United Parks & Resorts Inc

Bull points

• We are especially pleased since we are in the peak advertising and selling season right now. We spent $69.6 million on CapEx in the first quarter of 2026, of which approximately $62.7 million was on core CapEx and approximately $7.0 million was on expansion and or ROI projects.
• Looking ahead, our advanced bookings revenue for Discovery Cove in our Group business are both currently outpacing 2025 levels, with Discovery Co. bookings up a double-digit percentage.
• We continue to strongly believe our stock is materially undervalued, and as such, continue to repurchase shares in the first quarter, buying approximately 2.6 million shares for nearly $93 million. This action emphasizes the strong cash flow generation of this company, our longstanding commitment to returning excess cash to our shareholders, and our belief that our shares are materially undervalued.

Bear points

• Thank you, Mark. During the first quarter, we generated total revenue of $278.3 million, a decrease of $8.7 million when compared to the first quarter of 2025. The decrease in total revenue compared to the first quarter of 2025 was primarily a result of a decrease in attendance, partially offset by an increase in total revenue per capita spending. Attendance for the first quarter of 2026 decreased by approximately 171,000 guests, when compared to the prior year quarter. The decrease in attendance was primarily due to unfavorable weather and a decrease in international visitation compared to the prior year quarter. As Mark noted, our attendance would have been up more than 1% adjusted for weather and international. In the first quarter of 2026, total revenue per capita increased 2.1%. Admission per capita decreased 0.5%, and in-park per capita spending increased 5.3% to a record $40.62. Admission per capita decreased primarily due to lower realized pricing on certain admission products and the net impact of the admissions product mix when compared to the prior year quarter. In-park per capita spending involved improved, I should say, primarily due to an increase in demand across many in-park offerings when compared to the first quarter of 2025. Operating expenses increased $10 million when compared to the first quarter of 2025. The increase in operating expenses is primarily due to an approximately $3.7 million increase in non-cash self-insurance adjustments and an approximate $3.3 million increase in one-time non-recurring consulting and other costs when compared to the first quarter of 2025. Selling, general, and administrative expenses increased $3.9 million compared to the first quarter of 2025. The increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses is primarily due to a non-cash $3.1 million increase in information technology costs primarily related to the amortization of a new enterprise resource planning system when compared to the first quarter of 2025. We reported a net loss of $34.1 million for the first quarter compared to a net loss of $16.1 million in the first quarter of 2025. We generated adjusted EBITDA of $58 million, a decrease of $9.5 million when compared to the first quarter of 2025. The decline in EBITDA was driven by lower revenue and a modest increase in expenses. During the first quarter, we repurchased 2.6 million shares for an aggregate total of approximately $92.7 million. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, we have repurchased an additional 1.8 million shares for an aggregate total of approximately $64.8 million. Of the $500 million stock repurchase authorization approved in 2025, the company has approximately $198 million remaining. Our deferred revenue balance as of the end of March was $203.8 million. Deferred revenue increased approximately 4.1% when compared to March of 2025, reflecting a healthy outlook for ticketing, our group business, and our ancillary products. As a reminder, our deferred revenue balance contains a number of products, including ticketing, vacation packages, annual and seasonal passes, group sales, and ancillary products. Through April 2026, our paid pass base, excluding any free passes, was up compared to April 2025. As Mark mentioned, we are pleased to have seen paid pass sales up 12% so far this year through April 30th. We believe we have our best pass benefits program ever and one of the best in the industry, and we expect we will continue to drive additional increases in pass sales and a strong pass base for the remainder of the year. We are especially pleased since we are in the peak advertising and selling season right now. We spent $69.6 million on CapEx in the first quarter of 2026, of which approximately $62.7 million was on core CapEx and approximately $7.0 million was on expansion and or ROI projects.
• Our first quarter results fell short of our expectations primarily due to unfavorable weather and a decline in international attendance.
• Attendance in the first quarter was negatively impacted by approximately 140,000 guests due to weather and approximately 80,000 guests due to declines in international visitation.