Vail Resorts Inc
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
Buying here mainly buys a dividend yield of roughly 6.1 percent — and on the most recently reported numbers that yield is not covered by earnings: $8.88 of annual payout per share stands against $4.63 of earnings per share. The difference is funded from the balance sheet, whose equity ratio had fallen to 9.7 percent by April 30, 2026. At the same time the business model is reaching into thin air for the first time: pre-sales for the 2026/2027 season are running roughly 10 percent below the prior year in units. Three things are measurable and will appear in the annual report for the year ending July 31, 2026: the final result of the pass campaign against the interim reading of minus 10 percent, whether the $37 million of savings from fiscal 2025 has become the promised $100 million, and whether the quarterly dividend of $2.22 stays unchanged. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Vail Resorts took the weather risk out of the ski business — and that is exactly what worked in the poor 2025/2026 winter: despite 12.5 percent fewer skier visits, revenue in the nine months ended April 30, 2026 fell only 4.9 percent to $2,560.1 million. The price for it appears in two places in the same quarterly report: roughly 10 percent fewer passes were sold for the 2026/2027 season through May 26, 2026, and equity attributable to Vail Resorts shareholders has shrunk from $1,594.6 million in fiscal 2021 to $551.7 million as of April 30, 2026 because dividends and buybacks exceed profit — $8.88 of annual dividend against $4.63 of earnings per share over the four most recently reported quarters. Not investment advice.
Business model & pricing power
The pass sold before the season decouples revenue from the weather: in the nine months ended April 30, 2026, pass products generated 70 percent of lift revenue (prior year 66 percent), which is why revenue fell only 4.9 percent to $2,560.1 million despite 12.5 percent fewer visits. The effective ticket price rose 12.0 percent to $100.24 in the quarter ended April 30, 2026. Forty-two ski areas in irreplaceable locations underpin that pricing power.
Demand & pre-sale
The pre-sale itself is shrinking for the first time: for the 2026/2027 season, pass sales through May 26, 2026 were down roughly 10 percent in units, 8 percent in skier days and 5 percent in dollars versus the prior-year period. Skier visits fell from 19.410 million in fiscal 2023 to 17.665 million in fiscal 2025, and by another 15.5 percent to 7.276 million in the quarter ended April 30, 2026.
Capital allocation
The payout exceeds the profit: in fiscal 2025, $328.2 million of dividends and $270.0 million of buybacks flowed out — a combined $598.2 million against net income of $280.0 million and operating cash flow of $554.9 million. The annual dividend of $8.88 stands against $4.63 of diluted earnings per share over the four most recently reported quarters. In the quarter ended April 30, 2026 the company repurchased no shares at all for the first time.
Balance sheet & financing
Equity attributable to Vail Resorts shareholders fell from $1,594.6 million (fiscal 2021) to $424.5 million (fiscal 2025) and stood at $551.7 million on April 30, 2026 — 9.7 percent of total assets of $5,686.0 million — against $3,023.1 million of debt and $371.4 million of cash. Net interest expense rose 19.4 percent over nine months to $152.1 million. On the relief side: the amended and restated credit agreement of February 9, 2026 extended the maturity and reduced the interest rate.
Reporting quality
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 Vail Resorts found errors in interest accretion on the EPR Secured Notes and in depreciation of completed capital projects, classified them as immaterial and nonetheless revised the fiscal 2023 and 2024 statements and the interim figures as of April 30, 2025 voluntarily. Retained earnings as of April 30, 2025 fell by $18.2 million and nine-month net income by $4.6 million. Comparatives from older reports are therefore superseded.
Valuation
A market capitalization of roughly $5.19 billion (35,633,526 shares at the $145.72 closing price of July 24, 2026) equals roughly 1.8 times revenue over the four most recently reported quarters and roughly 31 times earnings per share of $4.63; enterprise value is roughly $7.8 billion. The dividend yield of roughly 6.1 percent is the real price anchor. Of 12 analyst ratings, seven sit on hold and the average price target is $148.50 (as of July 25, 2026); roughly 6.79 million shares are sold short.
Worth Noting
Vail Resorts landed on our research list through our in-house stock scanner "Turnaround-Kandidaten": rank 9 of 62 U.S. hits, turnaround check 7 of 8, as of July 25, 2026. These lists are recalculated daily, so the ranking is a dated snapshot.
The fiscal year ends July 31. References to the "third quarter of 2026" cover February 1 to April 30, 2026 (reported June 8, 2026); references to "fiscal 2025" cover the year to July 31, 2025. The fourth fiscal quarter is seasonally a loss quarter, so annual and nine-month figures cannot be extrapolated linearly.
