Shares of MGM Resorts International experienced a significant increase on Friday following the company's announcement that it possesses adequate cybersecurity insurance to offset losses resulting from a recent hacker attack. As of 1:15 pm E.T., the shares had risen by 5.4% to $36.68, although they had previously dropped by 16% within the past month.
MGM Resorts forecasts that the cyberattack, which occurred in September, will have a negative financial impact of approximately $100 million during the third quarter and a minimal effect during the fourth quarter. However, the company expects this incident to have an insignificant impact on its full-year results.
During the third quarter, MGM Resorts has so far incurred less than $10 million in one-time expenses related to the cyberattack, as per a filing with securities regulators. On September 12th, following the cyberattack, MGM Resorts promptly reported the incident to law enforcement officials and implemented measures to protect its data. The attack severely affected the company's operations and caused disruptions to its services in Las Vegas.
In a letter addressed to customers on Thursday, Chief Executive Bill Hornbuckle reassured them that their bank account numbers and payment card information remained uncompromised due to the company's swift response to the incident.
The September shutdowns resulted in interruptions to slot machines, online hotel bookings, and necessitated hotel staff to resort to manual check-ins using pen and paper. Thankfully, guest operations have since returned to normal, MGM Resorts confirmed on Thursday.
