Las Vegas Sands Corp

We continue to have confidence in Las Vegas Sands Corporation as they are accelerating their public market share repurchases. This action reinforces our belief in the company's strong balance sheet and its ability to generate cash flow. The company is well-positioned to leverage its competitive advantages in the gaming sector, which we believe will lead to further growth and returns for investors.

Las Vegas Sands Corporation is mentioned as part of the Fund's investments with Real/Irreplaceable Assets. The manager notes that companies like Las Vegas Sands possess meaningful brand equity and barriers to entry that equate to pricing power over time. However, there is no explicit bullish or bearish argument made regarding the company's future performance or valuation.

Las Vegas Sands Corporation is currently experiencing some disruption from its projects, but this is expected to end starting in May when the work is anticipated to be completed. Once finished, we believe the company should capture additional market share and generate a respectable return on capital over the following year. The company is still generating strong cash flow and has the best balance sheet in the gaming industry with leverage of just 2x. This provides additional liquidity to increase capital returns to shareholders while they wait for the EBITDA returns. The stock is currently trading at a 6 multiple point discount to its historical valuation, which we believe should narrow as investors begin to see the return from its recent capital projects and the Macau market reaccelerates again.

Las Vegas Sands is a major casino and resort operator with sizeable operations in Macau and Singapore. Despite a recovery in Macau’s tourism, fourth quarter results disappointed. However, we expect a recovery in the second half of the year, driven in part by compelling investments in capacity expansion. In the meantime, the company is trading at an extremely reasonable valuation and paying out an attractive dividend.