Boyd Gaming (BYD) Q3 2026 earnings review
Boyd Gaming's online profit rebounds, but Las Vegas tourism weakens
Boyd Gaming's online casinos and California management contract grew fast while a tourist slump hurt its Las Vegas hotels. Total revenue edged down 1% to $990 million, and profit excluding one-offs fell 13% as recent renovations drove up depreciation charges. Chief executive Keith Smith said local residents kept spending in Nevada and the Midwest, but storms in Hawaii and higher airfares deepened the drop in Downtown Las Vegas.
| Revenue | $990.5M -1.4% from a year ago |
|---|---|
| Total Adjusted EBITDAR | $319.6M -0.7% from a year ago |
| Profit per share, excluding one-offs | $1.67 -2.9% from a year ago |
| Share repurchases | $164M above the $150M quarterly target |
⚖️ Verdict: ⚪ Neutral
The story is unchanged because gains in online gaming and management fees balanced out worse tourist trends in Las Vegas. Online profit grew 16% from a year ago — its first yearly gain since Boyd sold its FanDuel stake last year — and both the online and managed units beat the pace implied by the full-year plan. The bad news: beating that implied pace only shows the second-half plan was cautious, while net debt rose to $2.4 billion to fund buybacks and construction.
The question now is whether Las Vegas casino profit will rebound in the fourth quarter as management previously promised. That turnaround happens if completed renovations at the Suncoast bring customers back, or it fails if the out-of-state tourist pullback keeps worsening. Today's conference call and fourth-quarter Las Vegas results will settle it.
🐂 Bull Case
Online Profit Grows After Passing the FanDuel Reset
Boyd's online unit combines its own internet casino business, Boyd Interactive, with fees from other betting apps that use its state licences. Those licence fees dropped a year ago when the casino operator sold its stake in FanDuel, which cut the segment's profit margin in half and remains a standing concern. This quarter finally lapped that fee drop.
Online Adjusted EBITDAR — segment profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and rent — rose 15.9% from a year ago to $10.9 million, Driven by what Boyd called "continued strength in the Company’s online casino gaming business". Online sales excluding pass-through tax reimbursements jumped 23.6% to $33.2 million. By our math, that $10.9 million profit beat the $8.0 million to $10.5 million quarterly pace implied by the full-year outlook.
What to watch: fourth-quarter Online segment profit in the next release. By our math, the prior $35 million to $40 million full-year plan leaves only $7.6 million at the middle of the range for the fourth quarter, so another reading near $11 million would prove the outlook was cautious.
Sky River Expansion Lifts Managed Profit 13%
Boyd runs Sky River Casino in northern California for a tribal partner and collects a monthly management fee based on the property's performance. The casino finished the first phase of an expansion earlier this year, adding gaming space and a parking garage. Management had warned that demand might settle down after the initial opening rush.
Instead, profit in the Managed & Other segment rose 13.3% from a year ago to $29.8 million, while management fee revenue climbed 16.4% to $27.6 million. The casino operator credited "increased management fees from Sky River following its recently completed expansion". By our math, this quarter's $29.8 million profit beat the $27.0 million to $29.0 million second-half quarterly pace implied by the full-year plan.
What to watch: fourth-quarter management fee revenue. A reading above $26.1 million would beat the middle of the prior full-year Managed & Other profit target and show that the expansion's lift is holding steady.
Regional Casinos Grow Underneath Property Closures
Midwest & South is Boyd's largest division, generating over half of total revenue from regional casinos outside Nevada. Reported sales and segment profit in the division barely moved from a year ago, rising 0.3% to $540.5 million and 0.01% to $201.6 million. Those headline numbers include two properties the group no longer operates.
Boyd closed Sam's Town Tunica in November 2025, sold Sam's Town Shreveport in August 2026, and faced higher property taxes at Kansas Star. Sales from businesses it owned a year ago and adjusted for the tax hike grew nearly 3%, and underlying segment profit rose about 2.5%, helped by loyal and casual players.
What to watch: Midwest & South underlying profit growth in the fourth quarter, once the November 2025 Tunica closure drops out of the comparison. A rate staying near 2.5% would show that older regional gamblers are still spending despite inflation.
🐻 Bear Case
Tourist Pullback Deepens the Drop in Las Vegas
Chief executive Keith Smith said the quarter highlighted "the ongoing strength of our core customer", and management has pointed to the fourth quarter for a Las Vegas rebound once property renovations finish and weak tourist comparisons pass. Instead, the tourist slump in Las Vegas got worse this quarter.
- Downtown Las Vegas profit: $12.9 million, down 20.3% from a year ago
- Downtown Las Vegas revenue: $47.4 million, down 10.9%
- Las Vegas Locals profit: $87.4 million, down 5.1%
- Las Vegas Locals excluding the Orleans and Suncoast: revenue and profit both up 3.0%
Smith noted "increased softness in destination business to Las Vegas, primarily affecting our Orleans property", alongside "construction disruption at the Suncoast". Downtown also suffered from "declines in Hawaiian visitation due to several major storms in Hawaii and higher airfares during the quarter". Because the release did not confirm that Suncoast construction ended on schedule in September, both drags may linger.
