CluenexVail Resorts MTN
Vail Resorts scores weak on business quality (3.4 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Vail Resorts does
Vail Resorts operates mountain resorts and regional ski areas, making money by selling multi-season lift passes, lodging, and ski school lessons to affluent winter travelers. The company is leaning into pass-holder retention strategies to offset visitation volatility caused by unpredictable winter weather.
- What it does best
Vail dominates destination ski travel through its Epic Pass ecosystem, locking in skiers upfront with revenue before snow falls. Its gross margin sits at 41.3%, easily outpacing Planet Fitness at 50.7% operating margins due to the heavy fixed asset base of mountain infrastructure.
- The main risk
Warm winters directly threaten cash generation, as seen when free cash flow dropped to $248 million. With debt-to-equity at 13.2x and net debt climbing to $2.9 billion, a weak snow season strains the high dividend payout.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin stands at 14.6% with an FCF margin of 8.7%, both compressing as revenue drops. The heavy fixed-cost base means profitability softens during low-snow years rather than scaling efficiently.
Scale creates a regional resort monopoly that locks in consumers through interconnected multi-mountain passes. Its return on equity sits in the top quartile at 47.2%, though heavy maintenance capex limits true economic defensibility.
Revenue shrank 4.3% to $2.8 billion, sliding from prior years and sitting in the bottom decile of its sector at the 4th percentile for growth. The core engine is actively fading as visitor spending cools.
Total debt of $3.2 billion swamps the $268 million cash pile, and free cash flow slipped to $248 million while net debt pushed to $2.9 billion. The balance sheet is growing softer under heavy capital commitments.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on MTN
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Vail Resorts scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (3.4 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is fair, moat fair, growth slow and financial health weak.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Dec 8, 2026.
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Cite this page: Cluenex, “Vail Resorts (MTN)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/mtn/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.