Las Vegas Sands operates luxury hotels, casinos, and convention centers in the hospitality sector.
It is a global leader in integrated resorts, renowned for its iconic properties in destinations like Macao and Singapore.
Updated: February 19, 2026, 16:00 EST
Technical Analysis LVS is currently navigating a volatile phase, having declined sharply over the past three months and underperforming the broader market. While its price has recovered somewhat from its yearly low, it now appears to be encountering resistance as it approaches the upper end of its 52-week range. The technical picture suggests a stock in a consolidation phase, lacking clear short-term directional momentum.
Fundamentals Analysis The company shows strong top-line revenue growth and solid operational income, indicating healthy core business demand. However, this is counterbalanced by significant margin compression and a highly leveraged balance sheet with limited cash flow capacity for rapid debt reduction. While leverage is effectively boosting returns on equity, it introduces considerable financial risk.
Valuation Analysis LVS appears overvalued based on key metrics, with a high forward P/E and an extremely elevated EV/EBITDA ratio. The negative PEG ratio is particularly concerning, signaling that the market is pricing in negative earnings growth expectations. The valuation seems stretched relative to the company's current financial performance and future prospects.
Risk Analysis The stock exhibits lower systematic volatility than the market, but its significant historical drawdown reveals substantial downside potential. While the lack of notable short interest reflects a generally neutral market sentiment, the company remains exposed to economic cycles, discretionary spending trends, and regulatory risks in its key operating regions.
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Recommendation
Based on the comprehensive analysis, a HOLD recommendation is advised for LVS at this time. While the company demonstrates strong revenue generation and operational control, these positives are overshadowed by significant overvaluation, high financial leverage, and near-term earnings headwinds. Investors may find better entry points after a potential price correction or upon clearer signs of improved profitability and debt management.
Based on the comprehensive analysis, here is the 12-month outlook for LVS:
The primary catalysts for LVS over the next year will be its ability to sustain strong top-line revenue growth in its key Asian markets, leveraging its premium asset base. However, significant risks persist from its highly leveraged balance sheet, which limits financial flexibility, and stretched valuations that already appear to price in a strong recovery, leaving little room for disappointment. With the stock in a technical consolidation phase and facing margin compression, the price is likely to remain volatile within a range, with a cautious HOLD stance recommended as investors await clearer signs of improving profitability and debt management before a sustained upward move can occur.
Most Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s 12-month outlook, with consensus target around $58.09, indicating expected upside potential.
Overall, LVS has investment potential but also faces challenges. Here are key factors to weigh before investing.
LVS has demonstrated significant volatility over the past year, with a substantial decline over the recent three-month period. Despite this, the stock price remains elevated relative to its yearly low, suggesting a partial recovery is already underway.
The stock has experienced notable weakness in the short term, declining 5.1% over one month and more sharply by 14.14% over three months. This performance has significantly lagged the broader market, as indicated by its -14.12% relative strength, underperforming despite the stock's beta of less than 1.
Currently trading at $57.52, LVS is positioned approximately in the upper-middle of its 52-week range ($30.18 to $70.45), indicating it is neither severely oversold nor overbought. However, given the recent downtrend and proximity to the annual high, the stock appears to be facing resistance after its recovery from the year's lows.
| Period | LVS Return | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| 1m | -0.8% | +1.0% |
| 3m | -11.4% | +1.9% |
| 6m | +7.8% | +6.5% |
| 1y | +29.2% | +12.1% |
| ytd | -10.9% | +0.2% |
Revenue & Profitability LVS demonstrated robust revenue growth with quarterly revenue increasing from $3.33B to $3.65B sequentially, representing nearly a 10% quarter-over-quarter expansion. However, profitability metrics showed some pressure as the gross profit margin declined significantly from 28.3% to 20.4%, though the net profit margin remained healthy at 10.8%. The company maintained solid operating income of $875 million, indicating effective core operational control despite margin compression.
Financial Health The company's financial structure shows high leverage with a debt-equity ratio of 10.15 and total debt to capitalization of 91%, reflecting substantial debt usage. While the interest coverage ratio of 4.58 provides adequate near-term safety, the cash flow to debt ratio of just 0.075 suggests limited capacity for rapid debt reduction from operating cash flows. Current liquidity appears acceptable with current and quick ratios both above 1.1.
