Executive Summary
Vail Resorts reported solid Q2 FY2025 results, highlighted by an 8% year-over-year increase in resort EBITDA to $459.7 million and a net income of $245.5 million ($6.56 per diluted share). Revenue of $1.138 billion rose 5.5% year over year, driven by higher lift-ticket revenue and resilient ancillary spend, despite a season-to-date skiers visits decline of 2.5% versus the prior year. Management framed the quarter within the company’s Resource Efficiency Transformation Plan, reiterating that the firm is on track to deliver roughly $100 million of annual cost efficiencies by FY2026 and to realize meaningful operating leverage through scaled operations and shared services. The company also disclosed a modest FX headwind of $7 million to the full-year EBITDA guidance, with onetime costs of about $15 million related to the transformation plan and $1 million of acquisition costs, while maintaining Resort EBITDA guidance for FY2025 in a range of $841–$877 million. The balance sheet remains strong with approximately $1.7 billion of liquidity and net debt around 2.5x trailing EBITDA, underpinning capital returns and ongoing capital deployment in core resorts and European expansions. Our take is that MTN demonstrates durable earnings power anchored by its Epic Pass ecosystem, disciplined capital allocation, and a multi-year transformation that should improve margins and guest experience, albeit with exposure to macro, FX, and weather-driven volatility.
Key Performance Indicators
QoQ: 1 666.73% | YoY:22.31%
QoQ: 242.07% | YoY:11.97%
QoQ: 242.08% | YoY:13.32%
Key Insights
Revenue: $1,137.1 million (YoY +5.5%; QoQ data available)
Gross Profit: $571.7 million; Gross Margin: 50.28%
Operating Income: $384.4 million; Operating Margin: 33.81%
EBITDA: $459.9 million; EBITDA Margin: 40.45%
Net Income: $245.5 million; Net Margin: 21.60%
EPS (Diluted): $6.56; Weighted Avg Shares: 37.38 million
Season-to-date skier visits: -2.5% YoY; Season-to-date lift revenue up 4.1% YoY
Free Cash Flow: $251.2 million; Free Cash Flow per Share: $6.70
Cash from Ops: $326.3 million; Capita...
Financial Highlights
Revenue: $1,137.1 million (YoY +5.5%; QoQ data available)
Gross Profit: $571.7 million; Gross Margin: 50.28%
Operating Income: $384.4 million; Operating Margin: 33.81%
EBITDA: $459.9 million; EBITDA Margin: 40.45%
Net Income: $245.5 million; Net Margin: 21.60%
EPS (Diluted): $6.56; Weighted Avg Shares: 37.38 million
Season-to-date skier visits: -2.5% YoY; Season-to-date lift revenue up 4.1% YoY
Free Cash Flow: $251.2 million; Free Cash Flow per Share: $6.70
Cash from Ops: $326.3 million; Capital Expenditures: $75.0 million; Free Cash Flow Yield and Leverage metrics acknowledged
Liquidity: ~$1.7 billion; Net Debt: EBITDA ~2.5x; Long-term debt-to-capitalization ~0.80; Debt-to-Capitalization ~0.85
Income Statement
| Metric |
Value |
YoY Change |
QoQ Change |
| Revenue |
1.14B |
5.48% |
336.97% |
| Gross Profit |
571.70M |
22.31% |
1 666.73% |
| Operating Income |
384.42M |
7.74% |
290.29% |
| Net Income |
245.55M |
11.97% |
242.07% |
| EPS |
6.55 |
13.32% |
242.08% |
Key Financial Ratios
operatingProfitMargin
33.8%
operatingCashFlowPerShare
$8.71
freeCashFlowPerShare
$6.7
dividendPayoutRatio
33.7%
Management Commentary
Strategy and capital allocation
- Management reiterated commitment to the Epic Pass framework and its role in stabilizing industry demand: “Passes have plenty of room and opportunity for growth… the database enables one-to-one communication with guests” and highlighted a 7% average price increase for the 2025–2026 season. (Kirsten Lynch, Jeff Stantial transcript excerpts)
Operational excellence and guest experience
- CEO highlighted investments in the guest experience including real-time lift-line transparency and My Epic Gear to reduce friction: “lift lines lasting more than 10 minutes have occurred approximately 3% of the time… My Epic Gear … at your fingertips.”
Market conditions and spring timing
- Management noted improved North American local visitation but normalization in destination demand with a shift to spring travel: “Season-to-date skier visits were down 2.5%… destination visitation to the spring” (Angela Korch, Kirsten Lynch).
Europe and international exposure
- Discussion of Crans-MMontana and Andermatt learnings and the Europe growth strategy; pricing discipline and pass value discussed as long-term growth vectors (Angela Korch, Kirsten Lynch).
Labor and capital allocation
- Commentary on labor costs and negotiated agreements with small number of unionized teams; emphasis on workforce management as a driver of efficiency (Arpine Kocharyan, Kirsten Lynch).
Park City contingency measures
- Park City strike response included pass-credit mechanics to address guest concerns while preserving passholder loyalty: “credit up to 50%… toward a pass for next year.” (Ben Chaiken transcript)
Liquidity and capital deployment
- The company disclosed liquidity of roughly $1.7B, amended revolver and term loan facilities, and ongoing buyback of zero-percent convertible notes to optimize the capital structure (Angela Korch, Kirsten Lynch).
"We launched Pass Sales for the 2025--2026 season with a wide range of advanced commitment products, including the Epic Pass, which offers unlimited unrestricted access to Vail Resorts 42 owned and operated Mountain Resorts and access to additional partner resorts across South America, Japan and Europe, and the Epic Day Pass... On average, pass prices have increased 7% over the prior season pass launch price."
— Kirsten Lynch
" lift lines lasting more than 10 minutes have occurred approximately 3% of the time, including during weekends and holidays. Our investments in innovation have set the standard for the guest and employee experience across the ski industry."
— Kirsten Lynch
Forward Guidance
Management reaffirmed FY2025 guidance at the midpoint of Resort EBITDA $841–$877 million, excluding a roughly $7 million FX headwind. Net income is guided to $257–$309 million. The outlook incorporates: (i) the ongoing Resource Efficiency Transformation Plan with an expected $100 million annual run-rate cost savings by FY2026, (ii) approximately $15 million of onetime costs related to multi-year efficiency initiatives and $1 million of acquisition costs related to Crans-Montana, (iii) currency volatility with assumed FX rates as of March 7, 2025 (CAD to USD 0.70, AUD to USD 0.63, CHF to USD 1.13). The margin guidance implies roughly 28.8%–29.3% Resort EBITDA margin at the midpoint before onetime costs. Capex for 2025 is planned at about $198–$203 million in core capital plus $45 million growth capex for European resorts, totaling $249–$254 million for the year. European investments include Andermatt-Sedrun and Crans-Montana upgrades; Park City and Vail Mountain transformational programs; and technology enhancements (AI, My Epic Assistant) across the Ancillary businesses.
Outlook assessment: The guidance rests on expectations of a continued normalization of guest behavior toward pre-COVID patterns, stable weather, and a large base of pre-committed guests. Investors should monitor: (a) progression of spring resort visitation and the mix shift toward destination visitors, (b) currency volatility and its impact on EBITDA, (c) pass-renewal dynamics and price elasticity across Epic Pass family, (d) execution of the Resource Efficiency Transformation Plan, and (e) uplifts from European operations as the Crans-Montana/Andermatt portfolio scales. Overall, the combination of a resilient cash-generative model, a binding capital plan, and a strategic pivot to higher-margin, tech-enabled guest experiences supports a constructive long-term view, albeit with economic and weather-driven downside risks.