the applicable interest period plus an adjustment of 0.10% per annum (the “Term SOFR Adjustment” and Term SOFR as so adjusted, “Adjusted Term SOFR”), subject to a floor of 0% or (b) a base rate (the “Base Rate”) determined by reference to the highest of (i) the rate of interest per annum last quoted by The Wall Street Journal as the “Prime Rate” in the United States, (ii) the federal funds rate plus 0.50% per annum and (iii) the one-month Term SOFR plus 1.00% per annum plus, in the case of the CEI Revolving Credit Facility and the CEI Term Loan A only, the Term SOFR Adjustment, in each case, plus an applicable margin. Such applicable margin is 2.25% per annum in the case of any Adjusted Term SOFR loan and 1.25% per annum in the case of any Base Rate loan, subject to three 0.25% step-downs based on our net total leverage ratio. In addition, on a quarterly basis, we are required to pay each lender under the CEI Revolving Credit Facility a commitment fee in respect of any unused commitments under the CEI Revolving Credit Facility in the amount of 0.35% per annum of the principal amount of the unused commitments of such lender, subject to three 0.05% step-downs based on our net total leverage ratio.
On February 6, 2023, we entered into an Incremental Assumption Agreement No. 2 pursuant to which we incurred a new senior secured incremental term loan in an aggregate principal amount of $2.5 billion (the “CEI Term Loan B”) under the CEI Credit Agreement. The CEI Term Loan B requires scheduled quarterly principal payments in amounts equal to 0.25% of the original aggregate principal amount of the CEI Term Loan B, with the balance payable at maturity. Borrowings under the CEI Term Loan B, as amended, bear interest, paid at least quarterly, at a rate equal to, at our option, either (a) Term SOFR, subject to a floor of 0.50% or (b) the Base Rate in each case, plus an applicable margin. Such applicable margin is 2.25% per annum in the case of any Term SOFR loan and 1.25% per annum in the case of any Base Rate loan. The CEI Term Loan B will mature on February 6, 2030.
On February 6, 2024, we entered into an Incremental Assumption Agreement No. 3 pursuant to which we incurred a new senior secured incremental term loan in an aggregate principal amount of $2.9 billion (the “CEI Term Loan B-1”) under the CEI Credit Agreement. The CEI Term Loan B-1 requires quarterly principal payments in amounts equal to 0.25% of the original aggregate principal amount of the CEI Term Loan B-1, with the balance payable at maturity. Borrowings under the CEI Term Loan B-1, as amended in November 2024, bear interest, paid at least quarterly, at a rate equal to, at our option, either (a) Term SOFR, subject to a floor of 0.50% or (b) the Base Rate, in each case, plus an applicable margin. Such applicable margin is 2.25% per annum in the case of any Term SOFR loan and 1.25% per annum in the case of any Base Rate loan. The CEI Term Loan B-1 will mature on February 6, 2031.
As of December 31, 2025, we had $1.9 billion of available borrowing capacity under the CEI Revolving Credit Facility, after consideration of $83 million in outstanding letters of credit, $46 million committed for regulatory purposes, the outstanding amount, and the reserves described above.
Caesars Virginia Credit Facility due 2029
On April 26, 2024, Caesars Virginia, LLC entered into a credit agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent, and certain banks and other financial institutions and lenders party thereto, which provides for a senior secured first lien multi-draw term loan facility up to an aggregate principal amount of $400 million (the “CVA Delayed Draw Term Loan”) and a senior secured first lien revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of $25 million (the “CVA Revolving Credit Facility”), both maturing on April 26, 2029.
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The CVA Delayed Draw Term Loan requires quarterly principal payments which began on June 30, 2025. The CVA Revolving Credit Facility and the CVA Delayed Draw Term Loan are subject to a variable rate of interest based on Term SOFR plus an applicable margin. The CVA Revolving Credit Facility includes a $10 million letter of credit sub-facility.
CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2030
On February 6, 2023, we issued $2.0 billion in aggregate principal amount of 7.00% senior secured notes (the “CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2030”) pursuant to an indenture by and among the Company, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto from time to time, U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee, and U.S. Bank National Association, as collateral agent. The CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2030 rank equally with all existing and future first-priority lien obligations of the Company and the subsidiary guarantors. The CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2030 will mature on February 15, 2030, with interest payable semi-annually on February 15 and August 15 of each year.
CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2032
On February 6, 2024, we issued $1.5 billion in aggregate principal amount of 6.50% senior secured notes due 2032 (the “CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2032”) pursuant to an indenture by and among the Company, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto, U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee, and U.S. Bank National Association, as collateral agent. The CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2032 rank equally with all existing and future first-priority lien obligations of the Company and the subsidiary guarantors. The CEI Senior Secured Notes due 2032 will mature on February 15, 2032, with interest payable semi-annually on February 15 and August 15 of each year.
