Will Macau Troubles Drive Wynn's Earnings Downwards?

Shares of Wynn Resorts, Limited WYNN are up on Tuesday afternoon, as the company readies to report its first quarter financial results after the market closes.

A look at Estimize shows a substantial divergence between the crowd’s and the experts’ opinions. Wall Street analysts model consensus EPS of $1.34 on revenue of $1.212 billion. The crowd projects consensus EPS of $1.47 on revenue of $1.242 billion.

Whatever the outcome, both these estimates imply a large decrease from the $2.32 EPS disclosed in the first quarter of 2014, but an increase from last quarter’s EPS of $1.20.

The graph below illustrates Wynn’s history of estimates versus actual earnings.

Another chart, featured below, shows how estimates have changed over time.

Both the Street and the crowd have been increasingly pessimistic regarding earnings, as the call got closer. The estimates never converged.

Macau Troubles

In a report issued Monday, Bank of America analyst Shaun Kelley assured that Macau's total visitation was down 13.5 percent in March.

Related Link: Bank Of America Previews Gaming, Wynn Earnings

Kelley expects the company to generate a total property EBITDA OF $341 million, 7 percent below the $366 million consensus. In Macau, he anticipates EBITDA of $232 million, also under the $246 million consensus estimate.

Also very recently, analysts at Susquehanna reiterated their positive rating on Wynn, but trimmed their price target from $189 to $159.