Boyd Gaming first-quarter earnings up overall, down in Las Vegas | Casinos & Gaming
Boyd Gaming generated almost $1 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2026, an increase year over year, but numbers were down in the Las Vegas locals market.
“If you look at the locals business, it was off year over year by about $6.5 million,” Josh Hirsberg, chief financial officer of the Las Vegas-based company, said Thursday during the company’s first-quarter earnings call with investors.
Hirsberg said he would attribute roughly $5 million of the shortfall to the softer destination business in Southern Nevada and about $1.5 million to a disruption caused by construction at the Suncoast.
“The results in our Las Vegas locals segment reflect a continued softness in destination business, with the largest impact at the Orleans,” Boyd President and CEO Keith Smith said on the call.
Smith also attributed some of the softness to Suncoast’s ongoing property-wide renovation project.
“While the Suncoast management team has done a great job mitigating the construction disruption thus far, our renovation work moved into the most popular part of the casino floor during the quarter,” he said. “We anticipate this disruption will continue until we complete our renovation project late in the third quarter.”
Boyd, which has 27 casinos in 11 states, is actively investing in its Southern Nevada properties, including the recent March 25 opening of its first development in more than 20 years in the Cadence Crossing casino in Henderson.
“While it was still early, this property has received an enthusiastic response from our guests,” Smith said.
The project at the Suncoast includes a complete transformation of the the casino floor, enhanced food and beverage offerings, and updated meeting and public spaces.
Smith said a hotel-room renovation at the Orleans is on track for completion later this year, and the company plans to begin a similar project at the Suncoast this summer. He added that, in 2027, Boyd plans to begin a modernization project at the Orleans similar to the current project at the Suncoast.
“Additionally, we opened several new restaurant concepts at the Gold Coast during the first quarter, with additional restaurant concepts now in development at Fremont, Aliante and Sam’s Town,” Smith said. “We remain confident in the underlying strength of the Las Vegas economy.”
Smith noted that the Southern Nevada population reached 2.4 million last year, up 16 percent over the last decade and a growth rate more than twice the national average. He added that the per capita income in the area has grown more than five percent on an average annual basis and total personal income in the region has nearly doubled, while the cost of living in Southern Nevada remains below the national average.
“All in all, the long-term fundamentals of the Southern Nevada economy remain strong,” he said.
Boyd Gaming reported first-quarter 2026 revenues of $997.4 million, increasing from $991.6 million in the first quarter of 2025.
The company reported net income of $105.5 million, or $1.37 per share, for the first quarter of 2026, compared to $111.4 million, or $1.31 per share, in the first quarter of 2025.
Boyd shares, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, closed at $89.15, a 3.5 percent increase, before the first-quarter earnings were announced.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.
