Earnings
Las Vegas Sands misses third-quarter forecasts as Marina Bay Sands profit falls 21%, but lifts 2027 dividend 20%
Weak high-end gaming in Singapore and thinner Macao margins cut adjusted EPS to $0.54, well short of the $0.73 consensus.
HedgeWeekly News Desk ·
Las Vegas Sands, whose casino business is now entirely in Singapore and Macao, reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.54 a share on Wednesday, down from $0.78 a year earlier and below the $0.73 consensus cited by Investing.com. Net revenue fell to $3.22 billion from $3.33 billion, and consolidated adjusted property EBITDA declined to $1.12 billion from $1.34 billion. Diluted GAAP EPS was $0.48, against $0.61. The shares fell about 4.5% after the release.
Singapore drove the shortfall. Marina Bay Sands revenue dropped to $1.29 billion from $1.44 billion and its adjusted property EBITDA fell to $590 million from $743 million, with the margin narrowing to 45.6% from 51.7%. Management pointed to softness at the top end of premium gaming: mass gaming revenue at the resort fell 9% to $826 million and rolling win dropped 13% to $382 million. Executives described the quarter as an aberration and said the property still runs at $2.7 billion to $2.8 billion a year, Investing.com reported.
In Macao, Sands China lifted revenue to $1.94 billion from $1.91 billion and took 26.1% of the territory's mass gaming revenue, its highest share since late 2023. Profitability moved the other way: adjusted property EBITDA fell to $529 million from $601 million and the margin slid to 27.3% from 31.5%. The group also paid a higher effective tax rate of 22.5%, up from 15.6%.
For shareholders, capital returns remain the counterweight. Sands bought back about $950 million of its stock in the quarter, roughly 21 million shares at an average of $45.31, leaving $5.06 billion under its authorisation, and raised its stake in Sands China to 75.56%. The board set the 2027 dividend at $0.36 a quarter, up 20%. Those returns sit alongside a heavy build programme, with about $6.0 billion of capex planned for 2026 to 2028, led by an $8 billion Singapore expansion targeted to open in January 2031. Investors will watch whether premium play in Singapore recovers next quarter and whether Macao share gains start to show up in margins.