Lyon: Macau's gambling revenue is expected to increase by 2% this year. Galaxy Entertainment Group (stock code: 00027) and Sands China (stock code: 01928) are the top choices.

Lyon released a research report stating that the growth of Macau's gambling revenue remains very modest, but competition is intensifying. Excluding seasonal factors, Macau's daily total gambling revenue has reached 6 billion to 6.5 billion Macau patacas since the beginning of last year. Meanwhile, the average gambling revenue per visitor is still under pressure, while the number of visitors to Macau is on the rise, indicating that there are more leisure tourists (or lower value gamblers) in Macau. The bank maintains its forecast for Macau's gambling revenue, expecting a growth of 2% this year and 10% next year. Due to unfavorable changes in the overall profit composition, the industry's Ebitda forecast for this year has been revised down by 0.4%, and the forecast for 2026 to 2027 has been lowered by 2%. The bank continues to view GALAXY ENT (00027) and Sands China (01928) as preferred stocks.