The gambling industry was busy with first-quarter 2017 financial releases last week.

Boyd Gaming Corp. (BYD Quick QuoteBYD - Free Report) and Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. (MLCO Quick QuoteMLCO - Free Report) came up with better-than-expected results with both earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Meanwhile, Century Casinos, Inc. (CNTY Quick QuoteCNTY - Free Report) and Red Rock Resorts, Inc. (RRR Quick QuoteRRR - Free Report) posted mixed results, as earnings came above the Zacks Consensus Estimate but revenues failed to beat the same.

In a separate development, Eldorado Resorts, Inc. recently announced the completion of the acquisition of regional gaming operator Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. However, Eldorado reported weak results for the first quarter of 2017.

Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories  

1.    Boyd Gaming posted adjusted earnings of 32 cents per share in the first quarter of 2017, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 30 cents by 6.7% and also increasing on a year-over-year basis.

Net revenue of $605.3 million also beat the consensus mark by almost 1% and inched up 9.6% year over year. Gaming, food and beverage, room and other revenues increased during the quarter. Total adjusted EBITDA was $155.8 million, up 13.2% year over year. Boyd Gaming currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

2.    Melco Resorts’ first-quarter earnings of 24 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 8 cents by a whopping 200% Also, earnings increased significantly year over year on the back of higher revenues.

This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company’s net revenue of $1.28 billion surpassed the consensus mark by almost 7%. Moreover, revenues increased 15.7% year over year primarily driven by better group-wide rolling chip and mass market table games revenues. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Adjusted Property EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization) was $353.3 million in the quarter under review, up 42% year over year (read more:Melco Resorts Q1 Earnings Top on Solid Revenue Growth).  

3.    Century Casinos posted first-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings per share of 9 cents, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 14 cents by 35.7%. Notably, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company’s earnings remained flat on a year-over-year basis.

Net revenue of $36.4 million topped the consensus mark by over 1% and improved 9.5% from the prior-year quarter. The results reflect an increase in Canada, U.S., Poland as well as corporate and other revenues.

4.    Red Rock Resorts’ first-quarter earnings per share of 30 cents lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 37 cents by 18.9%. However, net revenue of $417.7 million beat the consensus mark by nearly 4% and also increased 16.3% year over year.

The upside reflects higher revenues from Las Vegas operations, Native American management as well as improved corporate and other revenues. Notably, this marked the 16th consecutive quarter of year-over-year consolidated net revenue growth.

5.    Recently, Eldorado announced the completion of its planned buyout of Isle of Capri in a cash and stock transaction. The total value of the deal between Eldorado and Isle of Capri is $1.7 billion, which includes the latter’s long-term debt of $929 million. Eldorado acquired all of Isle of Capri’s outstanding shares for $23 in cash or 1.638 shares of Eldorado common stock.

The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Eldorado’s free cash flow and diluted earnings per share, after taking into account some adjustments.

The combination of Eldorado and Isle of Capri has led to the creation of a regional player with 19 casino-resorts across 10 states. The acquisition significantly expands Eldorado’s scale of gaming operations, diversifies its geographic reach into new markets and minimizes market-specific risk.

On the other hand, in the first quarter, Eldorado reported net income of $1 million down substantially from the prior-year quarter figure of $3.8 million. Net revenues of $200.9 million also decreased 5.9% year over year. The year-over-year decline in Eldorado’s results reflects the impact of considerable weather disruption at the company’s Reno Tri-Properties’ operations.

Price Performance

The following table shows the price movement of the major gambling stocks in the last week and the last six months:

In the last five trading sessions, share price movement of major gambling stocks was predominantly negative. Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN Quick QuoteWYNN - Free Report) and Caesars Acquisition Company lost the most at 3% and 1.4%, respectively. However, Boyd Gaming and Penn National Gaming Inc. (PENN Quick QuotePENN - Free Report) gained 6.8% and 2.9%, respectively.

In the last six months, the price performance of gambling stocks was, however, mostly positive. Among stocks that appreciated the most were Caesars Acquisition and Penn National Gaming, rallying nearly 54.8% and 54.2%, respectively. Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS Quick QuoteLVS - Free Report) was the sole loser at 0.2%.

What’s Next in the Gambling Space?

We note that gambling stocks oscillated between gains and losses in recent sessions and with the earnings season in its last leg, investors can expect this volatility to continue in the coming days.

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