Vail Resorts (MTN) Q4 Earnings Miss, Mountain Segment Hurts
Vail Resorts, Inc. MTN fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 results were hurt by bleak performance of the Mountain segment. However, the company reported solid season pass sales for the upcoming 2023/24 North American ski season.
MTN reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 results, with earnings and revenues missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Nonetheless, the top line increased on a year-over-year basis. The bottom line declined from the prior-year quarter’s figure.
Mountain Segment’s Poor Performance Hurts
The Mountain segment generated revenues of $181 million in the quarter under review, down 2% year over year. We projected the metric to be $207.7 million. During the quarter, revenues from dining rose 2.2% year over year to $17.7 million.
Revenues from Ski school improved 6.1% year over year to $9.8 million. Lift and retail/rental revenues decreased 1.5% and 12.9%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. Our model predicted revenues from Ski school, lift and retail/rental to gain 3%, 16.9% and 3.3% year over year, respectively.
Segmental EBITDA amounted to ($91.1) million in the quarter under discussion compared with ($62.4) million reported in the prior-year quarter. Operating expenses totaled $272.2 million, up 10.2% year over year. Our model suggested segmental EBITDA to be ($84.4) million.
Vail Resorts, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Vail Resorts, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Vail Resorts, Inc. Quote
An escalation in the Mountain segment’s expenses also affected the company’s performance. Total expenses in this segment jumped 10.2% year over year to $272.2 million owing to a sharp rise in labor and labor-related benefits as well as resort related fees.
Season-to-date (through Sep 22, 2023), management stated that pass product sales had climbed approximately 7% and 11%, respectively, in units and sales dollars compared with the year-ago period’s (through Sep 23, 2022) levels. It reported strong unit growth concerning its renewing pass holders in destination markets. Also, it noted benefits from an 8% price hike (relative to the 2022/23 season).
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
Currently, Vail Resorts carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector include:
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. LYV sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 34.6% on average. Shares of LYV have increased 4.9% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LYV’s 2023 sales and EPS indicates rises of 21% and 57.8%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. HLT currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). HLT has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 12.5% on average. The stock has gained 18.5% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HLT’s 2023 sales and EPS suggests improvements of 14.8% and 23.7%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
OneSpaWorld Holdings Limited OSW currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. OSW has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 42.6% on average. Shares of OSW have risen 32.1% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OSW’s 2023 sales and EPS implies 44.5% and 117.9% growth, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
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Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (LYV) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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OneSpaWorld Holdings Limited (OSW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
