Sydney, June 26, 2026, 02:05 (AEST)
- Aristocrat ended Thursday’s session at A$59.38, adding 2.4%. Shares gained 10.9% in five days. The ASX 200 dropped 0.7% Thursday.
- The program so far has used A$1.376 billion to buy 24.506 million shares, putting the average price at A$56.15.
- There’s about A$1.124 billion left, which works out to around 18.9 million shares before costs at Thursday’s close. That’s 3% of the share base from the filing.
Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX:ALL) heads into Friday after chalking up a fifth gain in a row. The stock added A$1.39 to close at A$59.38 on Thursday with about 4.1 million shares traded. The S&P/ASX 200 ended down 0.7%.
Aristocrat picked up 176,128 shares for A$10.19 million ahead of the open on June 24, paying between A$57.18 and A$57.99. The purchase was close to 5% of reported volume that day.
The new purchase brings the filing’s running total to 24,505,670 shares at a cost of A$1.3761 billion. That puts the average price at A$56.15. This makes up 3.9% of the 625.5 million shares listed in the program notice.
Aristocrat has spent 55% of its A$2.5 billion buyback approval, still good until May 12, 2027. Based on Thursday’s close, the amount left would buy around 18.9 million more shares, before costs. On this fixed price, what’s been bought and what’s left to buy add up to about 6.9% of the share count in the filing.
A five-day rally in the stock has made the buyback less effective, with each dollar now buying fewer shares. The company paid an average of A$57.87 for Wednesday’s buyback. The stock ended the next day 2.6% higher than that price.
Aristocrat lifted its buyback by A$1 billion after reporting its May half-year numbers. Normalised NPATA was up 16.3% at A$794 million on a constant currency basis. Diluted EPSA improved 19.1%. The board declared an interim dividend of 50 cents per share.
Aristocrat’s cash return draws on steady operating numbers. The company’s installed base in North American gaming hit 77,242 units for the first half, giving it a 43% market share. Outright sales units in North America climbed 15%.
Aristocrat CEO Trevor Croker said in May the company is “committed to our capital management strategy and our on-market share buy-back program.”
Aristocrat Leisure Limited’s next event is the July 1 investor briefing. Management will talk about Aristocrat Interactive and give more on the goal for US$1 billion in revenue by fiscal 2029. The interim dividend of 50 cents is also due for payment that day.
