Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Trump-Xi thaw helps lift Wynn Resorts’ fortunes

Macau August 2011

Ulf Buchholz

The Wynn Macau is seen Aug. 17, 2011.

Some of the hardest-hit stocks of the past two months — Amazon, Apple and Advanced Micro Devices — were rebounding Monday, as investors reacted to news that the United States and China had agreed not to escalate their trade war for now.

One of biggest beneficiaries Monday was Wynn Resorts, which was the second best-performing stock in the S&P 500 for the day.

Investors in Wynn were reacting to good news over the weekend. First, Macau’s Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau said that gaming revenue for the Chinese gambling center had increased more than expected in November.

Then, President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China said they had agreed to pause the trade war between their countries, the world’s two largest economies, for 90 days and work to resolve several areas of tension.

Wynn could gain because of the thaw. Wynn generated nearly three-quarters of its revenue this year from its casinos in Macau, a special administrative region of China and a gambling haven for Chinese high rollers.

Tariffs between China and the United States were unlikely to affect Wynn’s revenue directly, but investors worried it could be hit by any retaliatory measures China took in response to the Trump administration’s policies. Those could include potential restrictions on travel to Macau as well as license renewals.

Wynn’s exposure to China also meant that it was susceptible to a slowdown in China’s economy and the impact that might have on wealthy Chinese gamblers. Wynn’s shares tumbled 13 percent in early November after Wynn CEO Matt Maddox warned on the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call that it had experienced a recent slowdown in its Macau business.

Wynn’s shares slid through the spring and summer as trade tensions between the two countries continued to escalate. The stock was down 44 percent from the end of May through Friday’s close, making it the fourth worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 during that period.