Strong Q3 results for Las Vegas Sands and what that means for other casino operators with a footprint in Asia

Las Vegas Sands (LVS), the world’s leading developer and operator of convention-based integrated resorts, released its Q3 results for the quarter ending on September 30th, 2023. After completing the sale of its Vegas properties including The Venetian, Palazza, and Venetian Expo for $6.25bn in 2022, the Group’s focus is solely on Macau and Singapore properties. Their quarterly results are therefore a good indicator of the direction of the Asian gaming market and a bellwether for Casino operators with a footprint in Asia. If you want to get an overview of the key figures without having to go through the full results announcement, read on!

Net Revenue for Q3 2023 was $2.80bn compared to $1.01bn in Q3 2022, +177% YoY.

Net revenue for the nine months ended Sep 30 was $7.46bn compared to $2.99bn for the first nine months of 2022, +149% YoY.

Sands’ portfolio of properties includes Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, The Venetian Macau, The Plaza and Four Seasons Hotel Macau, The Londoner Macau, The Parisian Macau and Sands Macau in Macau SAR, China, through majority ownership in Sands China Ltd. The revenues from The Venetian Macau ($723mn) and Marina Bay Sands ($1015mn) however continue to dominate the LVS portfolio making up 62% of LVS Q3 revenues.

Adjusted EBITDA for Q3 2023 came in at $1.12bn compared to $191mn in Q3 2022; +486% YoY.

Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended Sep 30 was $2.89bn compared to $510mn for the first nine months of 2022; +467% YoY.

EBITDA from the Venetian Macau ($290mn) and Marina Bay Sands ($491mn) contributed almost 70% of Q3 Adjusted EBITDA.

In addition to the strong results, LVS announced a $2bn stock repurchase program through Nov 3, 2025. This will be LVS’s first share buyback program since 2020, a strong signal of management confidence in the business in the post-pandemic world.

The results of LVS are also a robust indicator of travel and tourism recovery in the Asian market. Both Macau and Singapore have seen a rapid rise in tourism after the easing of pandemic restrictions. Macau surpassed three million incoming tourists in August for the first time since the pandemic. “We were pleased to see the recovery in travel and tourism spending in both Macao and Singapore progress during the quarter,” LVS CEO Robert Goldstein said in a statement.

LVS saw an increase in share price immediately after the announcement with adjusted earnings coming in at 55 cents per share versus analyst expectations of 54 cents per share. Casino operators like Wynn, with operations in Asia, also saw a rise in share price as investors and analysts view LVS performance as a sign of things to come. With Wynn and other companies expected to announce their own results in the coming days, it will be interesting to see how much of a boost the far east market provides to these operators. Stay tuned!