Caesars hurt by lack of Asian presence, Bernstein analysts say

Caesars Entertainment has been expanding since it emerged from bankruptcy a year and a half ago, but those expansion plans have missed out on a key market. As long as Caesars ignores the Asian gaming market, its growth is going to be stifled.

This is the opinion of the Sanford C. Bernstein brokerage, which pointed out this week that the casino operator will never fully find a strong bottom line as long as it stays focused on primarily the U.S. market. Analysts with the brokerage explained, “Our fundamental view of the company remains unchanged – we believe Caesars’ long-term value is limited by execution overhang and limited organic growth.”

The analysts, Vitaly Umansky, Eunice Lee and Kelsey Zhu, added, “Caesars is a U.S.-focused operator with no Asia exposure. We believe its potential foray into [South] Korea is of limited value and its U.S. business will experience limited organic top-line growth.”

Caesars has started to explore options in Asia, including through a casino in Japan and a new foreigner-only casino resort it plans to build with a local partner in Incheon, South Korea. That resort, which carries a $700-million price tag, is expected to be ready in 2021 and is located near the Incheon International Airport.