Wynn leans on Macau strength as UAE project faces delay, cost rise

Wynn Al Marjan

Wynn Resorts’ Macau business delivered solid second-quarter results even as unfavorable VIP hold trimmed earnings, while the company pushed back the opening of its Wynn Al Marjan Island resort in the United Arab Emirates to September 2027 and raised the UAE project’s budget by about USD600 million (MOP4.84 billion).

In Macau, the casino operator generated $297 million in adjusted property EBITDAR on $1 billion in operating revenue, with a margin of 29.6%.

CEO Craig Billings said the team delivered “particularly solid results” in the quarter, adding that VIP-normalized EBITDA reached $306 million and unfavorable VIP hold cut results by nearly $9 million.

Mass drop rose 5% year over year, though Billings said in prepared remarks that rolling volumes and mass drop were running slightly lower because of the World Cup and seasonal softness before improving in late July and early August.

Operating revenues rose to $1.86 billion in the quarter ended March 31, 2026, up from $1.70 billion a year earlier. Net income attributable to Wynn Resorts climbed to $120.5 million from $72.7 million, while diluted earnings per share increased to $1.04 from 69 cents. Adjusted property EBITDAR rose to $562.4 million from $532.9 million.

In Macau, Wynn Palace reported operating revenue of $653.4 million, up 21.1% from a year earlier, while adjusted property EBITDAR increased to $201.5 million from $157.2 million. The company said mass-market table games win percentage improved to 29.7%, up from 22.3%, and VIP table games win as a percentage of turnover rose to 2.97% from 2.86%.

Wynn Macau reported operating revenue of $351.1 million for the second quarter of 2026, an increase of $7.3 million from $343.8 million a year earlier. Adjusted property EBITDAR was $95.5 million, compared with $96.5 million in the second quarter of 2025. Mass-market table games win percentage was 17.1%, down from 17.4% a year earlier, while VIP table games win as a percentage of turnover was 2.58%, below the property’s expected range of 3.1% to 3.4% and lower than 3.41% a year earlier.

The company also highlighted progress at Wynn Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, saying construction continued while it monitored conditions in the Gulf region and took precautions to protect staff on the ground.

Wynn contributed $100.1 million to the joint venture during the quarter, bringing its total cash contributions to $1.01 billion.

The company ended the quarter with $1.19 billion in cash and cash equivalents, excluding short-term investments held by Wynn Macau, and said total debt stood at $10.52 billion.

Macau non-gaming investments

Wynn said it will begin construction in the coming weeks on an event center and theater at Wynn Palace Macau after receiving a revised land contract from the Macau SAR government in July. Those projects, along with the previously announced 432-suite Enclave hotel tower, are designed to broaden the resort’s appeal beyond gaming and support Macau’s diversification push, it said.

The Event Center and Theater are expected to open in 2028, while Enclave is slated for 2029.

“Taken together, these projects reflect a clear and confident investment in the future of the Macau market and our commitment to support its diversification efforts,” Billings said on the earnings call.

Wynn Al Marjan

On the UAE side, Wynn said construction at Wynn Al Marjan Island is moving forward, but regional conflict has disrupted supply chains, shipping insurance and logistics.

The company now expects the resort to open to the public in September 2027, later than previously planned, and said the total budget will rise by about $600 million. Wynn said roughly half of that increase is tied directly to conflict-related costs, while the rest reflects trade coordination, remeasurement and other large-project expenses.

“Approximately half is directly attributable to disruption from the regional conflict, material cost increases, shipping cost increases and the preopening and capitalized interest costs associated with the extended construction timeline it created. The remaining portion reflects remeasurement, trade coordination and other costs you’d expect on a project of this scale and duration independent of anything happening in the region,” said Billings.

Billings also highlighted during the call that he had visited the UAE site in June and found conditions on the ground to be stable. “This is a country that absorbs pressure and keeps functioning rather than one that gets knocked off course by it,” he said, adding that Dubai airport traffic and consumer supply chains remained normal.

Billings said Wynn underwrote the project with geopolitical risk in mind and remains confident in the market. “When we underwrote the project, again, I said this last time, we didn’t underwrite a region with zero geopolitical risk. We underwrote a country with the demonstrated ability to manage through it,” he said.

Meanwhile, CEO Craig Fullalove said the delay in the UAE is tied to completion and handover, not a change in the investment thesis.

Fullalove said the resort will open all amenities at once, with no phased launch, and that the September timing lines up with the start of peak season in the region.

Wynn also said it has continued hiring and operations planning for the project, while total equity contributions to the development have topped $1.06 billion.

Fullalove told analysts Wynn sees both local and regional demand funnels in Ras Al Khaimah, and said the integrated resort there is planning for a broad base of customers when it opens. “We have a lot of levers to pull there, and it’s a question of which levers we pull when based on the state of play as we open,” Fullalove said.

“What we are building in the region is one of a kind, and the quality of work on site is truly extraordinary,” Billings said. “We continue to believe this will be the most exciting integrated resort opening globally in over a decade.”

In its established markets, the company also continued to generate solid cash flow. Wynn Las Vegas posted adjusted property EBITDAR of $215.2 million, while Encore Boston Harbor delivered $56.1 million.