Full Transcript for Six Flags Q3: Same-Park Revenue Up 1.4%, Debt Still 5.8x

sharing with you the public knowledge 36 00:01:43.079 --> 00:01:46.060 that we have, plus our insight based on our years 37 00:01:46.099 --> 00:01:49.319 of experience within the industry. So please continue to comment 38 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:52.920 because we absolutely love it. That's why we do the show. 39 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:56.909 At the same time, please don't be upset if we 40 00:01:57.140 --> 00:02:01.280 don't necessarily respond directly to your comments, but hopefully somebody 41 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:03.659 else on the, on the chat will, because we've seen 42 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:06.159 that happen many times that somebody else will fill in 43 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:10.520 some information and some additional details. So, um, thank you 44 00:02:10.539 --> 00:02:12.080 for listening and thank you for commenting. I just wanted 45 00:02:12.099 --> 00:02:15.240 to start there because there were a bunch on the 46 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:17.300 last show and many of them very, very complimentary. So 47 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:19.539 thank you very much. We really appreciate it. Right. 48 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:25.939 Well, let us to the earnings then for six flags. 49 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:30.770 And I think, uh, I always dig way too much 50 00:02:30.810 --> 00:02:32.590 and then kind of resurface. 51 00:02:32.870 --> 00:02:33.610 And I think. 52 00:02:36.710 --> 00:02:39.689 This might be a hot take, but my impression is 53 00:02:39.710 --> 00:02:42.860 that these earnings are actually pretty good. And I think 54 00:02:42.900 --> 00:02:45.620 Wall Street also agrees because the stock did pretty good. 55 00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:47.099 It's a little bit better than Wall Street was expecting. 56 00:02:47.139 --> 00:02:54.379 But on a macro level, they're pretty good. I think 57 00:02:54.419 --> 00:02:57.580 the problem is they would have been better if it 58 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:00.620 weren't for some of the recent incidents, which we have 59 00:03:00.659 --> 00:03:03.580 covered extensively on the show. And that's, that's the real 60 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:05.419 rub here is that things were kind of going the 61 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:08.840 right direction, but then you had these safety incidents, which, and, 62 00:03:08.979 --> 00:03:12.180 and they really did have some bad weather again. Uh, 63 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:17.159 so the October numbers, October 10th fell 9%, right. Which 64 00:03:17.210 --> 00:03:21.030 was weather was a big issue in that plus the 65 00:03:21.050 --> 00:03:23.770 Goliath incidents, et cetera. So that was a big kind 66 00:03:23.789 --> 00:03:27.289 of drag on them, but I think overall the stuff 67 00:03:27.310 --> 00:03:29.539 is going the right direction. So to me, this is 68 00:03:29.580 --> 00:03:32.819 still the same story, actually. It's just we're getting more 69 00:03:33.139 --> 00:03:35.539 plot lines on this plot. And it's the same story 70 00:03:35.800 --> 00:03:40.819 of they are really doubling down on the passes, bringing 71 00:03:40.840 --> 00:03:43.569 people back, and then the regional strategy, getting people to 72 00:03:43.590 --> 00:03:46.530 visit multiple parks in the same pass, and getting people 73 00:03:46.550 --> 00:03:48.729 to upgrade to that pass, and they come back multiple times. 74 00:03:48.750 --> 00:03:51.310 So they're investing in that. And then it seems to 75 00:03:51.370 --> 00:03:55.069 be working, except they still have a lot of debt. 76 00:03:55.750 --> 00:03:57.599 And then you have this safety incident where they had 77 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:01.500 to close nine of the posters on chain wide and 78 00:04:01.539 --> 00:04:04.080 it's causing that dip. So I think it's like there, 79 00:04:04.180 --> 00:04:08.659 that was a pretty big, I don't want to say 80 00:04:08.699 --> 00:04:10.120 speed bump, but it's kind of like a pretty big 81 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:13.530 derailment maybe in, in there trying to course correct. But 82 00:04:13.870 --> 00:04:16.110 it looks like the overall strategy is the same we've 83 00:04:16.149 --> 00:04:18.689 talked about and it's pretty sound. And it's really just 84 00:04:18.850 --> 00:04:21.790 a time clock of they have this debt. They need 85 00:04:21.810 --> 00:04:25.089 to de-lever in order to de-lever, they have to sell assets, 86 00:04:25.610 --> 00:04:28.069 which means they have to organize buyers and get that 87 00:04:28.110 --> 00:04:30.009 figured out. And then they sort of need to keep 88 00:04:30.069 --> 00:04:32.250 on the strategy. And they did mention all of this 89 00:04:32.310 --> 00:04:37.350 in the earnings. They talked about the, I think, the 90 00:04:37.389 --> 00:04:40.389 more solidly, more solid plans of selling some of the parks. 