On August 4, Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) reported second quarter 2026 results showing net income more than doubling to $140.1 million from $66.2 million a year earlier, while revenue climbed to $1.86 billion. Diluted earnings per share jumped to $1.32 from $0.64. Behind that headline number sits a messier picture: one Macau property carried the quarter while Las Vegas and Boston watched their profits shrink, even as management pressed ahead with a resort in the United Arab Emirates that will not open until September 2027.
Wynn Palace Carries The Quarter
Wynn Palace did the heavy lifting this quarter. Revenue jumped $113.8 million to $653.4 million, and Adjusted Property EBITDAR climbed to $201.5 million from $157.2 million a year earlier. The mass market table games win percentage came in at 29.7%, well above the 22.3% posted in the second quarter of 2025, a sign that ordinary gamblers, not just high rollers, are spending more at the tables. Las Vegas also showed discipline where it counts: the table games win percentage reached 23.9%, inside the property’s expected 22% to 26% range and up from 21.8% a year earlier.
Wynn Resorts backed up the earnings jump with capital returns. The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, payable August 28, to shareholders of record as of August 14. The company also bought back 741,098 shares during the quarter at an average price of $101.20, spending $75.0 million, and still has $326.1 million left under its repurchase authorization. Construction, meanwhile, continues on Wynn Al Marjan Island, the joint venture project in Ras Al Khaimah, with life-to-date cash contributions reaching $1.06 billion as of June 30.
Three Properties Lost Ground
Strip away Wynn Palace and the picture changes. Adjusted Property EBITDAR fell at three of Wynn’s four properties. Las Vegas Operations brought in $4.6 million more revenue, but EBITDAR still dropped $19.6 million to $215.2 million, meaning costs ate into the top-line gain. Encore Boston Harbor had it worse on both ends, with revenue down $6.4 million to $209.3 million and EBITDAR down $7.8 million to $56.1 million; its table games win percentage slipped to 18.1% from 21.3% a year earlier, even though it stayed inside the expected 18% to 22% range.
Wynn Macau’s revenue rose $7.3 million, but EBITDAR still slipped to $95.5 million from $96.5 million, and its VIP table games win percentage of 2.58% fell well short of both the prior year’s 3.41% and the property’s own 3.1% to 3.4% target range. Wynn Palace’s VIP win percentage of 2.97% missed its target range too, even with mass market strength carrying the property overall.
The balance sheet carries the weight of it all: total debt stood at $10.72 billion as of June 30, and the company is still funding Wynn Al Marjan Island, contributing another $48.1 million in the quarter toward a project that will not generate a dollar of revenue until it opens in September 2027.
Wall Street Reads It Cautiously
Hedge fund ownership dipped from 44 funds to 43 in the most recent quarter, a modest pullback rather than an exodus. Short interest sits at 9.64% of the float, a level that points to a real bear camp rather than routine hedging. The stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46 as of September 4, a modest multiple that suggests the market isn’t pricing in much of the profit growth Wynn just posted. That combination points to skepticism that hasn’t been resolved either way. None of the metrics supplied point to a stampede in either direction.
The Next Real Test
Wynn Resorts’ second quarter leaves an open question: was this the start of a broader turnaround, or one property’s strong run covering for softness elsewhere? The bulls can point to net income doubling, a steady buyback pace, and a dividend that keeps flowing even as the company funds a new resort overseas. The bears can point to three properties posting lower EBITDAR than a year ago and a debt load north of $10 billion that isn’t shrinking. Wynn Al Marjan Island’s September 2027 opening looms as the next real test of whether this growth story extends beyond Macau’s gaming floor.
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