Preview: Casino earnings put focus on dealmaking amid slower sector growth

Las Vegas Sands

17/07/2026 11:22

By Megavarshini G. Somasundaram and Anshuman  Tripathy

    July 17 (Reuters) - Investors will likely pay closer attention to potential dealmaking than earnings when U.S.-based casino operators prepare to report second-quarter results, as growth in the sector becomes scarce.
Mergers and acquisitions, according to analysts, have emerged as one of the few possible catalysts for a sector that has struggled to regain investor favor despite steady demand in regional U.S. gaming markets.
Focus on deals in the sector picked up after hospitality billionaire Tilman Fertitta offered to buy Caesars Entertainment CZR.O for about $18 billion last month, while media mogul Barry Diller's People Inc PPLI.O proposed to buy MGM Resorts MGM.N.
Shares of both these Las Vegas casinos will be driven primarily by deal speculation in the near future, said Barclays analyst Brandt Montour.
"We believe incremental M&A activity is likely," said Jefferies analyst David Katz, noting potential participation from Churchill Downs CHDN.O, Monarch Casino & Resort MCRI.O, Boyd Gaming BYD.N and PENN Entertainment PENN.O.
In Macau, the sector faces concerns over the World Cup's impact on spending by premium customers in China, cryptocurrency weakness and tighter controls on capital flows, Wells Fargo analyst Trey Bowers said. June gross gaming revenue there fell 12.1% from a year earlier.
"Macau should improve coming out of World Cup as we've seen in prior post-holiday periods, but visibility remains low," Montour said.
Las Vegas visitor volumes rose 2% in May, year-on-year, to 3.49 million, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; Jefferies said strip gaming revenue increased 10% during April and May, helped by convention demand.
Las Vegas Sands LVS.N is scheduled to report results on July 22, followed by Caesars on July 28, MGM Resorts on July 29 and Wynn Resorts WYNN.O on August 4.
     

Deal activity helps Caesars and MGM outperform peers and the broader market https://tmsnrt.rs/3Ra2YWs
 (Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy and Megavarshini G. Somasundaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
 ((Anshuman.Tripathy@thomsonreuters.com;))