91 00:04:40.449 --> 00:04:42.550 A little new details yet, of course, but those plans. 92 00:04:42.990 --> 00:04:46.069 But that's the overall thing. I can give you all 93 00:04:46.290 --> 00:04:52.300 some numbers for context. But basically, I just also want 94 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:55.199 to clarify. You may have seen some numbers from major 95 00:04:55.259 --> 00:04:57.709 news outlets that are saying that revenue fell 11% or 96 00:04:57.730 --> 00:05:01.529 those kinds of things. That's not really accurate because of 97 00:05:01.569 --> 00:05:04.910 course we know that Six Flags sold eight parks earlier 98 00:05:04.949 --> 00:05:11.009 this year. And so I think when we are looking 99 00:05:11.129 --> 00:05:13.850 for this show, we're looking at the takeaways. What we're 100 00:05:13.870 --> 00:05:17.269 doing is comparing the park to park. So we're looking 101 00:05:17.310 --> 00:05:19.939 at like, okay, they have 34 parks that they're operating 102 00:05:19.980 --> 00:05:24.459 now and looking at those same 34 parks last year 103 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:26.740 and how are they comparing? I think that's what we're 104 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:29.490 looking at were kind of taking out the eight that 105

00:05:29.509 --> 00:05:31.829 they sold because that kind of skews all the numbers, right? 106 00:05:32.149 --> 00:05:35.800 So looking at that, their attendance was relatively flat and 107 00:05:35.819 --> 00:05:39.060 the revenue was up about 1.4%. And for the year 108 00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:42.680 so far, attendance is up 1.5%, revenue is up 3%. 109 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:45.120 So that's why I'm saying on its surface, it looks 110 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:49.970 kind of like mild news, kind of like cold soup news, right? 111 00:05:50.050 --> 00:05:55.269 Attendance flat and revenue up maybe 1.5%. But underlying that 112 00:05:55.329 --> 00:05:57.149 is my point about how the October had such a 113 00:05:57.149 --> 00:05:59.370 big shock. There was a 9% drop in the October. 114 00:05:59.410 --> 00:06:02.310 So even absorbing that shock, this is where they are. 115 00:06:02.649 --> 00:06:04.829 And I think that's why Wall Street rewarded them slightly 116 00:06:04.889 --> 00:06:07.220 because I think people were thinking it was going to 117 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:10.779 be a lot worse than it was because they had 118 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:15.579 to close so many of their rides. 119 00:06:15.699 --> 00:06:18.720 But that's my initial take, Scott. 120 00:06:18.779 --> 00:06:20.970 And to kind of reinforce that, I did just a 121 00:06:20.990 --> 00:06:27.050 little bit of quick napkin math here. And so, you know, they, 122 00:06:27.269 --> 00:06:30.600 with the 11%, the revenue revenue, keep in mind that 123 00:06:30.629 --> 00:06:34.389 is revenue. That is not profit. That is revenue. Revenue 124 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:41.060 fell 11%, but they sold 17.7, 17.07% of their total parks. 125 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:44.160 So if you take those numbers and put them together, 126 00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:47.740 you're right, Philip, it is a more positive picture than 127 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:49.699 some of the larger news outlets are trying to, trying 128 00:06:49.740 --> 00:06:51.899 to paint. Um, you know, when you, when you get 129 00:06:51.959 --> 00:06:55.000 rid of, of, 17% I'm going to get rid of 130 00:06:55.019 --> 00:06:58.000 the 0.07 when you get rid of 17% of your 131 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:02.910 parks and your revenue falls by 11%. Right. That's a, 132 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:05.339 that's a good picture. That's not a negative picture. That's 133 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:08.759 actually a good picture. But again, people are less likely 134 00:07:08.779 --> 00:07:12.839 to read news about good stories. So we'll see. The 135 