A Look Back at Casino Operator Stocks’ Q2 Earnings: Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) Vs The Rest Of The Pack

As the Q2 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the casino operator industry, including Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) and its peers.

Casino operators enjoy limited competition because gambling is a highly regulated industry. These companies can also enjoy healthy margins and profits. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘the house always wins’? Regulation cuts both ways, however, and casinos may face stroke-of-the-pen risk that suddenly limits what they can or can't do and where they can do it. Furthermore, digitization is changing the game, pun intended. Whether it’s online poker or sports betting on your smartphone, innovation is forcing these players to adapt to changing consumer preferences, such as being able to wager anywhere on demand.

The 9 casino operator stocks we track reported a mixed Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.6%.

Big picture, the Federal Reserve has a dual mandate of inflation and employment. The former had been running hot throughout 2021 and 2022 but cooled towards the central bank's 2% target as of late. This prompted the Fed to cut its policy rate by 50bps (half a percent) in September 2024. Given recent employment data that suggests the US economy could be wobbling, the markets will be assessing whether this rate and future cuts (the Fed signaled more to come in 2024 and 2025) are the right moves at the right time or whether they're too little, too late for a macro that has already cooled.

Thankfully, casino operator stocks have been resilient with share prices up 7.3% on average since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q2: Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN)

Founded in 2001, Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) is a gaming company operating casinos, taverns, and distributed gaming platforms.

Golden Entertainment reported revenues of $167.3 million, down 41.6% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. Overall, it was a disappointing quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ earnings estimates.

Blake Sartini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Golden, commented, “In the second quarter, we continued to strengthen our balance sheet by fully repaying our outstanding bonds in April and reducing our interest rate on our term loan in May. We also aggressively returned capital to shareholders through our recurring dividend and repurchasing nearly one million shares. Our healthy operating cash flow and strong balance sheet will continue to provide us with strategic and financial flexibility while we return capital to shareholders throughout the year.”

Golden Entertainment delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 10.1% since reporting and currently trades at $30.99.

Read our full report on Golden Entertainment here, it’s free.

Best Q2: MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM)

Operating several properties on the Las Vegas Strip, MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) is a global hospitality and entertainment company known for its resorts and casinos.

MGM Resorts reported revenues of $4.33 billion, up 9.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ earnings estimates.

Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 7.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $39.81.

Is now the time to buy MGM Resorts? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR)

Formerly Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) is a global gaming and hospitality company operating numerous casinos, hotels, and resort properties.

Caesars Entertainment reported revenues of $2.83 billion, down 1.7% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1%. It was a softer quarter as it posted a miss of analysts’ earnings estimates.

Interestingly, the stock is up 17% since the results and currently trades at $43.12.

Read our full analysis of Caesars Entertainment’s results here.

Red Rock Resorts (NASDAQ:RRR)

Founded in 1976, Red Rock Resorts (NASDAQ:RRR) operates a range of casino resorts and entertainment properties, primarily in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.

Red Rock Resorts reported revenues of $486.4 million, up 16.9% year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 2.2%. Zooming out, it was a slower quarter as it recorded a miss of analysts’ earnings estimates.

Red Rock Resorts scored the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 13.5% since reporting and currently trades at $52.62.

Read our full, actionable report on Red Rock Resorts here, it’s free.

Bally's (NYSE:BALY)

Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Bally's Corporation (NYSE:BALY) is a diversified global casino-entertainment company that owns and manages casinos, resorts, and online gaming platforms.

Bally's reported revenues of $621.7 million, up 2.5% year on year. This number missed analysts’ expectations by 3.1%. Taking a step back, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ operating margin estimates but a miss of analysts’ earnings estimates.

Bally's had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The stock is up 1.4% since reporting and currently trades at $17.45.

Read our full, actionable report on Bally's here, it’s free.

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