United Parks' profit fell. Its earnings per share went up.
Earlier buybacks changed the per-share result. Inside the parks, higher spending still failed to make up for fewer visitors.
Ticker Byline
United Parks & Resorts Inc.
United Parks news and analysis covering SeaWorld and Busch Gardens attendance, visitor spending, earnings, cash flow, buybacks and debt.
- Ticker
- PRKS
- Exchange
- XNYS
- SEC CIK
- 0001564902
United Parks & Resorts owns or licenses theme park brands including SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Aquatica, Discovery Cove and Sesame Place. Admissions, annual passes, food, merchandise and other visitor spending generate most of its revenue. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under PRKS.
Quarterly performance
| Measure | Q3 2025 | Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $511.9 | $506.5 |
| Net income, GAAP | $89.3 | $80.0 |
| Diluted EPS, GAAP | $1.61 | $1.74 |
| Average diluted shares, millions | 55.5 | 46.0 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $216.3 | $205.1 |
| Attendance, millions of visits | 6.79 | 6.47 |
| Revenue per visitor | $75.39 | $78.29 |
The 4.7% attendance decline outweighed the 3.8% increase in revenue per visitor. Admission revenue per visitor rose 3.4%, while in-park spending rose 4.4%. The lower share count allowed EPS to rise despite lower total net income.
Recent trends and expectations
Q2 attendance had fallen 2.9%, with spending per visitor up 1.5%. The Q3 visitor decline was steeper, but better pricing and in-park spending limited the revenue shortfall. Management also attributes lost visits to weather, calendar effects, international travel and reduced promotional products.
At October 31, management said the 2027-specific pass-product base was up more than 15%. It also reported double-digit growth in forward booking revenue for Discovery Cove and group business. The August release had already described strong forward bookings. The company has not supplied a numerical full-year operating forecast in these releases.
Cash flow and investment
| Measure | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | $301.7 | $330.0 |
| Capital expenditures | $167.2 | $207.9 |
| Free cash flow | $134.5 | $122.1 |
The operating cash increase primarily reflected working-capital changes. Q3 operating cash was $93.2 million versus $94.8 million; capital spending rose to $69.7 million from $56.8 million. Quarterly free cash flow fell to $23.5 million from $38.0 million.
Earlier buybacks and current borrowing capacity
United Parks bought 5.9 million shares for about $217.7 million during the first half of 2026 and made no program repurchases in Q3. Nine-month cash spending on treasury shares and related excise tax totaled $220.3 million. Employee tax-withholding share settlements are reported separately.
At September 30, $180.9 million remained authorized for repurchases. Cash and equivalents were $26.3 million. Debt principal was $2,276.5 million, with a carrying amount of $2,264.7 million after related costs.
The debt comprised $1,511.5 million of term loans due December 2031, $725 million of notes due August 2029 and a $40 million revolver draw. The $700 million revolver matures in August 2029; letters of credit and drawn borrowings left $649.1 million available at quarter-end. After September, the company repaid $20 million of the revolver, leaving $20 million outstanding at the filing date.
The company reported compliance with all debt covenants. Its 3.55 times net total leverage ratio uses the covenant definition of EBITDA, which adds estimated savings and other permitted adjustments to the regular adjusted EBITDA measure. The next operating test is whether advance pass sales translate into enough visits and cash to support park investment alongside further capital returns.
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