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:14.740 other thing that I think is that you mentioned, and 136 00:07:14.759 --> 00:07:18.079 I just want to reinforce is in the theme park 137 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:23.069 industry through the years, um, What I've seen is the 138 00:07:23.110 --> 00:07:26.459 most successful is when you take the time to put 139 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:30.620 together a long-term plan and stick to it and don't 140 00:07:30.660 --> 00:07:33.899 just change every time the breeze changes. And it looks like, 141 00:07:34.699 --> 00:07:37.569 not sure, again, don't work for Six Flags, but it 142 00:07:37.629 --> 00:07:40.170 looks like that's what Six Flags is doing. It looks 143 00:07:40.209 --> 00:07:43.189 like they have a plan. They are enacting it. Yes, 144 00:07:43.290 --> 00:07:49.420 Goliath and safety issues were a huge speed bump, stumbling block, 145 00:07:49.449 --> 00:07:52.550 whatever you want to put it. But certainly... Let's at 146 00:07:52.589 --> 00:07:59.329 least phrase it as an unexpected hindrance. But it didn't 147 00:07:59.410 --> 00:08:02.350 change their overall perspective. They had to deal with it, obviously, 148 00:08:02.829 --> 00:08:06.329 and keep moving forward with their plan. So I just 149 00:08:06.370 --> 00:08:11.149 wanted to kind of reinforce and put things into perspective here. 150 00:08:11.170 --> 00:08:13.610 When you sell off 17% of your parks and your 151 00:08:13.649 --> 00:08:18.509 revenue is down 11%, that makes sense. And it's not 152 00:08:18.670 --> 00:08:20.329 actually a bad number at all. 153 00:08:20.410 --> 00:08:20.509 So. 154 00:08:21.649 --> 00:08:23.649 just throwing that out there to make sure we understand 155 00:08:23.709 --> 00:08:24.290 what that means. 156 00:08:25.209 --> 00:08:27.949 Right. And it seems like the plan isn't really changed 157 00:08:28.009 --> 00:08:32.389 that much. Although that's the other thing, right? They had 158 00:08:32.429 --> 00:08:35.230 to dedicate a lot, not had to, but I think 159 00:08:35.269 --> 00:08:37.409 it was really appropriate for them to begin with their, 160 00:08:37.629 --> 00:08:41.019 with condolences. And also it was appropriate to spend so 161 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:42.879 much of the call on safety. I think that was 162 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:45.399 appropriate in this moment because of course that's the big 163 00:08:45.460 --> 00:08:48.279 drag from the October moment. So it's also possible that 164 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:50.539 maybe they had more plans, but they kind of did not, 165 00:08:51.850 --> 00:08:54.690 focus on that because they wanted to clear up the 166 00:08:54.730 --> 00:08:57.750 safety and reinforce that portion. 167 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:00.279 That could also be it. But essentially, it's. 168 00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:03.179 Unchanged from what we talked about previously, where they are 169 00:09:04.179 --> 00:09:08.600 working to increase their passholder visitation and also increase the 170 00:09:08.659 --> 00:09:10.759 amount of people that are moving up into regional passes. 171 00:09:11.419 --> 00:09:14.320 And they're doing that by adding in more entertainment and 172 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:18.399 cleaning up services, etc. And then they are looking to 173 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:22.980 actively sell parts of their portfolio before They had used 174 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:27.139 more loose language about the portfolio, but

it sounds like 175 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.580 they've shifted because now they're moving more into, these are 176 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:33.570 concrete discussions that are happening. Of course, we knew that 177 00:09:33.610 --> 00:09:35.389 because there's no other way to do it, right? You 178 00:09:35.429 --> 00:09:38.330 got to de-lever. You just have to de-lever. So it's 179 00:09:38.350 --> 00:09:40.190 sort of like, you got to do it. But it 180 00:09:40.230 --> 00:09:43.509 seems like this earnings call, they moved more into emphasizing 181 00:09:43.570 --> 00:09:45.889 those word discussions that are currently underway. 182 00:09:46.250 --> 00:09:47.289 So that's what's going to happen. 183 00:09:47.330 --> 00:09:55.870 And it does seem like they're, pass holder system is working, right? 