Dive Brief:
- MGM Resorts International’s revenues and adjusted EBITDA in Las Vegas in the first quarter of 2025 decreased 3% and 2% year over year, respectively, following tough comparisons to 2024’s Q1, when the market hosted the Super Bowl, according to a Wednesday earnings report.
- MGM’s consolidated net revenues were down roughly 2% as a result of the decreased revenues in Las Vegas, where the company operates several prominent resorts along the Strip.
- Despite the declines and broader market volatility, CEO Bill Hornbuckle remains optimistic about future growth in Las Vegas, saying in the report that MGM’s “forward bookings remain solid and April is on track to be a record hotel month for our Las Vegas Strip operations.” MGM’s loyalty partnership with Marriott International is particularly driving strong performance — and could even expand, per the CEO.
Dive Insight:
“Las Vegas remains on solid footing with our luxury offerings driving key results,” Hornbuckle shared on a Wednesday earnings call. “We deliver an elevated experience to more guests than any of our competitors on the Las Vegas Strip, making us prime beneficiaries of a strong city wide events and convention calendar.”
MGM CFO Jonathan Halkyard echoed a similar sentiment on the call, saying that MGM has seen a strong response to events in the market, specifically from groups.
Halkyard noted that the MGM-Marriott collaboration is driving results, “helping to achieve record first-quarter occupancy.”
Hornbuckle shared that the collaboration has exceeded initial expectations and is slated to drive 900,000 room nights in 2025, up from the 660,000 room nights last year.
Hornbuckle also touted the pair’s expansion, saying he and Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano have talked about growing the partnership internationally, potentially to Japan.
In April, MGM saw a resilient operating environment in Las Vegas, “with key metrics in line with what we would expect in the ordinary course of business,” Hornbuckle said.
This is despite a recent decrease in Canadian leisure tourists, he shared. Inbound international travel to the U.S. as a whole has been impacted in recent weeks by President Donald Trump’s tariffs and other political moves, according to Oxford Economics.
“It’s really the leisure-type business, the Canadian business that is down, but we’ve been able to make it up in our Marriott blocks and in our casino blocks,” Halkyard said on the call.
Earlier in the week, MGM competitor Caesars Entertainment also noted a decline in Canadian tourists. “We have certainly seen reduction in Canadian visitation,” Caesars CEO Tom Reeg said during an earnings call.
