A research firm has stated that the obvious. It has released its findings that state domestic equities are preferable to the equivalents in Macau. This has been confirmed by the movements in the price of these equities.

Reasons behind the findings

When the prices of equities are compared across a year, Wynn Resorts that trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol WYNN and Las Vegas Sands that trades on the NYSE under the symbol LVS are the worst performers. These two operators are heavily reliant on the earnings and revenue from Macau. Another trend that is seen is that casinos with domestic operations that have no relation to Macau have seen their share prices rise on the exchanges.

Comparison of performance of domestic equities and Macau equities

LVS and WYNN, the equities that depend on Macau for revenue and earnings are off by an average of 25.5%. However, Ceasers Entertainment that trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol CZR, and MGM Resorts International that trades on the NYSE under the symbol MGM have both reported an increase in prices by an average of 55%.

Findings defy conventional wisdom

When the global pandemic first started in 2020, analysts had made the prediction that Macau would make a recovery that would be faster than that in the United States. However, just the opposite has proved to be true. Consumers in the country have received government stimulus. There was also a pent-up demand in the market after a long shelter-in-place directive by some states in the country. With the lifting of these restrictions, demand was driven up in the domestic casinos. This led to the rebound and led to rallies on the shares of thee operators.

Macau recovery not up to expectations

In contrast to the strong recovery in the casino industry domestically, Macau is still reeling under travel restrictions. There are inefficiencies in the approval of visas under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). VIPs are wary of the new Chinese policy on cross-border money transfers.