Robert Goldstein expresses disappointment over operator’s performance

Robert Goldstein, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands (LVS), expressed disappointment over the current performance of Sands China and the Macau gaming market during the 41st annual Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference held in New York last week, according to media reports.

Despite a robust post-pandemic recovery, the market in Macau has shown signs of plateauing, according to Goldstein. This is reflected in weakened tourism consumption and increased competition, both domestically and regionally.

According to multiple media reports, Goldstein expressed a desire to improve the performance of his company’s Macau subsidiary, Sands China.

He attributed some of Sands China’s underperformance to ongoing renovation projects at The Londoner Macao, which have temporarily limited hotel capacity.

However, he admitted that the company’s competitive approach needs to be more aggressive to address challenges posed by the rise of online gambling in Asia, a market increasingly driven by direct incentives and discounts to customers.

In the first quarter of 2025, Sands China’s net profits dropped 32% year over year to USD202 million (MOP1.6 billion), compared to $297 million (MOP2.4 billion) in the first quarter of 2024. EBITDA also declined 12.3% to $535 million (MOP4.3 billion) and net revenue fell 5.7% to $1.7 billion (approximately MOP13.6 billion).

“We have not been rewarded with the returns we would have liked to see,” Goldstein said, emphasizing that Sands is the largest investor in Macau but has yet to realize the expected financial gains.

Despite this, the LVS CEO expressed optimism about Macau’s long-term prospects, forecasting that gaming revenue could eventually reach between $32 billion and $34 billion (approximately MOP256 billion to MOP272 billion) annually. However, he cautioned that this growth will not occur immediately, citing factors such as subdued consumer sentiment and the end of the junket segment, which previously played a significant role in Macau’s gaming landscape.

Goldstein also highlighted a decoupling between visitation numbers and spending per visitor, noting that while tourist arrivals have recovered, their spending has not kept pace. “Spend is different than it used to be,” he said. “Visitation used to be equivalent to the spend, but they’ve decoupled now, where visitation can be pretty good but the spend isn’t.”

The CEO further commented on the broader geopolitical environment, expressing concern over the ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

“The world is in an awkward place right now and there is confusion about the bilateral relationship between China and the U.S., there’s confusion about the tariffs, there’s confusion about China’s trajectory. It’s not an easy place to navigate,” Goldstein said.