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MGM Resorts (MGM) to Report Q4 Earnings: A Hit or Miss?

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MGM Resorts International (MGM - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2016 numbers on Feb 16, before the opening bell.

Last quarter, MGM Resorts posted a momentous 625.00% positive earnings surprise. In fact, the company posted positive earnings surprise in three of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 139.40%.

Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors Likely to Influence this Quarter

MGM Resorts’ earnings in the to-be-reported quarter are expected to benefit from higher demand at its properties in Las Vegas on the back of improving employment rate trends and increasing tourism numbers in the region. With the Las Vegas Strip recording high occupancy rates, the company has been witnessing a solid rise in resort revenues, which should continue to boost the top line.

Moreover, the diversification of its resort portfolio and non-gaming options is likely to propel fourth-quarter revenues as well. Particularly, the opening of MGM National Harbor, a casino resort, on Dec 8, 2016, should drive revenues. Additionally, the company’s profit growth plan is also poised to increase the quarter’s profits.

MGM Resorts’ revenues, however, have been hurt by its sluggish performance in Macau over the past few quarters. Nevertheless, per the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, gross gaming revenues (GGR) rose in all the three months of the quarter, thereby continuing the revival in Macau. We thus expect the company’s performance in the region to get a boost in the to-be-reported quarter.

Conversely, the results may be somewhat be hampered by the anti-graft corruption drive undertaken by the Chinese government, which is still keeping VIP gamblers at bay.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that MGM Resorts is likely to beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. Unfortunately, that is not the case here as elaborated below.

Zacks ESP: MGM Resorts has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at 17 cents. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: MGM Resorts has a Zacks Rank #2, which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the company’s 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.

Notably, we caution you against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some companies to consider as our model shows they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

Extended Stay America, Inc. has an Earnings ESP of +21.43% and a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +12.50% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Marriott International, Inc. (MAR - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.41% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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