- Wynn is one of this year’s best-performing casino stocks
- Geographic diversification is a big reason why
- It’s also the lone bright spot on the Las Vegas Strip
Shares of Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) are up 39.61% year-to-date, easily making it one of the best-performing gaming stocks while confirming its geographic diversification is a plus.
For now, that diversity rests largely on the shoulders of the operator’s Wynn Macau unit and that’s been advantageous at a time when gross gaming revenue (GGR) and casino stocks in the Chinese casino enclave are roaring back to life. This year’s Macau resurgence could be more floor than ceiling, potentially signaling extended leadership for Wynn among gaming stocks.
In Macau, demand continues to gradually recover, with Wynn’s high-end iconic brand positioned to participate, leading to a midteens percentage gross gaming revenue share in 2025,” notes Morningstar analyst Dan Wasiolek. “We expect upcoming developments that add attractions and improve Macao’s accessibility will improve the destination’s brand, supporting our constructive long-term view on Macau.”
Wynn’s Macau unit has been added benefit to the stock at a time when shares of rivals Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR) and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) are sagging due to weakness on the Las Vegas Strip.
UAE Could Support Wynn Stock Gains, Too
While Macau has been additive to the Wynn stock story this year, the special administrative region (SAR) accounts for outsized portions of the operators earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and revenue, implying reduced dependence on the Chinese territory could fortify the long-term Wynn investment thesis.
That’s where the operators United Arab Emirates (UAE) project comes in. Wynn Al Marjan Island, on which external construction is nearly complete, is key to the operator’s plans to diversify away from Macau, said Wells Fargo analyst Trey Bowers in a note to clients today.
The stock’s 2025 performance could be a sign investors have finally awakened to the UAE catalyst and it’s not one to be understated. Upon opening in early 2027, the $5.1 billion Wynn casino resort is expected to hold a multi-year monopoly in a country that some analysts believe could eventually become one of the world’s top five gaming markets.
“We expect Wynn’s managed property in the United Arab Emirates, or UAE, to open in 2027 and produce returns on investment of about a high-teen percentage by the end of the decade, supporting the company’s narrow moat rating,” adds Morningstar’s Wasiolek.
Wynn Las Vegas Ops Standing Out
For years, Wynn was viewed as Macau play among casino stocks and that’s still the case though it will be altered when the UAE venue opens. Still, the operator owns its namesake integrated resort on the Las Vegas Strip, which has also been a catalyst for the shares this year.
Management recently highlighted vibrancy at Wynn and Encore Las Vegas — a stark departure from the comments made by their counterparts at Caesars and MGM. That confirms Wynn’s focus on high-end consumers is buffering it from sensitivity among more price-sensitive cohorts that visit other Sin City properties.
Wells Fargo’s Bowers says that owing to the venue’s status as the city’s premier casino hotel, Wynn Las Vegas is likely to continue stealing market share from competitors.
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