Sue Decker informed the board on September 2 that she will finish her current term but will not seek reelection. The company stated her departure is not due to any disagreement over operations or policies. While she has served for over a decade, this appears to be a routine and orderly transition as the company looks for new board members.
Shareholder lawsuit alleges price fixing on Epic Pass
A shareholder has filed a lawsuit alleging that the company engaged in price fixing as the cost of the Epic Pass has increased. The Epic Pass is the core of the company's business, providing predictable cash flow by locking in skiers before the season starts. While lawsuits like this can take years to resolve, any legal challenge to the pricing power of its main product is worth watching.
Analyst price updateConcerning
Aug 13
Goldman Sachs downgrades to Sell with $132 target
Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to a Sell rating and set a price target of $132. This is a notable shift from the average analyst target of $154. The move suggests concerns that the company may struggle to grow earnings quickly enough to justify its current valuation, especially after a year of poor snowfall pressured results.
After a string of small wins, the company has missed its own targets for three straight quarters. This suggests management is struggling to predict how much warm weather will dent their results.
Earnings history
EstimateBeatMiss
Vail Resorts past earnings results
Expected
Actual
Surprise
EPS
$8.94
$8.81
-1.5%
Revenue
$1.20B
$1.21B
+0.1%
Key highlights
Pass sales slow down: Season pass units for the upcoming ski season dropped 10% through late May, as poor snowfall across the western U.S. led many skiers to delay their buying decisions. This is a significant reversal from the 3% growth seen at the start of last season, though the company notes that its results are still outperforming the broader ski industry.
Pricing power stays strong: The effective ticket price, which is the average amount earned per skier visit, grew 12% to $100.24 this quarter. This price hike helped soften the blow of a 15% drop in total skier visits, proving that the company can still raise rates even when weather conditions keep people off the slopes.
Efficiency savings accelerate: Management now expects to reach $106 million in yearly cost savings from its efficiency plan, which is $6 million more than the original target. These savings are being used to protect profits during a year where resort revenue fell 7% to $1.21 billion due to historically bad weather.
Australian business heats up: While North American sales struggled, Australian pass sales grew 26% in units and 31% in total dollars compared to the same period last year. This growth helps the company diversify its earnings since the peak ski seasons in the two regions happen at different times of the year.
Full year profit outlook cut: Vail Resorts lowered its full year profit forecast and now expects cash flow from its resorts to be between $735 million and $755 million, down from the much higher targets set earlier in the year. This revised outlook assumes normal weather for the remainder of the year and that the current economic environment continues.
Our take: A soft quarter that highlights how much this business still relies on the weather despite its best efforts to sell passes early. While the 10% drop in early pass sales is a real concern, the 12% jump in ticket pricing shows the brand still has massive pull. The long-term case remains intact as long as these price increases can eventually offset the weather-driven volatility in visits.
Vail Resorts’s next earnings date
Q4 2026
OCT
5
Expectation
EPS
$-5.23
Revenue
$276M
Metrics we are tracking
Metric
Expectations
Status
Pass Unit Sales
Growing or holding flat YoY through the full fall selling season
Down 10% YoY through May 2026
Resort EBITDA Margin
Maintaining above 26% even in low-snowfall years
26.1% estimated for FY2026
Net Debt to EBITDA
Staying below 4.0x through the current earnings trough
3.5x as of April 30, 2026
Skier Visits
Recovery toward 16 million visits in a normal snowfall season
14.8M in nine months ended April 2026
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