CEI Senior Notes due 2029
On September 24, 2021, we issued $1.2 billion in aggregate principal amount of 4.625% senior notes due 2029 (the “CEI Senior Notes due 2029”) pursuant to an indenture dated as of September 24, 2021 between the Company and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. The CEI Senior Notes due 2029 rank equally with all existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness of the Company and the subsidiary guarantors. The CEI Senior Notes due 2029 will mature on October 15, 2029, with interest payable semi-annually on April 15 and October 15 of each year.
CEI Senior Notes due 2032
On October 17, 2024, we issued $1.1 billion in aggregate principal amount of 6.00% senior notes due 2032 (the “CEI Senior Notes due 2032”) pursuant to an indenture dated as of October 17, 2024, by and among the Company, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto, and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee. The CEI Senior Notes due 2032 rank equally with all existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness of the Company and the subsidiary guarantors. The CEI Senior Notes due 2032 will mature on October 15, 2032, with interest payable semi-annually on April 15 and October 15 of each year.
CEI Senior Notes due 2027
On July 6, 2020, Colt Merger Sub, Inc. (the “Escrow Issuer”) issued $1.8 billion in aggregate principal amount of 8.125% senior notes due 2027 (the “CEI Senior Notes due 2027”) pursuant to an indenture, dated July 6, 2020, by and between the Escrow Issuer and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. The CEI Senior Notes due 2027 ranked equally with all existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness of the Company and the subsidiary guarantors. The CEI Senior Notes due 2027 were scheduled to mature on July 1, 2027 with interest payable semi-annually on January 1 and July 1 of each year.
On July 8, 2025, we fully redeemed all of the $546 million outstanding principal amount of the CEI Senior Notes due 2027 and paid the related accrued interest and expenses with borrowings under the CEI Revolving Credit Facility and proceeds received from the partial repayment and sale of $225 million of notes receivable related to the previously disclosed WSOP trademark sale. As a result of the early repayment, we recognized approximately $4 million of loss on extinguishment of debt.
VICI Leases
CEI leases certain real property assets from VICI under the following agreements: (i) for a portfolio of properties located throughout the United States (the “Regional Lease”), (ii) for Caesars Palace Las Vegas and Harrah’s Las Vegas (the “Las Vegas Lease”), and (iii) for Harrah’s Joliet (the “Joliet Lease”), (collectively, “VICI Leases”). The lease agreements, inclusive of all amendments, include (i) a 15-year initial term with four five-year renewal options, (ii) initial annual fixed rent payments of $1.1 billion, subject to annual escalation provisions based on the CPI and a 2% floor which commenced in lease year two of the initial terms and (iii) a variable element based on net revenues of the underlying leased properties which commenced in lease year eight of the initial term.
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The put-call right agreement whereby the Company could have required VICI to purchase and lease back (as lessor), or whereby VICI could require the Company to sell to VICI and lease back (as lessee), the real estate components of the Forum Convention Center, was not exercised by Caesars prior to the end of the Company’s election period. VICI’s election period expires on December 31, 2028. In the event that VICI exercises the option, the Forum Convention Center would be sold at a price and leased back to CEI in accordance to the terms and conditions of the put-call right agreement, as amended.
Our VICI Leases are accounted for as a financing obligation and totaled $11.7 billion as of December 31, 2025. See Note 7 to our Financial Statements for additional information about our VICI Leases and related matters.
GLPI Leases
CEI leases certain real property assets from GLPI under the Master Lease (as amended, the “GLPI Master Lease”). The GLPI Master Lease, encompassing a portfolio of properties within the United States, provides for the lease of land, buildings, structures and other improvements on the land, easements and similar appurtenances to the land and improvements relating to the operation of the leased properties. The GLPI Master Lease, inclusive of all amendments, provides for (i) an initial term of 20 years (through September 2038), (ii) four five-year renewals at the our option, (iii) annual land and building base rent of $24 million and $63 million, respectively, (iv) escalating provisions of building base rent equal to 101.25% of the rent for the preceding year for lease years five and six, 101.75% for lease years seven and eight and 102% for each lease year thereafter, and (v) relief from the operating, capital expenditure and financial covenants in the event of involuntaryclosures.
CEI also leases the real estate underlying Horseshoe St. Louis from GLPI, (the “Lumière Lease”). The Lumière Lease, inclusive of all amendments, provides for (i) an initial term commencing on September 29, 2020 and ending on October 31, 2033, (ii) four five-year renewal options, (iii) annual rent payments of $23 million, (iv) escalation provisions commencing in lease year two equal to 101.25% of the rent for the preceding year for lease years two through five, 101.75% for lease years six and seven and 102% for each lease year thereafter, and (v) certain relief under the financial covenant in the event of involuntaryclosures.
