Betting On Wynn Resorts To Keep Gaining Market Share, Union Gaming Upgrades

Macau gaming stocks are on fire Wednesday after Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ: WYNN) reported adjusted first-quarter earnings of $1.24/share on revenue of $1.48 billion, topping consensus analyst forecasts of $0.98 and $1.4 billion, respectively.

Union Gaming upgraded Wynn Resorts from Hold to Buy based partly on accelerating growth trends in Macau.

According to analyst John DeCree, Wynn is also gaining impressive market share in Macau.

Analyst Commentary

“We are incrementally more comfortable with the sustainability of the recent VIP trends and expect the cadence of outsize growth to persist over the next few quarters before returning to a more normalized-growth (in the GDP+ range),” DeCree explained.

Wynn’s Macau resorts have a larger share of high-end VIP gamblers, which have been returning to Macau in recent months for the first time since a government corruption crackdown in 2014. DeCree reported Wynn’s VIP business has helped boost margins as well.

Union Gaming predicts VIP growth in Macau will continue at least the mid-teens until the numbers lap more difficult comps starting in the fourth quarter.

In addition to Wynn’s 6.6 percent gain, Macau gaming stocks Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd(ADR) (NASDAQ: MLCO), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) were all up between 1.3 and 3.5 percent on Wednesday.

Disclosure: The author is long MLCO.

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