Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
MTN is Vail Resorts, the owner and operator of 42 ski resorts (Vail, Breckenridge, Park City, Whistler Blackcomb) that pioneered the Epic Pass, a prepaid season pass that collects most of a winter's lift revenue before the first snowflake falls. At roughly $153 per share and a ~5.8% dividend yield on October 16, 2026 (up about 14% year to date after an activist investor pushed for board seats), the market is treating that subscription-like model as intact but shrinking, after two poor snow years, skier visits down more than 15% in the fiscal third quarter, and pass units for 2026/2027 down about 10%.
MTN stock price
As of 2026-10-30, Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN) last closed at $151.83, up 2.4% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $119.02 and $161.76.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Vail Resorts, Inc.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN) do?
Vail Resorts runs three segments: Mountain (about 89% of revenue), Lodging (about 11%), and a negligible Real Estate arm. The Mountain segment is 42 destination resorts and regional ski areas across North America, Australia and the Alps, plus ski school, dining, and retail and rental operations attached to them. The commercial engine is the Epic Pass. Instead of selling lift tickets day by day to people watching the forecast, Vail sells a season pass in the spring and autumn, banks the cash months ahead of the season, and locks in the guest regardless of where the snow actually lands. That structure is why a business exposed to weather has historically carried the financial profile of a subscription company, and it is what management points to every time a bad winter arrives.
The investment picture in October 2026 is a fight between that model and the direction of the numbers. Fiscal 2026 (ended July 31, 2026) closed with revenue of about $2.84 billion, down roughly 4% from fiscal 2025's $2.96 billion, and net income of about $148 million, down roughly 47% from $280 million. Management had cut fiscal 2026 guidance during the year to $735 million to $755 million of Resort Reported EBITDA, well below the $844 million posted in fiscal 2025. The off-season fourth quarter, reported in late September, brought revenue of about $278 million (up about 2.5% and ahead of estimates) and a loss of $5.34 per share, in line with forecasts, though full-year EBITDA guidance for fiscal 2027 came in slightly below what analysts expected. Pass units for the 2026/2027 season are down about 10%, with days sold down about 8% and pass dollars down about 5%, meaning price is still offsetting part of the volume loss. Against that, the company carried about $2.65 billion of net debt at its fiscal third-quarter report (roughly 3.5x trailing Resort EBITDA), pays $2.22 per quarter in dividends that exceed fiscal 2026 earnings per share of about $4.04, and is running a cost program that has found about $106 million of annualized savings. The stock has traded between about $118 and $163 over the past year. In early October 2026 the activist investor Oasis Management sought board seats, arguing the company needed to fix strategic missteps, and the shares rose about 4% that day; as of October 16 they were up about 14% year to date and about 2.5% over one year. The fiscal first-quarter report, another off-season quarter, is expected around December 9, 2026.
What's driving Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN)?
1. Prepaid pass revenue, collected before the season
The Epic Pass converts a weather lottery into committed cash. Vail has sold more than 2 million pass products and advance lift tickets over a three-year span, and the money arrives before anyone knows whether it will snow. That is the structural reason a resort operator can plan capital spending and service debt through a bad winter, and it is the single feature that most distinguishes MTN from a conventional leisure operator.
2. Price versus units, and the under-30 experiment
The Epic Pass has risen roughly 37% over six seasons, to about $1,089, while Alterra's Ikon reached $1,399 for 2026/2027. For 2026/2027 Vail's units are down about 10% but dollars only about 5%, so pricing is absorbing most of the volume loss so far. In March 2026 the company cut pass prices about 20% for skiers under 30, a deliberate test of whether lower entry pricing rebuilds the funnel of future full-price passholders.
3. The cost program
The Resource Efficiency Transformation Plan has reached about $106 million in annualized savings, roughly $6 million above the original target. With revenue falling, cost is the lever management can actually pull, and the plan is what kept fiscal 2026 guided Resort EBITDA in the $735 million to $755 million range rather than lower. Calendar 2026 core capital spending of about $215 million to $220 million is modest relative to prior cycles, which preserves cash while the visitation picture is unclear.
4. Owned terrain that cannot be replicated
Permitting a new large destination ski resort in North America is effectively impossible, so the existing base of terrain, lifts, and slope-side lodging is a genuinely scarce asset. Vail owns and operates its resorts rather than merely partnering with them, which management argues gives it control over pricing and product that a coalition pass like Ikon does not have. That ownership is also what makes the Lodging segment and any future acquisitions possible.
5. Activist pressure on strategy
Oasis Management's October 2026 push for board seats adds an outside voice to the debate over pass pricing, capital allocation and the dividend. Activist involvement can speed up change at a company whose earnings have fallen for two years, though it can also mean a period of boardroom distraction while the winter selling season is under way.