184 00:09:55.889 --> 00:09:59.090 It started in early 27, started early August and, or 185 00:09:59.509 --> 00:10:04.429 it started in 2017. and it looks like they're, they're 186 00:10:04.870 --> 00:10:07.929 moving up there about three points moved from single day 187 00:10:07.950 --> 00:10:10.610 tickets to passes and memberships. So about three percent, three 188 00:10:10.909 --> 00:10:14.889 percentage of those moved up. So it looks like all 189 00:10:14.929 --> 00:10:17.620 those numbers are going in the right direction and it's, 190 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:26.279 Also interesting, he said cross-park visits are running about 5x 191 00:10:26.350 --> 00:10:29.230 last year's level, and that is the network working, and 192 00:10:29.450 --> 00:10:30.909 we're just getting started. 193 00:10:31.490 --> 00:10:34.509 That was the CEO. So 5x is the previous level. 194 00:10:34.529 --> 00:10:37.110 So it does look like the network effect he's talking 195 00:10:37.129 --> 00:10:39.070 about seems to be working and encouraging people to come 196 00:10:39.090 --> 00:10:43.590 back multiple times. And the other thing I wanted to 197 00:10:43.629 --> 00:10:46.809 point out in terms of takeaways slash big trends here 198 00:10:46.830 --> 00:10:51.080 is It's always interesting to me the order in which 199 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:55.759 they do everything. So the day before the earnings on Wednesday, 200 00:10:56.259 --> 00:10:59.159 they announced all their holiday event slates and their Black 201 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:04.490 Friday deals, which seems to be exactly aimed at that 202 00:11:04.610 --> 00:11:09.429 segment of reminding people that have passes, why they have passes, 203 00:11:09.470 --> 00:11:12.210 and also trying to encourage people to move from maybe 204 00:11:12.230 --> 00:11:15.570 a single park pass up to multi-park pass. 205 00:11:15.590 --> 00:11:18.419 And then the earnings came the day after that. 206 00:11:18.750 --> 00:11:20.929 Right? So it's kind of, they preempted it with a 207 00:11:20.970 --> 00:11:23.990 lot of this encouragement and the things that was most 208 00:11:24.029 --> 00:11:27.889 interesting to me about this, they have

a lot of 209 00:11:28.409 --> 00:11:31.519 deals they're trying, but it also looks like they're renovating 210 00:11:31.539 --> 00:11:34.179 a lot of their holiday events, particularly that they're adding 211 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:38.179 new live shows to holiday in the park at magic mountain. 212 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:40.779 And they're also adding a new, I show the Snoopy's 213 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:44.149 Christmas follies to knots. So to me, this is like, 214 00:11:45.549 --> 00:11:47.529 a little microcosm of the battle that they're trying to 215 00:11:47.570 --> 00:11:50.029 do where they're adding live entertainment to two parks that 216 00:11:50.049 --> 00:11:52.350 are within driving distance that could be covered by the 217 00:11:52.389 --> 00:11:55.710 same regional pass. And that seems to me to be 218 00:11:55.830 --> 00:11:58.779 a pretty clear play in that market of, you know, 219 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:01.580 trying to encourage those people to upgrade in. And then 220 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:03.480 you have two parks you can go to and they 221 00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:05.580 both have new entertainment for Christmas. So it's a perfect 222 00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:08.019 reason to visit, right? Yeah. 223 00:12:08.259 --> 00:12:11.139 It's, it's the, it's kind of the, the good news, 224 00:12:11.419 --> 00:12:14.620 good news, bad news, good news sandwich. I mean, it's 225 00:12:14.730 --> 00:12:18.610 standard operating procedure. It's let's put out some really fun 226 00:12:18.649 --> 00:12:21.750 and exciting news for all those people who are just 227 00:12:22.610 --> 00:12:24.440 fans of the park, who really don't care how much 228 00:12:24.500 --> 00:12:26.320 money we make as a park. Let's put all that 229 00:12:26.340 --> 00:12:28.480 information out there first so that people are feeling good 230 00:12:28.500 --> 00:12:32.090 about the park. Then let's follow up with the financial news, 231 00:12:32.179 --> 00:12:35.950 which significantly fewer people really pay attention to. Obviously we 232 00:12:35.970 --> 00:12:38.769 do because we're in the industry. And, and then, you know, 233 00:12:38.970 --> 00:12:40.950 at the end, usually at the end of that call 234 00:12:41.009 --> 00:12:43.929 or the end of that presentation is, and by the way, 235 00:12:43.970 --> 00:12:46.389 we're adding new shows, we're adding new elements. We're adding, 236 00:12:46.730 --> 00:12:51.740 it is, it is a basic, uh, financial PR for, 237 00:12:51.889 --> 