December was a good month for Aristocrat Leisure, especially in its social-gaming operations, according to Jefferies Equity Research analyst Kai Erman. He shared his views in a January 5 investor note.
Erman observed that Aristocrat “saw the benefits of a typically seasonally stronger December.” Its revenue grew two percent at a time when the rest of the sector slackened by 10 percent.
The analyst wrote that the Down Under company “should continue to make share gains in Social Casino with renewed focus.” This would be aided by the sale of its Big Fish subsidiary and divestiture of Plarium, a mobile-gaming concern.
The past month marked a full quarter of positive comparisons for Aristocrat in social gaming. To Erman, this “indicates clear inflection and market share growth given competitor studios have seen a -10% revenue decline” in the same period. He added that this rationalized Aristocrat’s decision to unload casual and mid-core assets.
Although Light & Wonder’s Gold Fish slots and Jackpot Party had driven a 15 percent sequential surge for that company, Aristocrat had its own top performers, Erman said. These included Big Fish Casino and Jackpot Magic.
Citing Eilers & Krejcik data, Erman wrote that Aristocrat “continues to make significant share gains in Social Casino.” It grew from 13.8 percent market share to 14.7 percent in the third quarter of 2024, at a time when Light & Wonder was flat.
Erman concluded that Aristocrat could reach its benchmarks, “given the company continues to consolidate share in U.S. land-based gaming, particularly in Gaming Operations, with positive signs from the rollout of Phoenix Link and market share indicators.”