What to watch: today's conference call and the fourth-quarter Las Vegas Locals profit. If Suncoast renovations slipped or out-of-state visitors keep pulling back, segment profit will keep falling in the fourth quarter despite the easier comparison.
Debt Rises Another $100 Million to Fund Buybacks
Boyd has a standing commitment to buy back about $150 million of its own stock each quarter while building a $750 million casino resort in Virginia. A year ago, cash from selling its FanDuel stake cut total debt to $1.9 billion. Since then, the casino operator has borrowed money to cover both construction bills and shareholder payouts.
In the third quarter, the group bought back $164 million of stock and paid $0.20 per share in dividends, cutting its diluted share count by 9.7% from a year ago. Over the same three months, total debt rose from $2.6 billion to $2.7 billion, and cash fell to $297.2 million. By our math, net debt is up 52.0% from a year ago to $2.40 billion.
What to watch: total debt at year-end and terms for refinancing $1.0 billion of notes due in December 2027. Rising debt ahead of that refinancing will increase annual interest costs.
Higher Depreciation Cuts Into Underlying Profit
Boyd has spent heavily over the past two years renovating hotel rooms, upgrading casino floors, and opening its new Cadence Crossing property. While management focuses on property cash profit before depreciation, those completed projects now carry a growing accounting charge on the income statement.
Depreciation and amortization — the non-cash cost of wearing out buildings and equipment — jumped 23.8% from a year ago to $91.3 million, rising by 1.9 percentage points of revenue to 9.2%. That higher charge caused profit excluding one-offs to drop 12.6% to $121.7 million, even though Total Adjusted EBITDAR slipped only 0.7%. Even with 9.7% fewer shares, profit per share excluding one-offs fell 2.9% to $1.67.
What to watch: fourth-quarter depreciation expense as Suncoast renovations come onto the books. If depreciation keeps climbing faster than property profit, profit per share excluding one-offs will keep shrinking despite the buybacks.
Risks this quarter didn't answer
Four standing concerns and watch items do not appear in the earnings release and depend on the conference call or the quarterly filing.
- 2027 debt refinancing: no update on refinancing the $1.0 billion of 4.75% notes due December 2027 before the September 2027 credit-facility deadline.
- Sky River contract renewal: no details on extending the management contract beyond its seven-year term ending in August 2029.
- Boyd Interactive organic growth: no breakdown separating Design Works acquisition revenue from underlying online casino growth.
- Full-year segment and capital spending plans: the release contains no outlook table, leaving full-year updates to the conference call.
💲 Other KPIs
Casino floor revenue slipped 0.4% from a year ago after growing 1.8% in the first quarter and 1.8% in the second quarter. Gains from local residents in southern Nevada and the Midwest & South were offset by the closure of Tunica, the sale of Shreveport, and fewer tourists visiting the Orleans and Downtown Las Vegas.
Hotel room sales fell 4.7% from a year ago, a steeper drop than the 2.0% decline in the second quarter and 3.0% decline in the first quarter. The slide reflects weaker out-of-state tourist demand in Las Vegas, particularly at the Orleans, and storms and higher airfares that kept Hawaiian guests away from Downtown.
Head-office overhead fell 4.0% from a year ago and dropped 3.6% to $22.9 million when excluding employee stock awards. After a one-time charity donation pushed corporate costs up 22.8% in the first quarter, overhead has now fallen from a year ago for two straight quarters, helping cushion consolidated operating margins.
❓ Key Questions
Did the Suncoast casino floor renovation finish on time?
Management previously said Suncoast construction would finish by the end of the third quarter, removing a $3 million quarterly profit drag for the fourth quarter. The release mentions ongoing disruption in the third quarter without stating whether the work is now complete.
Will Boyd raise its full-year Online and Managed plans?
By our math, nine-month profit in Online ($29.9 million) and Managed & Other ($88.9 million) leaves fourth-quarter targets 7% to 9% below last year under the prior full-year plans. After both segments beat in the third quarter, the call will show if management raises those targets.
How much did the Shreveport sale bring in?
Boyd completed the sale of Sam's Town Shreveport in August 2026, which reduced Midwest & South reported revenue. The release does not disclose the cash proceeds from the sale or how much revenue and profit Tunica and Shreveport contributed a year ago.
When will Boyd refinance its $1.0 billion of 2027 notes?
The company has $1.0 billion of 4.75% senior notes maturing in December 2027, and its bank credit facility matures early in September 2027 if those notes are not refinanced. Total debt reached $2.7 billion this quarter, making the timing and interest rate of a refinancing critical.