Operational Efficiency LVS demonstrates exceptional returns on equity at 24.8%, significantly outperforming modest ROA of 1.8%, indicating effective financial leverage utilization. However, asset utilization appears constrained with low asset turnover of 0.17 and fixed asset turnover of 0.31, typical for capital-intensive resort operations. The high equity multiplier of 13.79 confirms that returns are heavily driven by leverage rather than pure operational efficiency.
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Try Now & Get Tesla Stock RewardBased on the provided data, LVS appears to be overvalued based on traditional earnings-based metrics. The forward P/E ratio of 27.8 is higher than the trailing P/E of 20.7, reflecting market expectations of lower future earnings. This elevated valuation is further supported by a very high EV/EBITDA of 50.57 and a negative PEG ratio of -8.48, the latter indicating that estimated earnings growth is negative, which is a significant concern.
A direct peer comparison using industry averages is not feasible as industry data was not provided. However, the extremely high price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 19.98 suggests the market is valuing LVS's equity at a substantial premium to its accounting book value. These standalone metrics, particularly the negative PEG and high EV/EBITDA, point to a valuation that seems stretched relative to the company's current and projected financial performance.
Volatility Risk: LVS demonstrates lower volatility risk than the broader market, evidenced by its Beta of 0.885, suggesting its price movements are typically less pronounced than the market average. However, its 1-year maximum drawdown of -33.33% indicates a significant potential for loss during market downturns, highlighting substantial historical downside risk despite the lower Beta.
Other Risks: The absence of notable short interest suggests the market consensus on LVS is not substantially bearish, which can be viewed as a positive sentiment indicator. While this lack of short-side pressure is favorable, the stock may still face risks associated with sector-specific headwinds, regulatory changes in its operating regions, and broader economic cycles affecting discretionary spending.
Neutral. Current valuation metrics appear stretched with a high forward P/E and negative PEG ratio, while strong Asian market momentum is offset by significant leverage and margin pressures. This stock may appeal to growth-focused investors willing to tolerate volatility for potential Macau/Singapore recovery upside, but cautious investors should await a more attractive entry point or clearer earnings acceleration.
Based on the data, LVS stock appears to be overvalued. Key metrics like its extremely high P/B ratio of 19.98 and negative PEG ratio of -8.48 suggest the market price is stretched relative to its book value and future earnings growth prospects, which are negative. The forward P/E of 27.8 also indicates high expectations despite profitability pressures. While the company's high ROE (24.8%) is impressive, it is heavily fueled by significant financial leverage (debt-to-equity of 10.15), adding risk that the current valuation does not adequately reflect.
Based on the provided information, here are the key risks of holding LVS stock, ordered by importance:
1. High Financial Leverage: The company's exceptionally high debt load (91% debt-to-capitalization and a Debt/Equity ratio of 10.15) poses a significant risk, as it increases vulnerability to rising interest rates and reduces financial flexibility, especially given its low cash flow-to-debt ratio. 2. Sector-Specific and Regulatory Exposure: As a casino operator, LVS faces substantial risks from regulatory changes in its key operating regions (like Macau and Singapore) and downturns in broader economic cycles that directly impact discretionary travel and gambling spending. 3. Operational Margin Pressure: Despite strong revenue growth, the company is experiencing significant compression in its gross profit margin (which fell from 28.3% to 20.4%), indicating potential rising operational costs or competitive pressures that could threaten profitability. 4. Recent Price Weakness and Downside Volatility: The stock has demonstrated significant downside risk with a 1-year maximum drawdown of -33.33% and is currently in a pronounced downtrend, underperforming the market significantly over the last three months, suggesting negative momentum and investor sentiment.
Based on the current financial metrics and industry position, the LVS stock forecast for trading around $55 to $65 represents a cautious base case for 2026, with a potential bull case of $70+ if Asian VIP travel fully recovers and the company successfully manages its debt load. Key growth drivers will be the sustained recovery in its flagship Macao and Singapore operations and any strategic moves to improve its financial leverage. The primary assumptions are a stable macroeconomic environment in Asia and no significant new regulatory headwinds. Given the high leverage and operational risks inherent in the gaming sector, this forecast carries substantial uncertainty, and the stock's performance is highly contingent on broader travel and consumer spending trends.