Earnings per share over the four most recently reported quarters ($4.63) is our own calculation: fiscal 2025 (7.53) less the nine months ended April 30, 2025 (12.33) plus the nine months ended April 30, 2026 (9.43). The prior-year figures come from the latest quarterly report and already include the voluntary revision of earlier statements.
Prices are dated valuation anchors, not buy arguments: closing price $145.72 on July 24, 2026, all-time closing high $372.51 on November 5, 2021. The share count of 35,633,526 comes from the cover page of the quarterly report (as of June 3, 2026); market capitalization and share count were cross-checked against each other.
Risk of confusion: on the New York Stock Exchange the ticker MTN stands for Vail Resorts, not for the similarly named African telecoms group MTN Group, which is listed in Johannesburg. The company was named Gillett Holdings, Inc. until 1996.
No merger and no take-private is underway: the SEC filing history through July 25, 2026 shows no DEFM14A/PREM14A, no SC 13E-3, no SC 13D and no Form 25 or Form 15. The most recent filing after the quarterly report is an Item 7.01 disclosure dated June 24, 2026.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at MTN since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 119.00 $ to 161.80 $ · Last price: 137.80 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Resorts & Casinos
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vail Resorts Inc MTN | 4.9 | 30.2 | 10.5 | 43.3 | 42.1 | 2.7 | -1.6 |
| Las Vegas Sands Corp LVS | 27.0 | 15.7 | 8.5 | 79.3 | 25.4 | 15.2 | -21.2 |
| MGM Resorts International MGM | 9.7 | 55.3 | 18.8 | 44.2 | 6.9 | 1.7 | 8.6 |
| Wynn Resorts Limited WYNN | 8.6 | 25.0 | 9.8 | 68.3 | 15.3 | 0.1 | -32.1 |
| Caesars Entertainment Corporation CZR | 6.0 | – | 9.2 | 49.7 | 17.6 | 2.1 | 16.7 |
| Boyd Gaming Corporation BYD | 5.5 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 59.1 | 18.5 | 4.1 | -9.5 |
| Red Rock Resorts Inc RRR | 5.4 | 17.4 | 8.6 | 67.2 | 28.3 | 3.7 | -10.0 |
| Marriot Vacations Worldwide VAC | 3.6 | – | 407.6 | 53.2 | 14.3 | 1.3 | 44.8 |
| Hilton Grand Vacations Inc HGV | 2.9 | 20.7 | 12.8 | 24.6 | 13.6 | 1.3 | -17.0 |
| Median of companies shown | 5.5 | 20.7 | 9.8 | 53.2 | 17.6 | 2.1 | -9.5 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,601 | 283 | 150 | 4.01 | 427 | 875 | 2,482 |
| 2017 | 1,907 | 379 | 211 | 5.22 | 457 | 1,571 | 4,111 |
| 2018 | 2,012 | 409 | 380 | 9.13 | 552 | 1,589 | 4,065 |
| 2019 | 2,272 | 476 | 301 | 7.32 | 634 | 1,501 | 4,426 |
| 2020 | 1,964 | 223 | 99 | 2.42 | 395 | 1,317 | 5,244 |
| 2021 | 1,910 | 261 | 128 | 3.13 | 525 | 1,595 | 6,251 |
| 2022 | 2,526 | 602 | 348 | 8.55 | 711 | 1,612 | 6,318 |
| 2023 | 2,889 | 504 | 266 | 6.69 | 640 | 1,004 | 5,948 |
| 2024 | 2,885 | 489 | 231 | 6.09 | 587 | 724 | 5,698 |
| 2025 | 2,964 | 560 | 280 | 7.53 | 555 | 425 | 5,778 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
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· Total · per year
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The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q3 | -4.67 | -39.40 | 265 | -1.60 | -66.10 | -94 | -150 |
| 2024: Q4 | -4.61 | -0.20 | 260 | 0.70 | -66.60 | 282 | 211 |
| 2025: Q1 | 6.56 | 13.90 | 1,137 | 5.50 | 21.60 | 326 | 251 |
| 2025: Q2 | 10.54 | 10.50 | 1,296 | 1.00 | 30.30 | 118 | 85 |
| 2025: Q3 | -5.08 | -8.80 | 271 | 2.20 | -68.40 | -172 | -228 |
| 2025: Q4 | -5.20 | -12.80 | 271 | 4.10 | -68.90 | 316 | 244 |
| 2026: Q1 | 5.87 | -10.50 | 1,084 | -4.70 | 19.40 | 260 | 185 |
| 2026: Q2 | 8.81 | -16.40 | 1,205 | -7.00 | 28.20 | 71 | 36 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 12 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Quality & Balance Sheet
- CEO Buys
- Insider Buying (Net)
- Institutional + Insiders Building Positions
- Institutions + CEO Buying
- Pros 80%
Aktien.Guide
Breakout & Setup
Dividends
Momentum & Trend
Research
Value & GARP
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/31/2027 | 6.23 | 4.37 – 7.00 | 2,988 | 45.9% | 12 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly 8.2% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $237.5M |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $4.91B |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $520.9M |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 55.9% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow grew by 7.5% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Vail Resorts setzt KI im eigenen Betrieb ein — der „My Epic Assistant“ in der hauseigenen App beantwortet Gästefragen in Echtzeit „powered by artificial intelligence“ —, verkauft aber keine KI-Produkte und weist keinen KI-Umsatz aus.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„Powered by artificial intelligence and resort experts, My Epic Assistant provides real-time service to allow our guests to navigate their day at our resorts with confidence, efficiency and ease."
