MGM Resorts’ Trump tax breaks fail to impress investors

Casino operator MGM Resorts International’s first quarter results got another boost from Trump’s tax cuts, but it wasn’t enough to offset declines at its domestic resorts.

On Thursday, MGM reported consolidated net revenue of $2.82b in the three months ending March 31, up 4% from the same period last year. But expenses rose 10.3% to $2.5b, pushing operating income down 27.6% to $360m, while net income rose 8.2% to $223.4m.

However, that net income figure got a $94m non-cash boost from the new US tax rules. A similar phenomenon boosted MGM’s Q4 results by a significantly larger windfall just as the new tax rules took effect.

Investors were unimpressed, pushing MGM’s shares down nearly 9% at time of writing. MGM China’s shares closed Thursday’s trading down 2.3% on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.