MGM Resorts International executives consider that the group’s Asia operations continued to underpin growth in the third quarter, with record earnings in Macau and steady progress on its Japan integrated resort project, even as its Las Vegas business worked through a soft summer period.
MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle said the company’s performance “demonstrates the power of diversification”, highlighting the group’s strong Macau results despite temporary disruptions, including a typhoon that briefly halted operations.
“Even a brief closure caused by a typhoon wasn’t enough to stop the positive momentum as MGM China achieved record third-quarter EBITDAR,” Hornbuckle told analysts on the earnings call. He said the company remains focused on “premium mass” customers, adding that the launch of the Alpha Gaming Club in late September has seen a “great response”.
Kenneth Feng, President and CFO of MGM China, said Macau’s competitive landscape remains rational.
“We are focusing on understanding our customers […] and improving our services to refresh and fine-tune experiences for our premier customers,” he said. Feng noted that newly opened high-end suites and gaming spaces at both MGM Cotai and MGM Macau were seeing strong demand, adding the company expects “one of the strongest months in terms of GGR and EBITDA performance in our company’s history”.
Macau operations posted a record market share of around 15.5 percent in the quarter, management said.
Japan and Dubai expansion
Hornbuckle reiterated confidence in MGM’s Osaka integrated resort, slated to open in 2030. “This is a project that we think probably has the most favorable supply-demand dynamics of any integrated resort,” said CFO Jonathan Halkyard, noting construction is fully underway with up to 80 cranes on site at times.
MGM also continues to advance its Dubai resort, expected to open in the second half of 2028.
In its home market, MGM reported a soft third quarter as value-sensitive customers pulled back amid airline disruptions and slower domestic visitation. Hornbuckle said Las Vegas trends “sequentially got better” into October, adding: “We use the word stabilization not lightly. We think we can get there.”
He acknowledged the company “lost control of the narrative over the summer” around pricing, after public backlash over expensive food and beverage items. “You can’t have a $29 room and a $12 coffee,” he said. “We’ve gone through the organization […] and we’ve price-corrected.”
Despite headwinds, MGM said luxury resorts such as Bellagio and ARIA continued to outperform, with record slot win in some properties.
Capital discipline and New York exit
Hornbuckle defended the decision to withdraw from a planned commercial license bid in New York, calling it a “challenging” but disciplined move amid rising costs and uncertainty. “We initially liked the return; it got tighter and tighter,” he said.
Halkyard added that MGM’s share price makes buybacks compelling versus new developments. “Our return thresholds are pretty darn high,” he said. “We can capture free cash yield just in repurchasing our own shares.”
The group’s digital arm, including BetMGM in North America, continued to improve, with Hornbuckle noting strong profitability and the first expected cash distributions to MGM in the fourth quarter.
BetMGM’s guidance was raised again, with expected 2025 EBITDA of around $200 million. “The business model is proving out,” Hornbuckle said.
MGM also announced the retirement of longtime chief operating officer Corey Sanders. “It’s impossible to overstate what Corey has meant to this company over the last 30-plus years,” Hornbuckle said.
