Macau continues to perform better in 2013 than almost anyone could have expected. November's gaming revenue grew 21.3% from a year ago to $3.99 billion, the second-highest month behind October.
For the year, Macau's gaming revenue has grown 18.6%, which is incredible when you consider that Macau generated $38.1 billion in revenue, or more than six times the Las Vegas Strip, last year.
Source: Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau Macao.
It seems as if nothing can stop Macau's growth.
Cashing in on Macau's growth
The tide is really lifting all casinos, but U.S.-traded operators continue to outperform SJM and Galaxy. Estimates have Las Vegas Sands (LVS 1.30%) increasing market share from 20% to 22%, Wynn Resorts (WYNN 2.90%) improving from 10% to 11%, MGM Resorts (MGM 3.18%) improving from 9% to 11%, and Melco Crown (MPEL +1.63%) increasing share from 13% to 14%.
That should help drive further revenue and profit growth in the fourth quarter and create even more opportunity for each company's new resorts.
Macau's next growth phase will come as capacity expands further in 2015 and 2016. That's when Las Vegas Sands will open The Parisian, Melco Crown opens Studio City, Wynn opens Wynn Diamond, and MGM's new resort nears completion.
Can gaming stocks go higher?
For investors, the question is whether or not gaming stocks can go higher. I've argued that gaming stocks are already highly valued, but if Macau continues to grow between 15% and 20%, there's still a lot of room to run. Macau's infrastructure continues to improve, and as new resorts come online, there will be an even bigger draw to Macau.
Right now, it looks like the sky is the limit for gaming stocks, and investors should keep focusing their gaming dollars in Macau.