00:12:53.269 for the attractions industry one-on-one. 238 00:12:53.289 --> 00:12:55.960 Uh, and so, so it's, it's the way it should be. 239 00:12:56.440 --> 00:12:59.379 But, but again, to, to Philip's point, this is, this 240 00:12:59.460 --> 00:13:04.460 is a significantly better, uh, this is a significantly more focused, uh, 241 00:13:04.909 --> 00:13:08.230 presentation than what we reported on before this actually has 242 00:13:08.470 --> 00:13:12.950 some meat to it and um it it sounds like 243 00:13:13.009 --> 00:13:15.990 the it sounds like it's it's getting tastier and tastier 244 00:13:16.009 --> 00:13:17.370 by the quarter so that's a good. 245 00:13:17.289 --> 00:13:19.909 Thing yeah the um. 246 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:25.440 We talked about this also before i think scott particular 247 00:13:26.139 --> 00:13:29.399 about how believe me last year they had canceled christmas 248 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:31.679 at some of the parks and we had said like 249 00:13:31.779 --> 00:13:35.220 well If you can't make Christmas work, there's probably a 250 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:40.460 larger problem. So they did announce that Six Flags Great 251 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:43.620 Adventure in New Jersey and Six Flags Over Georgia had 252 00:13:43.659 --> 00:13:46.009 both canceled holiday in the park in 2025. It's returning 253 00:13:46.490 --> 00:13:50.169 both times, rebuilt with new themed areas, nightly tree lightings, 254 00:13:50.230 --> 00:13:54.649 and indoor stage shows. So again, it's that same sort 255 00:13:54.669 --> 00:13:56.970 of strategy, but you're kind of taking it to these parks. 256 00:13:56.990 --> 00:13:59.970 You're bringing it back with new areas plus reasons to 257 00:14:00.009 --> 00:14:03.009 come back and live entertainment, a lot of live entertainment. 258 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:07.500 And their black Friday deals are also, again, they're pretty good. So, 259 00:14:07.779 --> 00:14:09.519 you know, buy one ticket and get the spring and 260 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:12.820 summer of 2027 visits included. If you renew your membership, 261 00:14:12.840 --> 00:14:14.460 you're going to get a free ticket for a friend. 262 00:14:14.860 --> 00:14:18.450 And then they're doing bundles for staying at participating six 263 00:14:18.490 --> 00:14:20.850 flags resort and getting a third night free. So it's 264 00:14:20.970 --> 00:14:23.690 all the same strategy. I kind of aimed at bringing 265 00:14:23.730 --> 00:14:27.669 your friends, bringing your family, encouraging you to renew, encouraging 266 00:14:27.710 --> 00:14:30.330 you to, to trade up, adding entertainment and adding more 267 00:14:30.370 --> 00:14:31.210 reasons to come in. 268 00:14:31.230 --> 00:14:37.399 Uh, Yeah, it's a common mindset that has come and gone. 269 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:39.440 It's gone in and out of fashion over the years, 270 00:14:39.860 --> 00:14:42.980 but it sounds like it's exactly what they need to do, 271 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:49.779 especially because they're trying to change their image. They're trying 272 00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:51.720 to go back to their family image that Six Flags 273 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:56.299 had many years ago. And secondly, they're trying to get 274 00:14:56.379 --> 00:15:00.110 people to trust the brand again. And the best way 275 00:15:00.139 --> 00:15:01.450 to do that is to get them into the parks. 276 00:15:01.830 --> 00:15:04.370 So they're trying to click the turnstiles. They're giving away 277

00:15:04.950 --> 00:15:07.509 And I love the fact that you get an extra 278 00:15:07.529 --> 00:15:12.159 ticket to bring a friend. It's not comp tickets. They're 279 00:15:12.179 --> 00:15:14.559 not focusing on the comp tickets. It's let's do something 280 00:15:14.580 --> 00:15:16.240 with your friends. Let's do something nice for your friends. 