Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has cited an ‘unusually low’ VIP rolling hold combined with the FIFA World Cup as the elements that caused its Sands China operations in Macau to underperform.
However, Chief Executive Officer and Chair Patrick Dumont expressed his faith that the land-based casino operator is heading ‘in the right direction’ affirming that the $700m adjusted property EBITDA is still an attainable target for the operator.
Macau operations net revenue dipped slightly in Q2 to $1.79bn (Q2 2025 – $1.8bn), while net income fell by over 50% to $107m (Q2 2025 – $214m).
Adjusted EBITDA for the period was $430m, down from $566m reported during the same period the previous year. Dumont mentioned during the operator’s earnings call that VIP rolling hold was 1.35% in Q2.
The CEO noted that if rolling play hold came in as expected, EBITDA would’ve been $87m higher, or $517m for the quarter, and that actions taken to improve service levels and the customer experience are ‘clearly achieving some early success’.
Later in the call, Dumont claimed that the Q2 results don’t represent the true earnings power of its Sands China operations as they were also hindered by the FIFA World Cup.
“The volumes were there, the visitation was there, and even though the World Cup had an impact, we felt like we’re headed in the right direction.”
Las Vegas Sands Chief Executive Officer and Chair Patrick Dumont
He believes LVS’ investment programme positions itself well for growth in the future, while Grant Chum, CEO and President of Sands China and EVP of Asia Operations, stated the operation’s gaming revenue was very strong for two months out of the quarter.
Dumont said: “While we didn’t get the hold that we wanted this quarter, the volumes were there, the visitation was there, and even though the World Cup had an impact, we felt like we’re headed in the right direction.”
The wider Macau direction provides a strong indication for LVS, as the overall market was previously affected by VIP players splitting their wagering between tables and the World Cup. However, according to a report by CitiGroup, GGR across Macau was up 9% as the tournament drew to a close in July.
“This was an incredibly powerful quarter in several of our segments. The key is we were impacted by World Cup there as well, given the high-value nature of our patrons,” added Dumont.
“I think as we look to that asset in the future, we see a very strong market, very strong visitation, and for us, we’re going to continue to invest there because we see the long-term potential of growth in Singapore given what we see today.”
$700m target and Singapore
When asked if LVS still has the target of $700m adjusted EBITDA for its Macau operations, Dumont responded that the figure was still in the operator’s sights.
“If we held better, we’d be having a little bit of a different discussion in certain things. I think for us, we look to the progress we’re making in the market,” said the CEO.
“If you look at the growth that we’ve had year-over-year, if you look at the fact that we did this through the World Cup cycle, I think there’s some positive things there that we look to. I think our goal is still the $700m, I think we have some work to do to get there.”
Dumont added that the potential for growth in Singapore is present as well despite the slight dip, as revenue was $1.38bn (Q2 2025: $1.39bn) and adjusted EBITDA was $689m (Q2 2025: $768m).
Las Vegas Sands’ Q2 results
- Net revenue – $3.15bn (Q2 2025 – $3.18bn).
- Casino revenue – $2.34bn (Q2 2025 – $2.42bn).
- Operating income – $618m (Q2 2025 – $783m).
- Net income – $373m (Q2 2025 – $519m).
- Consolidated adjusted property EBITDA – $1.12bn (Q2 2025 – $1.33bn).
