Snake Eyes Earnings Report For Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) had already sold off massively due to the slowing trends in Asia.  Now things have gone from bad to worse, and the worst of the news flow out of Asia may have not yet even happened.  The casino and resort operator is seeing a sharp selloff in its shares after earnings missed estimates at $0.44 EPS versus a Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.61 EPS.

With Macao and Asia being a focus, the news is likely to put at least some secondary or tertiary growth focus on shares of casino rivals like Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) and Melco Crown Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ: MPEL). Some of the news may have been telegraphed as casino technology and game-maker International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) fell nearly 20% today after its sales growth lagged estimates.

Sheldon Adelson noted that the weak earnings were “impacted by lower hold on table games play compared to last year’s second quarter, higher provisions for accounts receivable at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, and elevated legal expenses.” Adelson tried to talk about solid revenue growth overall and significant cash flow in both Macao and Singapore as well as the Cotai Strip development plan in Macao, but the news is dragging on his shares.

Melco Crown Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ: MPEL) closed up 1% today but the ADR is down 0.7% at $9.41 after the rival casino’s earnings report. Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) closed down 0.2% at $92.79 and its shares are flat in the after-hours session.

Shares of Las Vegas Sands closed down 2.3% at $37.51 in regular trading today, but shares are down close to 7% in the after-hours on last look.  We would caution that the shares have appeared to recover to be flat or down only marginally now but the after-hours trading can be full of aberrations. Maybe enough is enough at some point because the prior 52-week trading had been $36.08 to $62.09.

JON C. OGG