281 00:15:16.500 --> 00:15:22.440 They're trying to reestablish or perhaps even just establish a 282 00:15:22.500 --> 00:15:26.779 Six Flags brand that is far softer. It's not all 283 00:15:26.820 --> 00:15:31.889 about how terrifying is it. It's more about here's something 284 00:15:31.909 --> 00:15:34.240 that you can do with family and friends. And I 285 00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:37.299 think they're recognizing that this market is continuing to grow, 286 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:42.879 and this is really across the industry. So it seems 287 00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:46.519 like a wise choice. And if you guys, you know, 288 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:49.389 if you're out there and you're owning smaller organizations or 289 00:15:49.409 --> 00:15:54.830 you're even working for larger ones, recognize that families or 290 00:15:54.850 --> 00:16:03.570 even just friend groups are using... attractions not just theme 291 00:16:03.610 --> 00:16:06.429 parks but are using attractions as ways to go out 292 00:16:06.529 --> 00:16:09.590 and do things that don't necessarily require that they be 293 00:16:09.629 --> 00:16:12.169 terrified by a coaster or that they be right you 294 00:16:12.190 --> 00:16:14.090 know overwhelmed they want to go out and have a 295 00:16:14.129 --> 00:16:18.029 social moment so make sure that that's incorporated because it's 296 00:16:18.049 --> 00:16:19.570 clear that that's what six flags is doing. 297 00:16:20.490 --> 00:16:26.169 Right right yeah i think that basically wraps up um 298 00:16:27.220 --> 00:16:29.960 so in the timeline you know we had the the 299 00:16:30.019 --> 00:16:33.889 sales and winter announcements which I'm sure as we get 300 00:16:33.929 --> 00:16:35.470 closer to winter, Scott and I will probably go into 301 00:16:35.509 --> 00:16:37.850 all of the individual parks and what they're doing or 302 00:16:38.070 --> 00:16:40.490 I don't know. But just to give you guys a timeline, 303 00:16:40.509 --> 00:16:42.750 they had the winter announcements and then they had the earnings. 304 00:16:43.090 --> 00:16:46.250 They came out and then we had the reactions from 305 00:16:46.269 --> 00:16:50.370 Wall Street after that on Friday. And then also on Friday, 306 00:16:50.830 --> 00:16:54.629 they kind of confirmed that California's Great America in Santa 307 00:16:54.649 --> 00:16:57.279 Clara will close for good after Labor Day on September 6, 2027. 308 00:16:57.279 --> 00:16:57.820 So it's that. 309 00:17:00.889 --> 00:17:03.809 Kind of sandwich approach a little bit of, you know, this, 310 00:17:03.889 --> 00:17:07.450 this happening. And I think that's exactly it. So, so 311

00:17:07.470 --> 00:17:11.920 basically a lot of the analysts is still lower their 312 00:17:11.940 --> 00:17:15.740 price targets. So, but I think it's just overall, it's 313 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:17.640 just not as bad. Like it's still, they're still not 314 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:19.059 in a good position. I don't want to paint the picture. 315 00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:21.140 They're in a great position. It's still going to take 316 00:17:21.180 --> 00:17:25.630 a lot of dedicated leadership to stay kind of the 317 00:17:25.769 --> 00:17:28.049 course and, and they're going to have to delever no 318 00:17:28.069 --> 00:17:29.829 matter what. And so a lot of it's going to 319 00:17:29.849 --> 00:17:31.670 come down to how much they can sell the parks for, 320 00:17:31.730 --> 00:17:34.160 how quickly they can delever, and how they can keep 321 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:38.460 everything going. But basically, the good news is there's more 322 00:17:38.500 --> 00:17:41.359 cash coming in, and it seems like they have a 323 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:45.220 concrete plan to sell the parks to pay down to delever. 324 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:48.200 But the bad news, of course, is the debt, meantime, 325 00:17:48.259 --> 00:17:52.680 is still looming. And we're still unsure about the full 326 00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:53.549 fallout of. 327 00:17:53.569 --> 00:17:54.630 Goliath, right? 328 00:17:54.670 --> 00:17:57.269 That's still... going to have echoes. 329 00:17:57.049 --> 00:17:59.109 For many years is the fallout from that so still 330 00:17:59.150 --> 00:18:01.829 not sure about that and then there were past sales 331 00:18:01.869 --> 00:18:04.329 are happening but it seems like the past sales are 332 00:18:04.390 --> 00:18:06.529 slower than they had wanted but is that due to 333 00:18:06.569 --> 00:18:11.329 goliath or is it due to other factors macroeconomic factors 334 00:18:11.630 --> 00:18:14.130 or that the christmas slate wasn't announced yet or you 335 00:18:14.150 --> 00:18:16.890 know there's some but that's basically where we are so 336 00:18:16.910 --> 00:18:19.309 good news bad news but i think overall less bad 337 00:18:19.329 --> 00:18:22.529 than people had suspected it could be considering what a 338 00:18:22.589 --> 00:18:24.470 national story goliath was and i think that's it. 339 00:18:25.250 --> 00:18:27.549 Yeah they're they're they're not out of the woods yet. 340 00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:29.509 And part of the reason they're not out of the 341 00:18:29.549 --> 00:18:31.859 woods is because they were so far deep into the 342 00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:35.559 woods that, you know, they, they, it's, it's going to 343 00:18:35.579 --> 00:18:38.839 take time. But I think that, you know, just in general, 344 00:18:39.660 --> 00:18:42.420 whether it's, whether it's the attractions industry or any other 345 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:49.740 industry or, or economy that is changing, you got to 346 00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:53.039 recognize that it does