The GLPI Leases are accounted for as financing obligations and totaled $1.3 billion as of December 31, 2025. See Note 7 to our Financial Statements for additional information about our GLPI Leases and related matters.
Other Liquidity Matters
We are faced with certain contingencies, from time to time, involving litigation, claims, assessments, environmental remediation or compliance. These commitments and contingencies are discussed in greater detail in “ Part I, Item 3. Legal Proceedings ” and Note 8 to our Financial Statements, both of which are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. See “ Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business ” which is included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
We prepare our financial statements in conformity with GAAP. In preparing our financial statements, we have made our best estimates and judgments of the amounts and disclosures included in the financial statements, giving regard to materiality. When more than one accounting principle, or method of its application, is generally accepted, we select the principle or method that we consider to be the most appropriate under specific circumstances. Application of these accounting principles requires us to make estimates about the future resolution of existing uncertainties. Certain of our accounting policies, including those in connection with income taxes, goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets, long-lived assets, allowance for credit losses related to certain gaming receivables, self-insurance reserves, and litigation, claims and assessments require that we apply significant judgment in defining the appropriate assumptions for calculating financial estimates.
We consider accounting estimates to be critical accounting policies when:
• the estimates involve matters that are highly uncertain at the time the accounting estimate is made; and
• different estimates or changes to estimates could have a material impact on the reported financial position, changes in financial position, or results of operations.
By their nature, these judgments and estimates are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty. Our judgments and estimates are based on our historical experience, terms of existing contracts, observance of trends in the industry, information gathered from customer behavior, and information available from other outside sources, as appropriate. Actual results may differ due to the inherent uncertainty involving judgments and estimates.
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Our most critical accounting estimates and assumptions are in the following areas:
Income Taxes
We and our subsidiaries file income tax returns with federal, state and foreign jurisdictions. Our income tax returns are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and other tax authorities. Positions taken in tax returns are sometimes subject to uncertainty in the tax laws and may not ultimately be accepted by the IRS or other tax authorities. See Note 14 in the accompanying consolidated financial statements for a discussion of the status and impact of examinations by tax authorities.
We record income taxes under the asset and liability method, whereby deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases, and as attributable to operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. We reduce the carrying amounts of deferred tax assets by a valuation allowance if, based on the available evidence, it is more likely than not that such assets will not be realized. Management assesses the available positive and negative evidence to estimate if sufficient future taxable income will be generated to use existing deferred tax assets. During the second quarter of 2023, we evaluated our forecasted adjusted taxable income and objectively verifiable evidence and placed substantial weight on our 2022 and 2023 quarterly earnings, adjusted for non-recurring items, including the interest expense disallowed under the then current tax law. Accordingly, we determined it was more likely than not that a portion of the federal and state deferred tax assets will be realized and, as a result, during the second quarter of 2023, we reversed the valuation allowance related to these deferred tax assets and recorded an income tax benefit of $940 million. We are still carrying a valuation allowance on certain federal and state deferred tax assets that are not more likely than not to be realized in the future. We have assessed the changes to the valuation allowance, including realization of the disallowed interest expense deferred tax asset, using the integrated approach.
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had federal and state net operating loss carryforwards of $15 million and $9.1 billion, respectively, and federal general business tax credit and research tax credit carryforwards of $52 million, which will expire on various dates as follows:
Year of Expiration
Net Operating Losses
Tax Credits
(In millions)
Federal
States
Federal
Do not expire
Under the applicable accounting standards, we may recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such a position should be measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The accounting standards also provide guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties on income taxes, accounting in interim periods and disclosure requirements for uncertain tax positions.
Goodwill and Other Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets
Assessing goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment is a process that requires significant judgment and involves detailed qualitative and quantitative business-specific analysis and many individual assumptions which fluctuate between assessments.
Our annual test for impairment of goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets includes a qualitative assessment (a “step zero” assessment) to determine whether further impairment testing is necessary. To perform the step zero analysis the Company considers general economic conditions, recent and projected financial performance, market competition and changes in the carrying amount of our reporting units for goodwill. We also consider the period of time between the last qualitative assessment performed as well as the passing margin by which fair value exceeded the carrying value. If the qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that the carrying amount of the reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset exceeds its fair value, the Company does not proceed to a quantitative assessment.
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We determine the estimated fair value of each reporting unit based on a combination of EBITDA, valuation multiples, and estimated future cash flows discounted at rates commensurate with the capital structure and cost of capital of comparable market participants, giving appropriate consideration to the prevailing borrowing rates within the casino industry in general. We also evaluate the aggregate fair value of all of our reporting units and other non-operating assets in comparison to our aggregate debt and equity market capitalization at the test date. EBITDA multiples and discounted cash flows are common measures used to value businesses in our industry.
