Low snow hits Vail Resorts earnings, company cuts full-year forecast

Rob Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts. Photo: Vail Resorts

BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Vail Resorts reported lower profits and revenue for its fiscal second quarter and sharply reduced its full-year outlook Monday, citing historically low snowfall and unusually warm temperatures across the Rocky Mountains this winter.

The company said net income for the quarter ending Jan. 31 fell to $210 million, down from $244.4 million during the same period a year earlier. Earnings per share came in at $5.87, missing analyst expectations that ranged from about $6.11 to $6.25.

Quarterly revenue totaled about $1.08 billion, a decline of roughly 5% from the prior year and below forecasts of about $1.11 billion to $1.12 billion.

Company officials pointed to difficult winter conditions across the Rockies — including key resort regions in Colorado and Utah — as a major factor behind the results.

“This has been the most challenging winter across the Rockies that we have ever experienced,” said Rob Katz, noting the region saw its lowest snowfall levels in more than three decades combined with warmer temperatures that limited terrain availability.

Those conditions contributed to a significant drop in visitation. Season-to-date skier visits at the company’s North American resorts were down 11.9% through March 1 compared with the same point last year.

Despite the decline in visits, lift revenue fell by a smaller margin — down 2.9% during the quarter — largely because of continued growth in season pass sales. Vail Resorts said its North American pass revenue increased about 3% heading into the 2025–26 winter season.

Net income $57M-$86M lower than expected for 2026

Alongside the earnings report, the company reduced its financial outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2026.

Vail Resorts now expects net income for the fiscal year ending July 31 to fall between $144 million and $190 million, significantly lower than its previous forecast of $201 million to $276 million.

Projected resort EBITDA — a key profitability metric — was also lowered to a range of $745 million to $775 million, down from earlier guidance of $842 million to $898 million.

Katz said the company is working to offset weather-related losses through cost management initiatives, including its ongoing “Resource Efficiency Transformation” plan. The company expects the program to generate about $42 million in additional savings during fiscal 2026.

Even with those headwinds, Katz said the company’s business model helped soften the financial impact of poor conditions.

“We reported only modest declines in lift revenue in what many would consider a worst-case weather scenario,” he said.

Spending declines across resort operations

Other resort revenue streams also declined as skier visits fell.

Season-to-date ski school revenue dropped 8.2%, while dining revenue declined 8.6%. Retail and rental revenue at North American resort locations fell 5.7%.

Overall resort net revenue for the quarter decreased by $53.2 million, or about 4.7%, compared with the same period last year.

Dividend maintained

Despite the weaker results and lowered outlook, Vail Resorts’ board approved a quarterly dividend of $2.22 per share. The payment will be made April 9 to shareholders of record as of March 26.

The company also repurchased about 0.3 million shares during the fiscal year to date at an average price of roughly $139 per share, totaling about $45 million.

Vail Resorts operates dozens of ski areas worldwide, including major destinations in North America, Europe and Australia such as Park City Mountain, Whistler Blackcomb and Vail Mountain.