Caesars Q3 Impacted by Competition and Market Headwinds

Caesars Entertainment has published its financial report for the third quarter of 2024 (Q3) and has highlighted a slight decline in the company’s performance. The operator’s assets in Las Vegas and other US regions recorded suboptimal year-to-date metrics amid market headwinds.

The Company’s Regional Business Was Impacted by Headwinds

Caesars’ net revenue for the period stood at approximately $2.9 billion, marking a slight decline from Q3 2023 when the company reported $3 billion in net revenue. Las Vegas revenues remained more or less stable at roughly $1.06 billion.

Net revenues from regional operations were down 7.6% to $1.45 billion (previously $1.56 billion). The company attributed the regional declines to growing competition and difficult comparisons. However, the company’s Caesars Digital brand continued to excel, recording a 41% increase to $303 million.

In Q3 2024, Caesars also recorded a net loss of $9 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the period, on the other hand, remained mostly stable at 1 billion.

The company ended the quarter with $802 million in cash and cash equivalents. It also reported outstanding debt of $6.34 billion.

Caesars’ YTD Revenue Was Somewhat Stable but Losses Increased

On a year-to-date basis, Caesars reported net revenues of $8.45 billion, down 1.3% year-on-year. Vegas operations revenue declined by 5% to $4.2 billion. The decline, however, was partially offset by a 29% increase in Caesars Digital revenue, which reached $861 million.

Caesars, unfortunately, still ended up reporting a net loss of $289 million for the first nine months of the year. In the prior-year period, for comparison, the company reported net income of $858 million.

Adjusted EBITDA for the nine-month period stood at $2.85 billion, down from $3 billion in the prior-year period.

CEO Reeg Praised the Strong Vegas and Digital Results

Tom Reeg, Caesars’ chief executive, commented on the figures, saying that, despite the slight decline in Vegas revenues, the company recorded record-breaking Q3 hotel, food and beverage and banquet revenues, thanks to strong occupancy.

He added that the regional segment was negatively impacted by intense competition, construction disruption and difficult year-on-year comparisons. Reeg also emphasized that Caesars Digital set a new all-time quarterly record.

As mentioned, Caesars reported a significant debt. The company, however, is bullish on accelerating its debt reduction and sold critical non-core assets in order to access extra proceeds. This included the sale of the WSOP brand and the LINQ promenade on the Las Vegas Strip.