Earnings Preview: Wynn Resorts

OVERVIEW: Wynn Resorts has benefited from a strong gaming market in Macau as Las Vegas casinos continue to suffer from reduced airline service and soaring gas prices. The Las Vegas-based company, headed by billionaire Steven Wynn, opened Wynn Las Vegas in 2005 and Wynn Macau in September 2006. It is developing another resort, Encore, in Las Vegas.

Based on preliminary results, Wynn said earlier this month that second-quarter operating income for its Las Vegas property declined, while operating profit at its Macau property surged.

In Las Vegas, the company's revenue per available room, or revpar, fell 3 percent during the period. Revpar is considered a key gauge of a hospitality company's performance.

Wynn's board also approved an increase of up to $500 million in its previously announced equity repurchase program for a total of up to $1.7 billion.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts polled by Thomson Financial predict earnings of 93 cents per share on revenue of $828.1 million.

ANALYST TAKE: BMO Capital Markets analyst Jeffrey Logsdon called the results a "tale of two cities" with Macau representing "the best of times" and Las Vegas facing a more difficult environment.

Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Jake Fuller noted that top-line trends were actually worse than expected in Vegas.

Oppenheimer & Co. analyst David Katz was slightly more optimistic.

"Although we believe the scale and quality of Wynn's properties in Las Vegas should prove to more resilient than larger-scale properties, and the company's execution has proven to be superb, we believe the company is not completely immune to the weakening trends on the Strip and the prospect of reduced airline service," he said.