take time. And especially when you 347 00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:56.240 are so far, Um, it, when you're, when you're hurting 348 00:18:56.259 --> 00:19:00.079 so badly, it takes time to recover. And the best way, 349 00:19:00.099 --> 00:19:01.599 like I said earlier, the best way to do that, 350 00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:05.140 I think is to figure out what your plan is, um, 351 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:07.329 address those things that get in the way, but keep 352 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:10.029 focused on the end prize. What is the North star? 353 00:19:10.089 --> 00:19:12.130 What is the end result? And how do we plan 354 00:19:12.150 --> 00:19:14.789 to get there? And even if that does not take 355 00:19:14.829 --> 00:19:16.509 you as quickly, because there's a lot of ways to 356 00:19:16.569 --> 00:19:20.150 get to that end result quicker, but they're not as stable. 357 00:19:20.490 --> 00:19:23.650 They're not as secure. They're not as, and oftentimes not 358 00:19:23.690 --> 00:19:27.369 as successful. So, you know, make it good, make it fast, 359 00:19:27.410 --> 00:19:30.089 make it cheap, pick two. The same happens when you're 360 00:19:30.109 --> 00:19:32.970 doing a recovery. So when you're doing this kind of recovery, 361 00:19:33.529 --> 00:19:35.170 you are going to have to make, as a park, 362 00:19:35.190 --> 00:19:37.109 they're going to have to make some tough choices. And 363 00:19:37.150 --> 00:19:41.769 I understand that, you know, fans of Great America and 364 00:19:41.789 --> 00:19:45.150 California are very sad to see it leave. I know 365 00:19:45.190 --> 00:19:47.569 some people who actually work for Flags who started in 366 00:19:47.589 --> 00:19:49.549 that park and are very sad to see it leave 367 00:19:49.569 --> 00:19:53.220 the Six Flags. family. But it's, it's sort of like 368 00:19:53.660 --> 00:19:57.000 you have to make those tough choices, um, so that 369 00:19:57.460 --> 00:20:00.700 the corporation as a whole can continue to find its 370 00:20:00.769 --> 00:20:03.349 way out of the dilemma that it is in right now. 371 00:20:03.630 --> 00:20:08.559 Right. Uh, I want to end with some quotes from 372 00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:10.420 John Reilly. And I think the, one of them is 373 00:20:10.529 --> 00:20:12.750 almost exactly what you're saying is guys find it funny. 374 00:20:13.509 --> 00:20:16.970 But so John Reilly said, confidence isn't restored with a statement. 375 00:20:17.369 --> 00:20:19.390 It is earned through action and our leadership team is 376 00:20:19.430 --> 00:20:24.160 committed to earning it. And I think that's, that's basically 377 00:20:24.180 --> 00:20:26.140 what you're saying. It's like, that's exactly what I'm saying. 378 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:29.099 We got to see, it's like, kind of like we've 379 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:31.359 just wanted, it's like, I think that's what also we're saying. 380 00:20:31.380 --> 00:20:33.440 We're like, you know, just the numbers are going to 381 00:20:33.500 --> 00:20:36.369 come out. So you can, Talk all you want on 382 00:20:36.390 --> 00:20:37.990 these earnings calls, but we need to see what's going 383 00:20:38.009 --> 00:20:39.410 to actually happen in the park. And a lot of 384 00:20:39.450 --> 00:20:42.670 our great commenters also call that out where they comment 385 00:20:42.750 --> 00:20:45.410 on how they talk a lot about food, but they 386 00:20:45.430 --> 00:20:48.200 still haven't improved the food quality or the ride times 387 00:20:48.220 --> 00:20:50.559 are still low or the restaurants are still not reopened 388 00:20:50.599 --> 00:20:52.299 or the staffing is still a problem and all that. 389 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:55.049 And it's like, well, that's what it's just going to 390 00:20:55.069 --> 00:20:56.769 be proved through what they're going to actually do in 391 00:20:56.809 --> 00:20:57.089 the park. 392 00:20:57.130 --> 