Gaming stocks didn’t escape Monday’s carnage on Wall Street as an escalating trade dispute sent the share values of nearly all the major casino operators and gaming equipment manufacturers tumbling.
The only two gaming companies that finished on the positive side of the ledger were real estate investment trusts, Gaming and Leisure Properties and MGM Growth Properties.
Casino operators associated with Macau recorded some of the steeper declines after a Forbes article suggested a trade war with China could place a target on Las Vegas Sands Corp.
“The risks for Sheldon Adelson’s Sands casinos are quite high,” China Market Research Managing Director Shaun Rein told Forbes.
Las Vegas Sands, which is the largest casino operator in Macau, saw its stock price tumble almost 5 percent to $75.86 on New York Stock Exchange Monday. Wynn Resorts Ltd., was down more than 2 percent to $166.54 on the Nasdaq. The stock price of MGM Resorts International, the third U.S. casino operator in Macau, was down 2.6 percent to $29.27 on the NYSE.
The three casino operators gaming concessions – the licenses to own and operate casinos in Macau – are expiring and the gaming companies have to renew their agreements. MGM’s concession expires in March 2020 – the other U.S. operators’ concessions stretch to 2022.
The stock market pull-back hit some of the Las Vegas and regional casino operators equally has hard. Eldorado Resorts took the largest tumble, down 6.4 percent to $41.40 on the Nasdaq. Boyd Gaming’s stock price fell more than 4.8 percent to $34.79 on the NYSE, Red Rock Resorts was off 4.3 percent to close at $33.22 on the Nasdaq, Penn National Gaming was down 2.6 percent to $33.70 on the Nasdaq, and Caesars Entertainment fell 4.4 percent to $10.80.
Gaming equipment giants International Game Technology saw its stock price fall almost 3.7 percent to $24 on the NYSE and Scientific Games was down 4.4 percent to $44.75 on the Nasdaq.
GLPI, the REIT primarily associated with Penn National, closed with a nearly 1 percent increase to $35.70 on the Nasdaq. MGM Growth, which is 70 percent owned by MGM Resorts, was flat, closing at $31.35. The gaming industry’s third REIT, Caesars spin-off VICI Properties, was down less than 1 percent on the NYSE.
Overall, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq suffered their steepest losses in more than two months. The Dow fell 328.09 points, ending the day below its 200-day moving average for the first time since June 2016.
Reuters contributed. Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
