Lyon: Macau's gaming revenue last month fell short of market expectations. Galaxy Entertainment (00027) and MGM China (02282) are the top choices.

Lyon released a research report stating that Macau's gaming revenue in December last year increased by 14.8% year-on-year to 20.89 billion Macau Patacas, in line with the bank's forecast, but 3% lower than the market forecast. This means that the average daily gaming revenue in the last ten days of December was 624 million Macau Patacas, compared to 698 million Macau Patacas in the first 21 days. Although investors may have a negative view on the data, the bank still believes that the continued appreciation of the renminbi against the US dollar will support gaming revenue performance. For January of this year, the bank expects Macau gaming revenue to increase by 18% year-on-year to 21.48 billion Macau Patacas, 3% higher than the market forecast. The top stock picks remain GALAXY ENT (00027) and MGM CHINA(02282). Lyon predicts that Macau's total gaming revenue will increase by 5% year-on-year in 2026, slightly lower than the market's expected growth of 5.5%, which means that daily gaming revenue will reach 709 million Macau Patacas.