Casino earnings put focus on dealmaking amid slower sector growth

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July 17, 2026 6:27 AM EDT

An exterior view of Park MGM hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., September 13, 2023. REUTERS/Bridget Bennett

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 for about $18 billion last month, while media mogul Barry Diller's People Inc proposed to buy MGM Resorts.

• ⁠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, Monarch Casino & ‌Resort, Boyd Gaming and PENN Entertainment.

• 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 is scheduled to report results on July 22, ⁠followed by Caesars on July ‌28, MGM Resorts on ​July 29 and Wynn Resorts on August 4.

(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy and Megavarshini G. Somasundaram in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Joyjeet Das)


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