In today's world, most companies span several regions and sell across the world. As Foolish colleague Morgan Housel notes, 10 years ago, less than a third of S&P 500 revenue came from abroad. Today, more than half of the S&P 500's growth comes from foreign countries.
And that number is growing. The truth is, investors regularly underestimate how much demand comes from outside the U.S. More importantly, for large, multinational corporations that have already established a presence in their home markets, much of their future growth comes from abroad.
With that in mind, today we're looking at Las Vegas Sands
Where Las Vegas Sands' sales were five years ago
Five years ago, Last Vegas Sands' revenue was relatively evenly split between its Las Vegas properties and its lone Asian property, the Sands Macao.
Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's.
Where Las Vegas Sands' sales are today
Today, Las Vegas Sands' revenue composition has dramatically altered. The fairly even split is now a centrally Asian operation, with nearly 80% of sales coming from either Macau or Singapore.
Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's.
This isn't the result of exploding sales at the Sands Macao versus its Las Vegas counterparts. In fact, Vegas property revenue growth actually kept pace with the Sands Macao. The larger driver of Las Vegas Sands' continuing skew was the opening of several properties like its flagship Venetian Macao, the Four Seasons Macao, and the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore.
Still, it is worth noting that revenue at the company's Vegas properties is still nearly 10% below its 2008 level, while most of its Macau properties have since bounced back. Perhaps most encouragingly, the company's new Marina Bay Sands property in Singapore also delivered on the bottom line. The property managed to contribute 29% of Las Vegas Sands' operating profits despite only accounting for 18% of total sales. High margins are the result of Singapore's restrictions on new casinos, which allows Las Vegas Sands to operate as part of a duopoly in the country.
Competitor checkup
One last point to check is how Las Vegas Sands' footprint compares to some of its peers across the broader casinos and gaming sector:
|
Company |
Geography With Most Sales |
Percent of Sales, 2010 |
|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas Sands | Macau | 60% |
|
MGM Resorts |
United States | 100% |
|
Melco Crown Entertainment |
Macau | 100% |
|
Wynn Resorts |
Macau | 69% |
Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's.
While focused primarily on Macau, Las Vegas Sands has good geographic diversification compared to some of its direct peers. For example, MGM is currently entirely focused on the tepid United States market, while Melco Crown is a pure-play on Macau. Wynn offers a similar profile to Las Vegas Sands, though it currently lacks a large property in Singapore -- a situation that might not last beyond the decade as Steve Wynn has said he's "dying" to enter the market.
Keep searching
If you're looking to stay updated on Las Vegas Sands, or any other companies listed above, make sure to add them to our free watchlist service, My Watchlist. It's free, and it helps you constantly stay updated on news and analysis on your favorite companies.
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