What are the risks to Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN)?
Snowfall is the variable nobody controls, and two weak winters in the Rockies drove skier visits down about 15.5% in the fiscal third quarter of 2026 and pushed pass units for the coming season down about 10%. Leverage is real: about $2.65 billion of net debt as of the fiscal third quarter, with total debt of about $3.4 billion against roughly $268 million of cash at fiscal year end, at roughly 3.5x trailing Resort EBITDA means a further EBITDA decline raises the leverage ratio quickly. The $8.88 annualized dividend sits well above fiscal 2026 earnings per share of about $4.04 (a payout ratio above 200%), so it is being funded out of cash flow rather than accounting earnings, and a sustained shortfall would put the payout under discussion. Vail and Alterra face consumer antitrust class actions filed in 2026 over Epic and Ikon pass pricing, plus a stockholder derivative complaint filed in August 2026 alleging the board failed to police that conduct; the company says the claims are without merit. Skiing is a discretionary, high-cost trip, so a consumer pullback hits both pass renewals and the Lodging segment at the same time.
What is the Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN) forecast?
14 analysts publish price targets on MTN, averaging $148.36 against a $151.01 price as of October 2026, or -1.8%. The published targets run from $117.00 to $192.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 5 buy, 8 hold, 2 sell. Over the last six months there have been 3 raises and 8 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.
Read the full MTN forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.
Is MTN a buy or a sell?
We give no verdict on Vail Resorts, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.
The case for buying. Prepaid pass revenue, collected before the season. The Epic Pass converts a weather lottery into committed cash. The most optimistic published target, $192.00, assumes this works close to its best case.
The case against. Snowfall is the variable nobody controls, and two weak winters in the Rockies drove skier visits down about 15.5% in the fiscal third quarter of 2026 and pushed pass units for the coming season down about 10%. The most pessimistic target, $117.00, is roughly what MTN is worth if this bites instead.
Read the full bull and bear case on MTN, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
How is Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN) valued? (approximate, October 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Vail Resorts, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (FY2026, ended July 31): ~$2.84B, down ~4%
- Net income (FY2026): ~$148M (~$4.04 EPS)
- FY2026 guided Resort EBITDA (set mid-year): ~$735M to $755M
- P/E (trailing / forward): ~38x / ~23x
- Market cap: ~$5.5B (~$153 per share)
- Total debt / cash: ~$3.4B / ~$0.27B
- Dividend: ~$8.88 annualized (~5.8% yield)
At about $153 per share MTN trades near 38x trailing fiscal 2026 earnings and about 23x consensus forward earnings, with an EV-to-EBITDA multiple near 12x, so the valuation is pricing in a recovery from a depressed earnings base rather than the current one. For comparison, fiscal 2025 (ended July 31, 2025) produced about $2.96 billion of revenue, $280 million of net income and $844 million of Resort Reported EBITDA. Consensus looks for fiscal 2027 EPS of about $5.60, which would still leave the $8.88 dividend above earnings and dependent on cash flow.
Who competes with Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN)?
Multi-resort pass operators
Alterra Mountain Company is the direct rival, owning 17 resorts and selling roughly 1 million Ikon Pass products a year across 70-plus partner mountains. Boyne Resorts, Powdr, Mountain Capital Partners (Power Pass) and the independent-focused Indy Pass compete for the same passholder at lower price points. The competitive question is whether Vail's own-and-operate model or Alterra's partner-heavy coalition better retains skiers as pass prices approach and exceed $1,000.
Independent and international destination resorts
Jackson Hole, Alta, Sun Valley, Whitefish and similar independents compete on terrain quality and on not being a corporate pass, a positioning that has gained traction as crowding complaints about Epic and Ikon mountains have grown. In Europe, Compagnie des Alpes runs a comparable portfolio of alpine resorts and parks, and Vail's own Andermatt-Sedrun and Crans-Montana put it directly into that market.
Other experiential leisure operators
Six Flags Entertainment, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Hilton Grand Vacations and Travel + Leisure Co. do not sell ski days, but they compete for the same discretionary family trip budget and for the same slot in an investor's portfolio: capital-intensive, weather-and-economy-sensitive assets sold through prepaid or membership structures. Comparing MTN's pass renewal rates against their timeshare and season-pass retention is a common way analysts frame the model.
What stocks are similar to Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN)?
Other names that sit close to MTN: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.
How to invest in Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN)
There are three common ways to get MTN exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so MTN sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where MTN fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.
