MGM Resorts Revenue Down as Las Vegas Room Rates Reach Record Levels in Q3

Room renovations are underway at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. (Image: courtesy of MGM Resorts)

MGM Resorts International reported third-quarter revenue of $4.2 billion, an increase of 5% compared to last year. Overall, this resulted in $185 million of net income for the quarter.

MGM’s Chief Financial Officer Jonathan S. Halkyard opened the earnings call on Wednesday on a positive note:

“I'm happy to report that MGM Resorts posted record third-quarter consolidated net revenues and record third-quarter revenue and adjusted property EBITDAR (profit before major expenses) at MGM China. Additionally, we saw record ADRs in Las Vegas and record occupancy at our regional resorts.”

While the numbers sound good on face value, MGM missed the mark with analysts and the stock was down more than 10% shortly after trading opened on Thursday.

Room Rates Rise, Casino Revenue Slides

Total Las Vegas revenue was up slightly compared to last year for MGM. Non-gaming revenue was the quarter's star while the casino dinged MGM’s earnings.

MGM reported net revenues of $2.1 billion in Las Vegas for the third quarter, an increase of 1% compared to last year.

In addition to traditional revenue, MGM benefited approximately $37 million from insurance money related to the September 2023 cybersecurity issue.

The average daily hotel room rate of $243 in Las Vegas was 3% higher than last year and a record for the quarter.

The company had a hotel room occupancy of 94%. This was good for a 7% increase in Las Vegas hotel room revenue to $743 million.

MGM’s partnership with Marriott has been fruitful for the company. MGM’s CEO Bill Hornbuckle said:

“So as of last week, we did 2,500 room nights a day, which is an all-time record. We're probably pacing 20% above our own expectation for the year.“

He expects to see this grow when Delano becomes W Las Vegas. This will be the first time the hotel tower will be bookable by Marriott Bonvoy members.

On the downside, MGM Resorts saw a 13% dip in casino revenue to $476 million. Halkyard noted that this was mostly due to baccarat. Similar to Caesars' earnings, he attributed the dip to less than 10 high rollers.

The company is looking forward to the Las Vegas Grand Prix during the fourth quarter but doesn’t expect it to be on par with last year. A positive result for MGM could be as simple as a few high-rolling baccarat players losing at the tables.

Hornbuckle also noted that the first quarter of 2025 could be a little softer without the Super Bowl in Las Vegas like last year.

Tight-Lipped on Bellagio Expansion

Halkyard noted that the company is already in the process of renovating 4,000 standard rooms at MGM Grand. This is a big job and will continue into next year. The company has enough other properties for guests to stay in while the rooms are offline for the upgrade.

The company did not share any information about the planned discussed during its second-quarter earnings call.

The latest news on the topic is that the Paradise Town Advisory Board was going to review the current design plans so MGM could move forward with the expansion. There should be more information on this soon.