These Analysts Think Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s (NYSE:LVS) Earnings Are Under Threat

The analysts covering Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) delivered a dose of negativity to shareholders today, by making a substantial revision to their statutory forecasts for this year. Revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts were both revised downwards, with analysts seeing grey clouds on the horizon.

Following the downgrade, the current consensus from Las Vegas Sands' 14 analysts is for revenues of US$6.2b in 2021 which - if met - would reflect a major 82% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 80% to US$0.48. Before this latest update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$6.9b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.16 in 2021. the analysts have made an abrupt about-face on Las Vegas Sands, administering a modest decline in to revenue forecasts and slashing earnings forecasts from profit to loss.

Check out our latest analysis for Las Vegas Sands

The consensus price target was broadly unchanged at US$65.36, perhaps implicitly signalling that the weaker earnings outlook is not expected to have a long-term impact on the valuation.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Las Vegas Sands' past performance and to peers in the same industry. For example, we noticed that Las Vegas Sands' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with revenues forecast to exhibit 233% growth to the end of 2021 on an annualised basis. That is well above its historical decline of 9.1% a year over the past five years. Compare this against analyst estimates for the broader industry, which suggest that (in aggregate) industry revenues are expected to grow 21% annually. Not only are Las Vegas Sands' revenues expected to improve, it seems that the analysts are also expecting it to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest low-light for us was that the forecasts for Las Vegas Sands dropped from profits to a loss this year. Unfortunately, analysts also downgraded their revenue estimates, although our data indicates revenues are expected to perform better than the wider market. The lack of change in the price target is puzzling in light of the downgrade but, with a serious decline expected this year, we wouldn't be surprised if investors were a bit wary of Las Vegas Sands.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Las Vegas Sands going out to 2023, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are downgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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