Las Vegas Sands (LVS) CEO Robert Goldstein has announced significant challenges with their Macau operations, highlighting stagnant revenues, weak consumer spending, and intense competition that necessitate a major strategic overhaul. At the Bernstein 41st Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, Goldstein noted that although visitor numbers in Macau have bounced back, spending has not, stating, “Spend is different than it used to be. Visitation used to be equivalent to the spend, but they’ve decoupled now, where visitation can be pretty good but the spend isn’t.”
Despite increased visitation, Macau’s gross gaming revenue has stagnated at approximately $28 billion annually. Goldstein pointed out that Sands China, the Macau subsidiary of LVS, is lagging behind competitors. In the first quarter of 2025, the company experienced a 5.6% drop in net revenue to $1.71 billion and a 12.3% decrease in adjusted property EBITDA to $535 million.
Goldstein suggested improving the customer incentive program, even at the expense of profit margins, signaling a departure from previously conservative strategies. He emphasized the necessity for a more proactive approach in Macau operations, remarking, “We need to be more aggressive in Macau and make more money. No one pays you for margins or pretty buildings if they don’t produce EBITDA.”
Despite these difficulties, Goldstein remains optimistic about the future, projecting that the annual gross gaming revenue might eventually increase to between $32 billion and $34 billion, though he cautioned that this growth might not occur soon.
Goldstein also outlined several factors impairing performance in Macau, including the decline of the junket segment crucial for VIP revenue, increasing competition from regional casinos and online platforms, subdued consumer sentiment due to broader economic issues, and ongoing U.S.-China geopolitical tensions. He elaborated on these challenges, stating, “Macau is definitely stalled out, and it’s not where it was pre-COVID. The demise of the junket segment didn’t help either, and of course, the competition is fierce there. The world is in an awkward place right now, and there is confusion about the bilateral relationship between China and the US. It needs to be stronger because the whole world benefits when China and the US work things out together.”
In the coming days, Goldstein plans to visit Macau to personally assess the local operations and explore immediate ways to improve performance. Meanwhile, LVS’s Marina Bay Sands in Singapore continues to excel, benefiting from its focus on the luxury market. Although investments in Macau, such as the revamped Londoner Macao, have yielded slower returns than expected, Goldstein remains hopeful about the long-term strategy of LVS.