Key Highlights

● Fiscal 2026 net revenue fell to $2,838.2 million from $2,964.3 million a year earlier.

● Resort Reported EBITDA fell 11.7 per cent to $745.7 million for the full year.

● Season pass units were down about 12 per cent through 18 September.

● Fiscal 2027 guidance points to Resort Reported EBITDA of $805 million to $865 million.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) operates a network of mountain resorts and ski areas, and its economics revolve around the winter season. Revenue is built largely on season pass sales made well before snow falls, supplemented by lift tickets, ski school, dining, retail and lodging. Because most earnings arrive in the second and third fiscal quarters, the fourth quarter, covering May to July, is normally loss-making. That seasonality matters when reading any single set of results. The company's fiscal year ends on 31 July, so the figures discussed here relate to the twelve months to 31 July 2026. Readers comparing it with the S&P MidCap 400, used here purely as a size-appropriate benchmark and not as a statement of membership, should therefore focus on full-year and forward-looking measures rather than any individual quarter. Guidance for fiscal 2027 therefore matters, because it frames just how much of the fiscal 2026 earnings decline management expects to recover, and later pass sales updates will test that view.

Fiscal 2026 results and the 2027 outlook

Vail Resorts reported fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 results on 28 September 2026. For the full year, net revenue was $2,838.2 million, compared with $2,964.3 million a year earlier, while Resort Reported EBITDA was $745.7 million, down 11.7% from $844.1 million and including $11 million of one-time transformation costs. Net income attributable to Vail Resorts was $147.5 million, against $280.0 million. The fourth quarter produced a net loss of $190.2 million, compared with a loss of $182.4 million in the prior-year quarter. For fiscal 2027 the company guided to net income attributable to Vail Resorts of $158 million to $233 million and Resort Reported EBITDA of $805 million to $865 million, including roughly $14 million of one-time costs. These are management projections, not outcomes. The release was issued after the market close, followed by a conference call that evening.

Season pass trends and the balance sheet

The most closely watched indicator is season pass sales, which the company reports through a set date. Through 18 September 2026, compared with the equivalent period last year, pass units were down approximately 12%, days sold were down approximately 10% and sales dollars, including taxes, were down approximately 6%. The gap between units and dollars suggests that average pricing has helped, though that is an interpretation rather than a company statement. On the balance sheet, net debt stood at $2,917.9 million at 31 July 2026, up from $2,754.0 million a year before, equal to 3.9 times trailing twelve-month Total Reported EBITDA, with total liquidity of about $0.8 billion. The board declared a quarterly dividend of $2.22 per share, payable on 27 October 2026 to holders of record on 8 October 2026; $8.88 per share was declared across fiscal 2026.

Pricing Gains Can Only Partly Offset Fewer Pass Buyers

Vail Resorts' fiscal 2026 results showed a genuine earnings decline, and season pass data through mid-September, the most closely watched leading indicator ahead of the ski season, shows units down more than dollars, suggesting average pricing has helped cushion the committed revenue base even as fewer people have bought in so far. With net debt up to $2,917.9 million, 3.9 times trailing EBITDA, and a dividend commitment to maintain, the fiscal 2027 guidance for a partial earnings recovery depends heavily on how pass trends and actual winter conditions evolve from here.