We determine the fair value of our indefinite-lived intangible assets using either the relief from royalty method, the excess earnings method under the income approach or a replacement cost market approach. The determination of fair value of our reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible assets requires management to make significant assumptions and estimates around the forecasts as well as the selection of discount rates and valuation multiples. Assumptions include the effects of changes in the competitive environment, capital projects, and new developments which may not be realized as projected. Changes in these assumptions and estimates could have a significant impact on the fair value of our reporting units’ intangible assets and result in potential impairment.
We completed our annual impairment tests as of October 1, 2025. As a result, we recognized impairment charges in our Regional segment. Our Regional segment’s impairments were due to a decrease in projected future cash flows at certain regional properties primarily due to localized competition within certain markets. We identified three reporting units in the Regional segment with estimated fair values associated with trademarks and goodwill below their respective carrying values and recorded impairments. This resulted in trademark impairment of $22 million and goodwill impairments of $160 million within the segment for the year ended December 31, 2025.
As of October 1, 2025, three reporting units in the Regional segment and two reporting units in the Las Vegas segment with goodwill totaling $2.5 billion had fair values that did not significantly exceed their respective carrying values. In addition, we identified one trademark totaling $114 million in our Las Vegas segment that did not significantly exceed its carrying value. The reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible assets with carrying values that do not significantly exceed their estimated fair values are primarily assets acquired in a merger when our discount rate was approximately 9.5%. The discount rate used in our annual impairment testing as of October 1, 2025 was approximately 10.0%. To the extent gaming volumes deteriorate in the near future, discount rates increase significantly, or we do not meet our projected performance, we may recognize further impairments, and such impairments could be material. The discount rate represents the most sensitive input in our estimates and an increase of 1% to the discount rate would result in additional impairments of approximately $325 million on the assets that do not significantly exceed their carrying values. In addition, $914 million of goodwill within our Regional segment and $462 million in our Las Vegas segment are associated with reporting units with zero or negative carrying values. See Note 5 for additional information.
Long-Lived Assets
We have significant capital invested in our long-lived assets, and judgments are made in determining the estimated useful lives of assets, salvage values to be assigned to assets, and if or when an asset has been impaired. The accuracy of these estimates affects the amount of depreciation and amortization expense recognized in our financial results and whether we have a gain or loss on the disposal of an asset. We assign lives to our assets based on our standard policy, which is established by management as representative of the useful life of each category of asset. We review the carrying value of our long-lived assets whenever events and circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable from the estimated future cash flows expected to result from its use and eventual disposition. The factors considered by management in performing this assessment include current operating results, trends and prospects, planned construction and renovation projects, as well as the effect of obsolescence, demand, competition, and other economic, legal, and regulatory factors. In estimating expected future cash flows for determining whether an asset is impaired, assets are grouped at the lowest level of identifiable cash flows, which, for most of our assets, is the individual property. See Note 4 for additional information.
Allowance for Credit Losses - Gaming
We reserve an estimated amount for gaming receivables that may not be collected to reduce the Company’s receivables to their net carrying amount. Methodologies for estimating the allowance for credit losses range from specific reserves to various percentages applied to aged receivables. Historical collection rates and reasonable forecasts are considered, as are customer relationships, in determining specific reserves to reflect current expected credit loss. As with many estimates, management must make judgments about potential actions by third parties in establishing and evaluating our reserves for credit losses. As of December 31, 2025, a 5% increase or decrease to the allowance determined based on a percentage of aged receivables would change the reserve by approximately $15 million.
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Self-Insurance Reserves
We are self-insured for various levels of general liability, employee medical insurance coverage and workers’ compensation coverage. Insurance claims and reserves include accruals of estimated settlements for known claims, as well as accruals of estimates for claims incurred but not yet reported. We utilize independent consultants to assist management in its determination of estimated insurance liabilities. While the total cost of claims incurred depends on future developments, in management’s opinion, recorded reserves are adequate to cover future claims payments. Self-insurance reserves for employee medical claims, workers’ compensation and general liability claims are included within Accrued other liabilities on the Balance Sheets.
The assumptions utilized by our actuaries are subject to significant uncertainty and if outcomes differ from these assumptions or events develop or progress in a negative manner, the Company could experience a material adverse effect and additional liabilities may be recorded in the future.
Litigation, Claims and Assessments
We utilize estimates for litigation, claims and assessments. These estimates are based on our knowledge and experience regarding current and past events, as well as assumptions about future events. Changes to our estimates may have an adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
For information with respect to recent accounting pronouncements and the potential impact of these pronouncements on our Financial Statements, see Note 2, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies – Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements .
