Vail Resorts, Inc. reported that Resort Net Revenue decreased 7.0 percent to $1.21 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2026, ended April 30, compared to Resort Net Revenue of $1.23 billion in the prior-year third quarter. The company said the decline was primarily driven by unfavorable weather conditions that impacted visitation and revenue for both local and destination guests, particularly at the Rockies and Tahoe resorts. 

Fiscal Q3 net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. was $314.4 million, compared to $389.7 million in the prior-year period. 

Resort Reported EBITDA decreased $61.3 million, or 9.5 percent, to $586.4 million for the fiscal third quarter, compared to $647.7 million in the prior year. The decline was said to be primarily driven by weather-related headwinds and partially offset by “disciplined cost management and continued resource efficiency transformation of cost savings.” 

Company CEO Rob Katz said, “Weather conditions remained extremely unfavorable in the third quarter, adding to what had already been one of the most challenging winters in history across the western U.S., driving continued pressure on visitation and revenue in the quarter, particularly at our destination resorts in the Rockies. While these dynamics negatively impacted results, our advanced commitment model provided considerable stability and strong cost discipline kept us on track to exceed our resource efficiency transformation plan savings for the year. At the same time, our continued investments in talent, technology and resort operations drove record guest satisfaction scores and strong employee engagement. Despite the weather challenges of the past year, our strategic focus remains unchanged, and we are pleased with the progress we made this year. The new lift ticket products and strategic shifts in our marketing approach showed early positive results this past season, with our lift ticket visitation meaningfully outperforming the industry based on preliminary data, including in the Rockies, and we continued to make significant strides in enhancing the guest experience.” 

Mountain Operations
Total Mountain Revenue, which represents the company’s business subset generating revenue from mountain-related operations, fell 6.8 percent year-over-year (y/y) to $1.23 billion for the reported quarter. 

  • Visitations declined 15 percent y/y, primarily due to 2025/26 North American Pass Sales increasing 3 percent heading into the season; 
  • Total lift revenue declined 5 percent y/y to $729.4 million; 
  • Ski School revenue declined 11.5 percent y/y to $141.8 million; 
  • Retail/Rental decreased 8.3 percent y/y to $104.2 million; and 
  • Mountain reported EBITDA was down 8.8 percent y/y to $579.6 million in the 2026 fiscal third quarter. 

Pass product unit sales through May 26 for the upcoming 2026/2027 North American ski season decreased ~10 percent, days sold decreased ~8 percent and sales dollars, inclusive of sales and admissions taxes, decreased ~5 percent, as compared to the prior-year period through May 27, 2025. 

Mountain Operations Financial Report (in $ thousands)

Period Ended: 

 

Next Season Pass Sales
Pass product units sold through May 26, 2026, for the upcoming North American ski season decreased approximately 10 percent, days sold decreased approximately 8 percent and sales dollars, inclusive of sales and admissions taxes, decreased approximately 5 percent y/y (compared to the prior year period through May 27, 2025). 

The decline in performance-to-date reflects softer demand following one of the worst snowfall years in history in the western U.S., most evident in weaker trends across weather-impacted markets such as Colorado, Utah and Lake Tahoe, and among destination guests who typically visit the Rockies, relative to much stronger performance in the East and at Whistler Blackcomb. 

The company said it is seeing encouraging guest response to its new Young Adult pass products, which are solidly outperforming other age groups, and to its Unlimited pass products, which are solidly outperforming frequency products, underscoring sustained demand for core high-value products. 

