Vail Resorts
Vail Resorts' revenue fell 4.3% to $2.8 billion in fiscal 2026. Its operating margin was 14.8%, down from 18.9% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $248 million, down 22.4%. It paid out $362 million in dividends and buybacks, 146% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 3.8%.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2017 to 2026, earnings per share fell 2.6% a year and net income 3.9% a year, while buybacks cut the share count by 11%.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Valuation
Two ways to value Vail Resorts yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.
What Vail Resorts says to expect
- Fiscal 2027: net income and Resort Reported EBITDA
The Company provided its fiscal 2027 outlook, including net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. of $158 million to $233 million and Resort Reported EBITDA of $805 million to $865 million, which includes an estimated $14 million of one-time costs.
Discounted cash flow (DCF)
A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Vail Resorts' 10-K and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Vail Resorts' fiscal 2026 free cash flow of $248M, net cash of −$3.4B at July 31, 2026 and 36 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Vail Resorts: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, -0.6% a year, kept between 0% and 20%; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 13%: 11% for a cyclical or higher-risk business (Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines), plus 1 point as a smaller company, worth $5.3B, plus 1 point for unsteady results (revenue fell in two of the last five years); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target. A negative value means Vail Resorts' net debt is larger than what that scenario's cash flows are worth today.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $149.40
- Value on these assumptions, against the last close
- —
- Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
- —
- Everything after year 10, valued today
- —
- Plus net cash
- —
- Share of value from after year 10
How the value changes with two assumptions
Price-to-earnings (P/E) method
Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Vail Resorts' earnings per share of $4.12 (in fiscal 2026). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 17.7×, the middle of Vail Resorts' own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (the Consumer Discretionary median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 14%, 13% and 12%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $149.40
- Value at this multiple, against the last close
- —
- Vail Resorts' P/E at the last close
- 36.3×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vail ResortsMTN | $149.40 | $4.12 | 36.3× |
| Travel + LeisureTNL | $65.62 | $3.70 | 17.7× |
| Choice HotelsCHH | $108.95 | $7.09 | 15.4× |
| SabreSABR | $1.64 | $1.64 | 1.0× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 1,107 | 563 | 323 | 440 | 268 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 3,165 | 3,228 | 3,206 | 3,615 | 3,631 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | 2,057 | 2,665 | 2,883 | 3,175 | 3,362 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 2.4x | 3.4x | 3.8x | 3.7x | 4.6x |
| Debt to equity | 2.0x | 3.2x | 4.5x | 8.5x | — |
| Interest coverage | 4.1x | 3.2x | 3.0x | 3.3x | 2.0x |
| Current ratio | 1.6x | 1.1x | 0.8x | 0.6x | 0.8x |
| Quick ratio | 1.5x | 0.9x | 0.7x | 0.6x | 0.7x |
Insider trades
Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, 2 insiders bought $5.0 million of Vail Resorts shares on the open market, and none sold any.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2026 | Robert A KatzCEO & Chairperson of the Board, Director | Bought | 37,500 | $131.81 | $4.9 million | Form 4 |
| Mar 16, 2026 | Angela A KorchEVP & Chief Financial Officer | Bought | 190 | $131.85 | $25,052 | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Fail | Pass | Fail |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Current ratio rose | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Share count didn't rise | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Gross margin rose | — | — | — |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Pass | Pass | Fail |
| F-score | 5 of 8 | 6 of 8 | 5 of 8 |
| Accruals ratio | −6.2% | −4.8% | −5.9% |
Compare
Put Vail Resorts side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vail Resorts | FY26 | −4.3% | 14.8% | 8.7% | 8.1% | 4.6x | 5 | |
| Sabre | FY25 | 0.9% | 10.7% | −6.9% | 8.9% | 8.9x | 5 | Compare |
| Travel + Leisure | FY25 | 4.1% | 13.8% | 13.0% | 8.5% | 7.9x | — | Compare |
| Marriott Vacations Worldwide | FY25 | 1.3% | — | −0.6% | — | — | — | Compare |
| Choice Hotels | FY25 | 0.8% | 28.1% | 10.2% | 19.5% | 3.7x | 6 | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 1,907 | 2,012 | 2,272 | 1,964 | 1,910 | 2,526 | 2,889 | 2,885 | 2,964 | 2,838 |
| Revenue growth | 19.1% | 5.5% | 12.9% | −13.6% | −2.8% | 32.3% | 14.4% | −0.1% | 2.7% | −4.3% |
| Gross profit | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Research and development | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | 379 | 409 | 476 | 223 | 261 | 602 | 504 | 489 | 560 | 420 |
| Net income | 211 | 380 | 301 | 99 | 128 | 348 | 266 | 231 | 280 | 148 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 5.22 | 9.13 | 7.32 | 2.42 | 3.13 | 8.55 | 6.69 | 6.09 | 7.53 | 4.12 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 40 | 42 | 41 | 41 | 41 | 41 | 40 | 38 | 37 | 36 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 471 | 548 | 634 | 395 | 525 | 710 | 638 | 589 | 555 | 480 |
| Capital expenditure | 144 | 141 | 192 | 172 | 115 | 193 | 315 | 211 | 235 | 232 |
| Free cash flow | 327 | 408 | 442 | 223 | 410 | 518 | 323 | 378 | 320 | 248 |
| Dividends paid | 146 | 204 | 261 | 213 | 0 | 226 | 314 | 324 | 328 | 317 |
| Share buybacks | 0 | 26 | 85 | 46 | 0 | 75 | 500 | 150 | 270 | 45 |
| Acquisitions | 547 | 1 | 419 | 328 | 0 | 116 | 39 | 94 | 0 | 0 |
| Stock-based compensation | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 34 | 28 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 117 | 178 | 109 | 391 | 1,244 | 1,107 | 563 | 323 | 440 | 268 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 1,276 | 1,276 | 1,580 | 2,790 | 3,300 | 3,165 | 3,228 | 3,206 | 3,615 | 3,631 |
| Total assets | 4,111 | 4,065 | 4,426 | 5,244 | 6,251 | 6,318 | 5,948 | 5,687 | 5,778 | 5,526 |
| Total liabilities | 2,312 | 2,253 | 2,699 | 3,713 | 4,422 | 4,470 | 4,612 | 4,662 | 5,024 | 4,969 |
| Shareholders' equity | 1,571 | 1,589 | 1,501 | 1,317 | 1,595 | 1,612 | 1,004 | 710 | 424 | 240 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating margin | 19.9% | 20.3% | 21.0% | 11.4% | 13.7% | 23.8% | 17.5% | 16.9% | 18.9% | 14.8% |
| Net margin | 11.0% | 18.9% | 13.3% | 5.0% | 6.7% | 13.8% | 9.2% | 8.0% | 9.4% | 5.2% |
| Free cash flow margin | 17.1% | 20.3% | 19.5% | 11.3% | 21.5% | 20.5% | 11.2% | 13.1% | 10.8% | 8.7% |
| Return on capital | 11.3% | 13.9% | 12.7% | 5.9% | 6.6% | 12.5% | 9.8% | 9.0% | 10.6% | 8.1% |
| Return on equity | 17.2% | 24.0% | 19.5% | 7.0% | 8.8% | 21.7% | 20.3% | 27.0% | 49.4% | 44.4% |
| Return on assets | 6.4% | 9.3% | 7.1% | 2.0% | 2.2% | 5.5% | 4.3% | 4.0% | 4.9% | 2.6% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 2.0x | 1.8x | 2.1x | 5.1x | 4.0x | 2.4x | 3.4x | 3.8x | 3.7x | 4.6x |