The bottom line on Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN)
MTN is a high-yield, high-leverage owner of irreplaceable ski real estate whose prepaid pass model smooths the weather but has not stopped the unit count, or the earnings, from sliding.
More on Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN)
Whether MTN is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is MTN a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the MTN stock forecast.
For income investors, whether MTN pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does MTN pay a dividend? And to weigh MTN against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: MTN vs JXN and MTN vs FUN.
Wondering how MTN fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Vail Resorts, Inc. with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how MTN fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What does Vail Resorts actually own?
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42 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Park City, Whistler Blackcomb, Stowe, Andermatt-Sedrun and Crans-Montana, plus Australian resorts. Alongside the mountains it owns or manages hotels and condominiums near them. Mountain operations were about 89% of fiscal 2025 revenue, Lodging about 11%.
How does the Epic Pass change the business model?
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It moves revenue forward. Passes are sold in spring and autumn, so most of a season's lift revenue is collected and recognized as deferred revenue before the snow arrives. That reduces the damage a single bad winter does to cash collection, though it does not prevent a bad winter from reducing the next year's pass renewals, which is exactly what has happened for the 2026/2027 season.
Why did the stock fall, and has it recovered?
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Two consecutive weak snow years in the Rockies cut skier visits (down about 15.5% in the fiscal third quarter of 2026), management lowered fiscal 2026 Resort EBITDA guidance to roughly $735 million to $755 million from $844 million in fiscal 2025, and pass units for the 2026/2027 season were down about 10% in the spring selling window. Fiscal 2026 net income of about $148 million was down roughly 47%. The stock has since partly recovered, up about 14% year to date as of October 16, 2026, helped by activist interest from Oasis Management.
How did Vail Resorts do in its latest quarter?
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The fiscal fourth quarter of 2026 (May to July, the off season) brought revenue of about $278 million, up about 2.5% and roughly 1.6% ahead of estimates, and a loss of $5.34 per share, in line with the $5.35 loss expected. Full-year EBITDA guidance for fiscal 2027 came in slightly below analyst expectations, yet the shares rose about 6% in the following weeks.
Who is the activist investor at Vail Resorts?
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In early October 2026 Oasis Management sought seats on Vail's board, arguing the company needs to correct strategic missteps. The stock rose about 4% on the news. Walnut is not an investment adviser, and activist campaigns can end in settlements, proxy fights or no change at all.
Is the dividend covered?
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Not by accounting earnings at current levels. The $2.22 quarterly dividend annualizes to $8.88, while fiscal 2026 earnings came in at about $4.04 per share, a payout ratio above 200%, and consensus for fiscal 2027 is about $5.60. Vail generates substantially more cash flow than net income because of heavy depreciation on lifts and lodges (operating cash flow was about $480 million over the trailing year), so the payout is funded from cash flow, but the gap is one of the most watched items on the stock.
What is the season pass outlook for 2026/2027?
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Through the spring 2026 selling window, pass product units were down about 10%, days sold down about 8%, and sales dollars down about 5%, with the weakness concentrated in weather-affected Rockies markets and among destination guests. Higher pricing is offsetting roughly half the unit decline. The autumn selling update normally arrives with the fiscal fourth quarter release. The fourth-quarter report in late September 2026 indicated pass sales were still supporting demand ahead of the ski season.
What are the lawsuits about?
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Two consumer antitrust class actions filed in 2026 allege that Vail and Alterra set Epic and Ikon pass prices in coordination and inflated single-day lift ticket prices to push skiers toward multi-resort passes. A separate stockholder derivative complaint filed in Denver in August 2026 names the company and its board, alleging they knew of or ignored that conduct. Vail says the claims are without merit and is defending them.
How leveraged is the balance sheet?
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Net debt was about $2.65 billion at the fiscal third-quarter report, roughly 3.5x trailing twelve month Resort Reported EBITDA, with about $1.1 billion of total liquidity. Because the leverage ratio moves with EBITDA, a further decline in resort earnings raises it without any new borrowing, which is why the cost savings program and the reduced capital plan matter to the credit picture as much as to earnings. At fiscal year end (July 31, 2026), total debt was about $3.4 billion against about $268 million of cash.
When does Vail Resorts report, and why is the calendar odd?
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The fiscal year ends July 31, so the fourth quarter covers the off season and is normally a loss, while the second and third quarters carry the winter. Fiscal 2026 fourth quarter and full-year results came out in late September 2026, and the fiscal 2027 first quarter is expected around December 9, 2026. Judging the company on a single quarter is misleading; the winter quarters and the pass sales updates carry the signal. Walnut is not an investment adviser and this is information, not advice.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Vail Resorts, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.