Commenting on the company’s season pass sales for the upcoming North American ski season, CEO Katz said, “While any decline in pass sales is disappointing, it is not surprising given the severity of this past season’s conditions and we are encouraged that third-party data indicates our spring pass results are meaningfully outperforming others in the industry during this period. We believe the challenging conditions have delayed purchase decisions, creating the opportunity for improved pass performance in the Fall selling season and/or ultimately through lift ticket purchases during next season. Historical U.S. ski market data indicates that visitation typically fully recovers following a season with poor conditions if the subsequent season has normal conditions, and we believe we are well-positioned to capture that visitation with the pass and lift ticket product and marketing strategies we have developed. That said, given how anomalous this past season was, there remains continued uncertainty around how the full pass-selling season and next season’s visitation will ultimately unfold. We will provide more information about pass sales results and our thoughts on next season in our Q4 earnings release in September.” 

Epic Australia Pass sales through May 27, 2026, increased approximately 26 percent y/y in units and approximately 31 percent in sales dollars as compared to the period in the prior year through May 28, 2025. 

Guidance Reduction
Still, due to the historically challenging weather conditions in the western U.S. that persisted through the third quarter, which negatively impacted demand, Vail Resorts, Inc. reduced its fiscal 2026 guidance – still in line with the update provided in April 2026 – and is now expecting: 

  • Net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. is in the range of $128 million to $162 million; and 
  • Resort Reported EBITDA in the range of $735 million to $755 million for the full fiscal full-year 2026. 

“Looking ahead, we see significant opportunity to further elevate the guest experience across our resorts through continued investments in lifts, snowmaking, terrain and our talent, while leveraging the scale and strength of our integrated network to implement new technologies and enhance key elements of the guest experience,” explained Katz in the company’s earnings release. “We have key initiatives underway in our gear, ski school and dining businesses, as well as every facet of guest engagement and communication, and will share updates on these efforts in the upcoming months. Together, these initiatives will play an important role in driving future visitation growth and long-term value creation.” 

The company said the resource efficiency transformation plan remains on track to achieve incremental $45 million in efficiencies over the prior year, before one-time costs, and now expects to deliver $106 million in annualized cost efficiencies, representing a $6 million increase over the original two-year plan. 

Revised Fiscal 2026 Resort EBITDA guidance includes an estimated $13 million of one-time costs in support of the Company’s resource efficiency transformation plan. 

The updated guidance also assumes: 

  1. Normal weather conditions and operations throughout the Australian ski season and the North American summer season. 
  1. A continuation of the current economic environment. 
  1. Foreign currency exchange rates as of June 8, 2026, including an exchange rate of $0.72 between the Canadian dollar and U.S. dollar related to the operations of Whistler Blackcomb in Canada, an exchange rate of $0.70 between the Australian dollar and U.S. dollar related to the operations of Perisher, Falls Creek and Hotham in Australia, and an exchange rate of $1.26 between the Swiss Franc and U.S. dollar related to the operations of Andermatt-Sedrun and Crans Montana in Switzerland, and does not include any potential impacts related to future fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, which may be impacted by tariffs, trade disputes, or other factors. 

The following table was said to reflect the forecasted guidance range for the company’s fiscal year ending July 31, 2026, for Total Reported EBITDA (after stock-based compensation expense) and reconciles net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. guidance to such Total Reported EBITDA guidance. 

Fiscal 2026 Guidance
(in $ thousands) 

Liquidity and Return of Capital
Despite difficult conditions this year, the company said it remains confident in its long-term cash flow generation strength and its stable business model.

As of April 30, 2026, the company’s total liquidity as measured by total cash plus revolver availability was approximately $1.1 billion.

Net Debt was 3.5X trailing twelve months Total Reported EBITDA.

The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $2.22 per share of Vail Resorts’ common stock that will be payable on July 9, 2026 to shareholders of record as of June 25, 2026.

The company reaffirmed its calendar 2026 capital plan of approximately $215 million to $220 million in core capital, consistent with its long-term capital investment guidance. Including growth capital investments, at the company’s European resorts and in support of Resource Efficiency Transformation and real estate planning projects, the company plans to invest a total of approximately $234 million to $239 million in calendar year 2026.

Image courtesy Whistler Blackcomb/Vail Resorts, Inc.