MGM Resorts International (MGM) Q3 2026 earnings review
MGM Resorts cuts its online losses, but Vegas room rates fall
Cheaper hotel rooms in Las Vegas and higher resort operating costs pushed casino operator MGM Resorts into an underlying loss despite lucky table results in Macau. Total revenue slipped 1% to $4.2 billion — or rose 1% by our math excluding the sold Northfield Park casino — while operating cash profit fell 20% to $403 million. Chief executive Bill Hornbuckle said Las Vegas room rates hurt the quarter, though October rebounded.
| Sales from businesses owned a year ago | +1.1% reported revenue $4.21B (-0.9% from a year ago) |
|---|---|
| Profit per share, excluding one-offs | -$0.11 +$0.24 a year ago |
| Las Vegas Strip revenue per room | $193 -8% from a year ago |
| Full-year outlook | None given October rebounded in Las Vegas, CEO said |
⚖️ Verdict: 🔴 Bearish
The story got worse because Las Vegas room rates fell 8% even against last year's weak summer, and property expenses ate into margins across every US segment. In Macau, record revenue relied on lucky table hold while customer betting volume dropped 10%. On the brighter side, the online unit MGM Digital nearly broke even and BetMGM sent $34 million in cash.
The question now is whether October's Las Vegas rebound marks a real turn in room pricing or just a brief convention bump while leisure travelers keep trading down. If group demand is lifting rates, fourth-quarter revenue per room will beat last year's depressed level; if leisure weakness dominates, margins will stay compressed. Fourth-quarter Las Vegas room rates and Macau betting volume will settle it.
🐂 Bull Case
BetMGM Sends Cash and Voting Deal Backs Buybacks
MGM Resorts wants its online betting joint venture and its share buybacks to lift per-share value. In the third quarter, the BetMGM North America Venture paid $34 million in cash distributions and branding license fees to MGM Resorts, while MGM's share of the venture's operating profit rose 13% from a year ago to $26.7 million.
Separately, finance chief Jonathan Halkyard said an amended voting agreement "establishes a highly supportive framework that enables MGM Resorts to confidently pursue value-creating share repurchases". That matters because steady cash from BetMGM helps fund those buybacks, which shrank the diluted share count by 7.5% over the past year to 252 million.
What to watch: totalfourth-quarter cash distributions from BetMGM and the third-quarter buyback spend in the upcoming quarterly filing. A larger fourth-quarter payout would show that online betting can fund regular buybacks even while US casino profits shrink.
MGM Digital Cut Losses as Growth Slowed
MGM Digital, the wholly owned online gaming unit that includes LeoVegas in Europe and Brazil, has lost money while spending on marketing in new markets. Chief executive Bill Hornbuckle said the digital businesses "reported strong topline growth during the third quarter".
In fact, MGM Digital's revenue growth slowed to 5.5% from a year ago, down from 19.8% in the second quarter and 42.7% in the first. However, its Segment Adjusted EBITDAR (operating profit before rent, depreciation and corporate costs) improved to a $4.2 million loss from a $23.2 million loss a year earlier. Slowing top-line growth paired with a smaller loss suggests the unit curbed its marketing spend.
What to watch: MGM Digital's marketing expense in the quarterly filing's segment footnote. Lower marketing spend would confirm that cost cuts, rather than scale, drove the smaller loss.
🐻 Bear Case
Las Vegas Room Rates Fell Against Easy Comparisons
Management has argued that convention bookings and completed room remodels at MGM Grand would lift Las Vegas results in the second half of the year. Hornbuckle said that "while lower room rates during the third quarter impacted our results, October has rebounded favorably".
- Las Vegas Strip revenue: $1.95 billion, down 1.5% from a year ago
- Strip Segment Adjusted EBITDAR: $531 million, down 11.7%
- Average daily room rate: $218, down 7.6% from $236 a year ago
- Revenue per available room (RevPAR): $193, down 8.1% from $210
- Table games win percentage: 25.3%, up from 22.6% a year ago
That drop in room rates is worse than it looks because last year's third quarter was already depressed by weak summer travel and the MGM Grand renovation. Higher luck at the gaming tables lifted casino revenue 8%, but it could not offset cheaper rooms, so Strip profit fell by $70 million.
What to watch: fourth-quarter Las Vegas Strip RevPAR against last year's $228 figure. Another decline would show that October's rebound did not last through the quarter.
