Broomfield, Colorado — In a not exactly surprising reveal by Vail Resorts, the company did not have a good 2026 fiscal year.
On Monday, Vail Resorts announced its 2026 fourth quarter and end-of-fiscal-year results. Net income was $147.5 million for fiscal 2026, which was down from $280 million the year prior. Resort EBITDA dropped from $844.1 million to $745.7 million. Their estimates for fiscal year 2027 are $158 million to $233 million for net income and $805 million to $865 million for Resort EBITDA. There were some positives, including beating their revenue estimates and an increase in ancillary spending by customers.
Here’s what CEO Rob Katz had to say about the challenging fiscal year:
“This past winter was one of the most challenging winters in history across the western U.S. for the ski industry, which negatively impacted financial performance for the year. Conditions were particularly severe in the Rockies, where snowfall and snowpack were at or near historic lows and significantly below prior record-low seasons, resulting in the most difficult weather environment we have ever experienced. With that backdrop, this past year demonstrated the resilience of our business model and encouraging signs for the future. Our advanced commitment model and cost discipline provided considerable stability, and our investments in talent, technology and our resorts drove record guest satisfaction scores and strong employee engagement, which are critical measures of our success.
Looking back over the past year and a half, we have taken decisive action and accelerated the pace of change across our business, strengthening leadership, advancing growth initiatives, enhancing the guest experience, and improving operational efficiency. In addition to appointing a new CEO, we have brought on a new Chief Revenue Officer and a new independent board member with hospitality and operations expertise, with an ongoing search for a second director. We refreshed our marketing approach and increased our investment across media, channel strategies, branding and optimization of our products and pricing. We also announced our multi-year Epic Experience growth strategy to further differentiate the guest experience to drive increased guest engagement and loyalty, and the expansion of our resource efficiency transformation plan to deliver an additional $30 million of savings by fiscal 2028.
While this past season had a challenging weather backdrop, we are encouraged by the early progress we are seeing across these strategies, including strong performance from our new product and pricing initiatives, lift ticket and pass sales trends that are outperforming the industry, increased brand awareness, and exceeding our original resource efficiency plan savings. Looking ahead, our Epic Experience strategy provides a clear roadmap for growth by placing the guest at the center of everything we do, in areas where we can drive clear competitive differentiation. By enhancing, personalizing and reducing friction at every stage of the guest journey, we see a significant opportunity to drive greater visitation, guest spending and loyalty through our differentiated resort network, marketing capabilities, and technology investments.”
The news comes as a proxy battle wages over Vail Resorts’ Board of Directors. Oasis Management nominated four individuals to the Board, including former Disney CEO Bob Chapek and Olympian Picabo Street. Billionaire Matthew Prince has also criticized the company publicly, partially to try to force a sale of Park City Mountain Resort to him.
External factors will also likely affect Vail Resorts and the ski industry more broadly. These include inflation, tariffs, trade tensions, and rising gas and diesel costs.
Here’s a recap of the other big 2027 storylines covered during the earnings report and call:
Australia Remains A Focus For Vail Resorts
Ski season in Australia was a struggle for the industry as a whole. While strong pass sales put Vail in a good position before the winter, the bad winter led to disappointment. During the call, Rob Katz was asked whether they thought about divesting their assets there. He said that’s not the plan, as they view it as an important part of the company. Part of the reason why they like their investment is the trips Australians take during the offseason, including to places like Whistler or the Japanese destinations on the Epic Pass.
Capital Projects Focused On Park City
If you were hoping for new lifts at Mount Sunapee, we sadly didn’t get that news. Vail Resorts did reveal that some projects are in the works for the 2027 offseason at Park City Mountain Resort. This includes the two new chairlifts approved by the Park City Planning Commission this year, which will likely happen unless some tomfoolery occurs. Vail also plans a refurbishment of the Crescent Chairlift at PC.
Vail could announce more capital projects at its next earnings report. Ultimately, it shows that Vail’s investment focus is on Park City, where operations have faced scrutiny in recent years.
Epic Changes
Vail hopes a series of new strategies will help bring back customers. For lift tickets, Epic Friend Tickets offers 50% off tickets for friends of passholders. Epic now also offers discounts if you buy a month in advance. Epic Experience was announced earlier this summer, and aims to improve the guest experience by improving food quality and increasing employee morale. More details were revealed this week about Epic Ascent, which is offering programs for the luxury traveler.
Outlook For This Winter Isn’t Good
The company’s predictions are also notable. Pass sale units are down 12%, days sold are down 10%, and pass dollars are down 6% compared with the prior year. Katz said on the earnings call that they expect this slowdown to continue into next winter, given how bad last winter was. However, they are seeing better metrics for their customers compared to the rest of the North American ski industry.
Image Credits: David Maunsell, Vail Resorts
