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VICI Properties ($VICI) becomes the first casino real estate investment trust (REITs) in the S&P 500, replacing Cerner Corporation.
It’s a monumental achievement for $VICI, one of two publicly traded casino REITs, the other being Gaming and Leisure Properties ($GLP).
In a statement, S&P Dow Jones Indices said,
“VICI Properties Inc. will replace Cerner Corp. in the S&P 500 prior to the open of trading on Wednesday, June 8.”
VICI is ranked 270 on the list of the top 500 companies making up the S&P.
Significant achievement for VICI Properties
VICI is the largest hotel and convention real estate owner in the US. Properties in its portfolio include the Venetian Expo Convention Center, Caesars Palace, and the Venetian.
Other assets include:
- Excalibur
- Luxor
- Mandalay Bay
- MGM Grand
- Mirage
- New York New York
- Park MGM
- Various regional casinos operated by MGM Resorts
Vaulting into the S&P 500 carries significant clout. The company s Caesars, Las Vegas Sands, Penn National Gaming, and Wynn Resorts as the only other casino gaming companies in the S&P 500.
According to the index provider:
“The S&P 500 is widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities. According to our Annual Survey of Assets, an estimated USD $13.5 trillion is indexed or benchmarked to the index, with indexed assets comprising approximately USD $5.4 trillion of this total (as of Dec. 31, 2020).”
As of writing, shares of $VICI were trading at $31.18.
VICI building out its real estate portfolio
In April, VICI closed on its acquisition of MGM Growth Properties for $17.2 billion. In doing so, the company added 15 Las Vegas and regional casinos, translating to approximately 40,775 hotel rooms, 1.2 million square feet of gaming space, and 5.9 million square feet of meeting and convention space.
At the time, VICI CEO Edward Pitoniak said the company was now a top-10 REIT by enterprise value.
“The addition of the MGP portfolio, together with the recent closing of our Venetian acquisition, elevates VICI to the top ranks of American 4-wall REITs, making VICI a top-5 REIT by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) a top-10 REIT by enterprise value.”
In 2017, Caesars spun off VICI as its own entity. Today, the company has an estimated value of $44 billion. When breaking down the broader real estate sector, VICI is higher by 4.25% year-to-date.
During the company’s first-quarter earnings call, VICI announced total revenues increased 11.3% year-over-year to $416.6 million.