Higher Property Costs Pushed MGM Into a Loss
MGM Resorts runs high-fixed-cost casino resorts and pays $549 million a quarter in triple-net lease rent to its landlords. When room revenue slips and property payroll rises, profit drops fast. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA (operating cash profit before rent and one-offs) fell 20.4% from a year ago to $403 million, and fell 14.3% by our math even after stripping out the sold MGM Northfield Park casino.
Direct operating expenses at the resorts rose by 2.3 percentage points of revenue: casino costs added 1.1 points, food and beverage costs added 0.6 points, and room costs added 0.4 points. Because of that margin squeeze and $103 million in net interest expense, profit per share excluding one-offs swung to an 11-cent loss from a 24-cent profit a year earlier.
What to watch: fourth-quarter Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA margin against last year's 13.8%. A reading below 12% would confirm that cost savings are not keeping pace with wage and property inflation.
Macau Market Share Hit a Record on Lucky Hold
MGM China, the company's Macau casino subsidiary, is both a source of parent cash through doubled branding fees and a battleground for mass-market gamblers. The company highlighted record quarterly revenue of $1.14 billion, up 4.6% from a year ago, and a "record quarterly market share of 17.1%".
However, customer wagering volume went the other way: main floor table games drop (the money exchanged for chips) fell 9.6% from a year ago to $3.68 billion. Revenue rose only because the casino held 27.7% of those bets, up from 24.7% a year earlier. Segment Adjusted EBITDAR fell 7.0% to $264 million, or 23.2% of revenue, as intercompany branding fees rose by $22 million to $41 million; before that fee, the margin was 26.8% by our math, down 1.1 points from a year ago.
What to watch: fourth-quarter main floor table drop in Macau. A third straight quarterly drop decline would show that rivals are taking customer traffic when table luck normalises.
Risks this quarter didn't answer
Three standing risks from prior filings received no update in the third-quarter earnings release and await the quarterly report.
- People Incorporated acquisition proposal: mentioned in last quarter's filing risk factors without explanation; the third-quarter 10-Q will show whether that clause remains.
- MGM Osaka funding and capital spending: the release omits the cash flow statement, so third-quarter capital spending against the $575–675 million second-half plan and yen equity contributions to the Japan resort await the filing.
- Goodwill write-downs: MGM recorded zero goodwill impairment this quarter after $111 million in the second quarter and $256 million a year ago, and the filing will show which unit took the prior write-down.
💲 Other KPIs
Reported regional casino revenue fell 7.7% from a year ago because MGM sold its Northfield Park property in April. Sales from regional casinos it owned a year ago rose 1.1%, slowing from 2.8% growth in the second quarter, while same-store Segment Adjusted EBITDAR fell 6.6% to $242.6 million as slot wagering dropped.
Net debt — long-term debt of $5.67 billion minus $2.40 billion of cash — fell 21.5% from $4.17 billion at the end of 2025 by our math, helped by April's $546 million Northfield Park sale. That figure excludes $23.75 billion of operating lease liabilities on the balance sheet.
Money owed by hotel and casino customers fell 4.5% from $1,123 million at the end of 2025, moving in line with the softer third-quarter revenue pace compared with the fourth quarter of last year.
🔮 Guidance
New. MGM Resorts does not issue formal quarterly or full-year financial targets in its earnings release. Chief executive Bill Hornbuckle noted that October room rates rebounded and MGM Osaka stays on track, while third-quarter Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA margin fell 2.3 percentage points from a year ago to 9.6% by our math.
❓ Key Questions
What happened to the People Incorporated acquisition proposal?
Last quarter's filing mentioned considering an acquisition proposal from People Incorporated, but the third-quarter release says nothing about it. Investors need to know whether talks are active or over, and whether today's amended voting agreement relates to it.
How much did October room rates rise in Las Vegas?
Bill Hornbuckle said October rebounded after third-quarter Las Vegas Strip room rates fell 8% against an already weak comparison. Without a specific percentage for October or fourth-quarter bookings, readers cannot tell if rates are growing again.
Why did Macau table wagering drop 10% while share hit a record?
MGM China reported a record 17.1% market share, yet main floor table drop fell 9.6% from a year ago and rose only on a 27.7% win rate. Management did not explain why customer betting volume shrank.
How much did MGM spend on buybacks and capital projects in Q3?
The earnings release omits the cash flow statement and the quarterly share buyback total. Those figures will show whether MGM stayed inside its $575–675 million second-half capital spending plan.