Angetrieben von künstlicher Intelligenz und Resort-Fachleuten bietet der My Epic Assistant Betreuung in Echtzeit, damit unsere Gäste ihren Tag in unseren Resorts sicher, effizient und mühelos gestalten können.
10-K · 2025-09-29 · View SEC filing
„During the 2024/2025 North American ski season, we launched the new My Epic Assistant, a new technology within My Epic App."
In der nordamerikanischen Skisaison 2024/2025 haben wir den neuen My Epic Assistant eingeführt, eine neue Technik innerhalb der My-Epic-App.
10-K · 2025-09-29 · View SEC filing
„Powered by artificial intelligence and resort experts, My Epic Assistant will provide real-time service to allow our guests to navigate their day at our resorts with confidence, efficiency and ease."
Angetrieben von künstlicher Intelligenz und Resort-Fachleuten wird der My Epic Assistant Betreuung in Echtzeit bieten, damit unsere Gäste ihren Tag in unseren Resorts sicher, effizient und mühelos gestalten können.
10-K · 2024-09-26 · View SEC filing
„The rapid evolution and increased adoption of artificial intelligence technologies have also intensified cybersecurity risks."
Die rasche Entwicklung und die zunehmende Verbreitung von Techniken der künstlichen Intelligenz haben auch die Risiken für die Cybersicherheit verschärft.
10-K · 2025-09-29 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-06-08 · 10-Q 2026-03-09 · 10-Q 2025-12-10 · 10-Q 2025-06-05 · 10-K 2025-09-29 · 10-K 2024-09-26
Rated on July 25, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 5.5%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year -4.3%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -2.9%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 13.5%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 42.8%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 29.0%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 3.5 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 1,004 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 13.6%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 1.6%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
3/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 7.1%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 0.8%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 7.9%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% -17.2%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 5.4x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 10
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 53.1%
- Return on equity > 15% –
- ROCE > 15% 13.6%
- Expected return > 10% -11.8%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
The company
About the Company
Vail Resorts, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates mountain resorts and regional ski areas in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Mountain, Lodging, and Real Estate. The Mountain segment operates destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas. This segment is also involved in ancillary activities, including ski school, dining, and retail/rental operations, as well as real estate brokerage activities. Its lodging segment owns and manages various luxury hotels and condominiums under the RockResorts brand; operates other lodging properties and various condominiums; and offers resort ground transportation services. The Real Estate segment owns, develops, and sells real estate properties. Vail Resorts, Inc. was founded in 1962 and is based in Broomfield, Colorado.
- CEO Insider Trades (12 Mo.)
- buying own stock
- Employees
- 6,800
- Headquarters
- Broomfield, CO
- Address
- 390 Interlocken Crescent, 80021 Broomfield, United States
- Phone
- 303 404 1800
- Website
- vailresorts.com
- IPO Date
- 02/03/1997
- ISIN
- US91879Q1094
- Stock Split
- 1:1 on 11/06/2008
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Robert A. Katz | CEO & Executive Chairman | 1967 |
| Angela A. Korch | Executive VP & CFO | 1980 |
| Julie A. DeCecco | Executive VP, General Counsel & Chief Public Affairs Officer | 1973 |
| Lynanne J. Kunkel | Executive VP, Chief Human Resources Officer & Chief Transformation Officer | 1968 |
| William C. Rock | President of Mountain Division | 1966 |
| Nathan Mark Gronberg | VP, Controller & Chief Accounting Officer | 1979 |
| Chris Smith | Senior VP & Chief Information Officer | – |
| Connie Wang | Vice President of Investor Relations | – |
| Gregory Jon Sullivan | Executive Vice President, Retail/Rental, Hospitality, and Food & Beverage | 1972 |
| Celeste Burgoyne | EVP & Chief Revenue Officer | 1974 |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 09/02/2026 VAIL RESORTS INC (MTN): Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 07/30/2026 VAIL RESORTS INC (MTN): Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.