MGM Resorts International’s business is “on solid footing” through the rest of 2025, the company’s chief executive said.
Speaking during its first-quarter 2025 earnings call, MGM Resorts President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle said the company’s luxury offerings on the Las Vegas Strip caused it to outperform its competition, letting it benefit from the strong citywide events and convention calendar. MGM Resorts also has ample liquidity, a strong balance sheet and operational agility that can adjust quickly to varying economic conditions.
MGM Resorts entered the year on offense with a $200 million earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization plan already in motion, he said. The company now believes it can full implement more than $150 million in 2025.
MGM Resorts’ partnership with Marriott International and its Bonvoy loyalty program shows continued growth, Hornbuckle said. Both companies expect this will result in 900,000 room nights in 2025, up from 660,000 last year.
“Adding to these, our diversity in geography and market mix is once again proving to be a strength during these times of volatility,” he said.
Las Vegas performance
For the quarter, MGM Resort’s Las Vegas Strip properties reported net revenue of $2.2 billion compared to $2.3 billion in 2024, according to the company’s earnings release. That decrease of 3% was due primarily to decline in non-gaming revenue, primarily from a lower average daily rate as compared to when the city hosted the Super Bowl in 2024.
Segment-adjusted EBITDAR amounted to $811 million in the quarter compared to $828 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 2%. The quarter also included $37 million of business interruption insurance proceeds related to the September 2023 cybersecurity issue.
The Las Vegas hotel market remains steady with a favorable room supply dynamic as current rooms under construction represents only 1.6% of the existing supply, which is among the lowest in the top 25 markets, Hornbuckle said. Second-quarter airline capacity at the Harry Reid Airport near the Strip remains scheduled at record levels.
“Domestic flight capacity in each month from April to June is up 2%, with 14 of the 25 largest metro markets increasing capacity into Las Vegas,” he said.
MGM Resorts’ properties on the Strip were solid despite tougher year-over-year comparisons due to the 2024 Super Bowl and the full room capacity at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino given its current room remodel program, he said.
“As we approach the end of April, we continue to see a resilient operating environment with key metrics in line with what we would expect in the ordinary course of business,” he said. “In fact, April will be a record hotel month for our Las Vegas Strip operations.”
The Marriott partnership has led to 440,000 room nights booked at MGM Resorts’ properties this year through April, Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Halkyard said.
“I'll do the math,” he said. “It's over 20,000 room nights a week are being booked through the Marriott channel. And these are customers that we think are very accretive as compared to the customers that they would — that they've replaced,” he said.
Normally, MGM Resorts’ properties book about 40% of their business 30 days out, Hornbuckle said. That window has extended in both March and April to about 43% and 44%, respectively.
Demand is still coming to Las Vegas even as the current economic environment is on people’s minds, he said.
“We’re encouraged by that as we think about balance of the year,” he said.
Regional and China operations
MGM Resorts’ regional properties reported net revenue of $900 million for the first quarter as compared to $909 million during the first quarter of 2024, according to the earnings release. Segment-adjusted EBITDAR totaled $279 million, up from $274 million the prior. The quarter included $12 million of business interruption proceeds related to its September 2023 cybersecurity issue.
Outside of Las Vegas, MGM Resorts’ properties around the U.S. remained steady with a modest decline in revenue due to some inclement weather, Hornbuckle said. They ended the quarter strong with records for the month of March for revenue per available room and slot win. They have also shown the ability to generate segment-adjusted EBITDA margins at or above 30%.
For MGM China, net revenue totaled $1 billion for the first quarter, down from $1.1 billion in 2024 primarily due to a drop in casino revenue, according to the earnings release. Segment-adjusted EBITDAR amounted to $286 million in the first quarter, down from $301 million the prior year.
MGM China is maintaining its mid-teens share, ending the first quarter at 15.7%, even with new supply ramping up in the market, Hornbuckle said. The division debuted 10 new villas in MGM Macau with another 18 opening by the end of the year. The MGM Cotai is in the process of adding 60 new suites scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2026.
“These are welcome new room products that will help support demand from our premium gaming customers,” he said.
In Macau, margins held in at 28% due to strong operational expense control and other efforts to maximize the efficiency of properties, Halkyard said. The result was also notable given the advent of several successful initiatives to drive tourism, including the Macau 2049 Residency Show at Cotai and the Poly Art Museum at MGM Macau.
Earlier this month, MGM China closed on a new larger revolving credit facility, which provides about $3 billion of liquidity and represents approximately $1 billion of increased capacity and extends maturities for four years to 2030, he said.
MGM Resorts has made meaningful progress in for its integrated resort project in Osaka, Hornbuckle said. Earlier in April, it entered into an agreement with its general contractors to being construction activities as planned and held an official groundbreaking ceremony on April 24.
MGM Resorts’ equity commitment has increased to 428 billion Japanese yen ($2.96 billion), of which it now has remaining about 392 billion yen to invest in its future 43.5% ownership stake, Halkyard said.
“Despite the increase driven by updated spend estimates as we finalized our negotiations with contractors, we still have a high conviction in a high-teens percentage return on this project and remain on time to open in 2030,” he said.