S&P Upgrades GEO Group to 'BB' Following $950 Million Debt Paydown

3-line summary

• S&P upgraded GEO Group's issuer credit rating to 'BB' from 'BB-', with a positive outlook, after the company said it would use $950 million from the sale of its Adelanto, California immigration detention facility to pay down senior secured debt, according to Investing.com.
• Senior secured debt was raised to 'BBB-' from 'BB+' and senior unsecured to 'BB' from 'BB-'. S&P expects adjusted leverage to fall to roughly 1x by year-end from 2.9x as of Q2 2026, citing expanded ICE detention budgets and higher per-bed rates under GEO's decade-long government contracts.
• The Adelanto sale transfers 2,644 beds but leaves GEO with over 94% of its bed capacity intact. S&P flagged the board's expanded buyback authorization (to $1.25B through 2029) as a factor that could push the outlook back to stable if leverage rises above 2x.

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