Contrasting Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) & GameStop (NYSE:GME)

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) and GameStop (NYSE:GME) are both large-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Las Vegas Sands and GameStop, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Las Vegas Sands	0	7	11	0	2.61
GameStop	1	1	0	0	1.50

Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus target price of $67.86, suggesting a potential upside of 25.64%. GameStop has a consensus target price of $13.50, suggesting a potential downside of 42.31%. Given Las Vegas Sands’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Las Vegas Sands is more favorable than GameStop.

Dividends

Las Vegas Sands pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. GameStop pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Las Vegas Sands pays out 51.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. GameStop pays out 202.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Las Vegas Sands has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Las Vegas Sands and GameStop’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Las Vegas Sands	12.50%	91.40%	9.63%
GameStop	11.53%	12.47%	6.73%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Las Vegas Sands and GameStop”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Las Vegas Sands	$13.02 billion	2.75	$1.63 billion	$2.34	23.08
GameStop	$3.63 billion	2.89	$418.40 million	$0.75	31.20

Las Vegas Sands has higher revenue and earnings than GameStop. Las Vegas Sands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than GameStop, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

39.2% of Las Vegas Sands shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 29.2% of GameStop shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Las Vegas Sands shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.6% of GameStop shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Las Vegas Sands has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GameStop has a beta of 1.86, indicating that its share price is 86% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Las Vegas Sands beats GameStop on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People’s Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The company’s integrated resorts feature accommodations, gaming, entertainment and retail malls, convention and exhibition facilities, celebrity chef restaurants, and other amenities. Las Vegas Sands Corp. was founded in 1988 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About GameStop

GameStop Corp., a specialty retailer, provides games and entertainment products through its stores and ecommerce platforms in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The company sells new and pre-owned gaming platforms; accessories, such as controllers, gaming headsets, and virtual reality products; new and pre-owned gaming software; and in-game digital currency, digital downloadable content, and full-game downloads. It sells collectibles comprising apparel, toys, trading cards, gadgets, and other retail products for pop culture and technology enthusiasts, as well as engages in the digital asset wallet and NFT marketplace activities. The company operates stores and ecommerce sites under the GameStop, EB Games, and Micromania brands; and pop culture themed stores that sell collectibles, apparel, gadgets, electronics, toys, and other retail products under the Zing Pop Culture brand, as well as offers Game Informer magazine, a print and digital gaming publication. The company was formerly known as GSC Holdings Corp. GameStop Corp. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas.