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LVS CEO Urges Strategy Shift Amid Macau Market Slowdown
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) CEO Robert Goldstein says Macau operations face rising pressure from flat revenue, weak spending, and fierce competition, calling for a bold strategy shift.
Speaking at the Bernstein 41st Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, Goldstein emphasized that while Macau visitation has rebounded, spending patterns have notably weakened.
He said:
“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.”
Gross gaming revenue in Macau remains static at around $28 billion annually, despite the recovery in foot traffic. According to Goldstein, Sands China, LVS’s Macau subsidiary, has underperformed relative to competitors, with the first quarter of 2025 seeing a 5.6% decline in net revenue to $1.71 billion and a 12.3% drop in adjusted property EBITDA to $535 million.
Goldstein called for a more aggressive customer incentive strategy, even at the expense of margins, signaling a shift away from conservative operational tactics.
Goldstein shared:
“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.”
While acknowledging short-term headwinds, Goldstein maintained long-term optimism, forecasting eventual annual GGR in the range of $32-$34 billion, though he cautioned that such growth “is not happening imminently.”
Key pressures include:
- The collapse of the junket segment, once central to VIP revenue․
- Increased competition from both regional casinos and online platforms․
- Muted consumer sentiment due to macroeconomic concerns․
- Persistent US-China geopolitical tension, which he described as a broader global issue․
Goldstein added:
“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.”
Goldstein will travel to Macau in the coming days to review local operations and identify near-term opportunities to bolster performance.
Meanwhile, LVS’s Marina Bay Sands in Singapore remains a bright spot, continuing to post strong results driven by its luxury segment positioning.
Despite slower-than-expected returns on its significant investment in Macau, including the revamped Londoner Macao, Goldstein remains confident in LVS’s long game.
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