00:20:59.250 But I liked that he actually said it. Oh yeah. 393 00:20:59.569 --> 00:21:01.549 Well, the thing is, and I guess, you know, I'm, 394 00:21:01.789 --> 00:21:03.569 I'm really thrilled cause I did not read, I did 395 00:21:03.589 --> 00:21:06.230 not pre-read that quote ahead of time. And, and I'm 396 00:21:06.269 --> 00:21:10.250 really excited. I promise I didn't. And I'm excited though, that, 397 00:21:10.390 --> 00:21:11.970 that we are saying the same things because I do 398 00:21:11.990 --> 00:21:13.230 have a great deal of respect for him. And the 399 00:21:13.269 --> 00:21:15.589 few years that, that he was, that we did work 400 00:21:15.650 --> 00:21:18.369 together or did work in the same park, um, apparently 401 00:21:19.150 --> 00:21:21.769 some of, some of his mentorship rubbed off. So I 402 00:21:21.789 --> 00:21:26.750 feel good about that. And, uh, And I continue to 403 00:21:27.009 --> 00:21:30.630 wish the Flags company well. I hope they continue to 404 00:21:31.609 --> 00:21:34.009 stick to their guns. Don't give up if they're not 405 00:21:34.089 --> 00:21:40.559 seeing the turnaround happen as quickly as they, whoever they are, 406 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:46.740 think it should happen. Because it sounds like they're moving 407 00:21:46.819 --> 00:21:50.759 slowly but surely on the right track. And hopefully, in 408 00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:53.359 my opinion, and this is just an opinion... But in 409 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:57.220 my opinion, their biggest challenge right now is debt. That 410 00:21:57.259 --> 00:22:01.619 is the thing that they can't immediately erase. And they 411 00:22:01.779 --> 00:22:04.680 are rebranding themselves, and rebranding always takes time. 412 00:22:05.380 --> 00:22:05.980 It takes time. 413 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:08.009 Patient is going to be job one. 414 00:22:08.809 --> 00:22:11.710 Right. Yeah, you just have to slowly, like it takes 415 00:22:11.730 --> 00:22:15.089 slowly over time. Okay, so I think that's basically it. 416 00:22:15.269 --> 00:22:20.150 There's just one last thing. He also said, he

also said, 417 00:22:20.849 --> 00:22:23.490 Even in Halloween, we can open earlier. We can stay 418 00:22:23.529 --> 00:22:26.009 open later. We can move into September. I just think 419 00:22:26.029 --> 00:22:28.170 that's great because we've been talking about that as a 420 00:22:28.930 --> 00:22:31.750 big trend. We've been basically beating this drum for a 421 00:22:31.779 --> 00:22:34.559 while about the idea that you really only have at 422 00:22:34.630 --> 00:22:38.460 max two months, two and a half months for Christmas. 423 00:22:38.539 --> 00:22:41.980 You have November, December, and maybe some part in January. 424 00:22:42.500 --> 00:22:47.230 But for Halloween, you can have August, September, October. like 425 00:22:47.470 --> 00:22:49.680 at least three months, you know, because a lot of 426 00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:54.000 places are opening now early August. So that's also been 427 00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:56.299 echoed in his statements about maybe moving some of their 428 00:22:56.319 --> 00:22:58.859 calendars up for October. So I don't know if that's 429 00:22:59.460 --> 00:23:04.259 my little reminder to everybody about the importance of Halloween. 430 00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:08.420 Well, and I think we all understand the importance of 431 00:23:09.339 --> 00:23:12.779 seasonal activations, whether it's Halloween or Christmas. You know, you've 432 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:15.079 heard us say on this show that summer has now 433 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:19.539 become the new shoulder season. Um, and, uh, I, I 434 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:22.519 think the, the only cautionary tale I would throw out 435 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:27.400 there is when Halloween is six months out of the year, 436 00:23:28.059 --> 00:23:31.119 then it no longer commercial and it's going to lose its, 437 00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:33.380 it's going to lose its appeal. So I think we 438 00:23:33.420 --> 00:23:34.819 just have to continue to find that balance. 439 00:23:36.369 --> 00:23:36.529 Right. 440 00:23:37.730 --> 00:23:37.970 Okay. 441 00:23:38.710 --> 00:23:41.490 Well, we have some, a little bit of time for 442 00:23:41.529 --> 00:23:44.329 some other news. I think we, Let's knock out very 443 00:23:44.369 --> 00:23:47.890 quickly and just show the disparity. So United Parks also 444 00:23:47.930 --> 00:23:49.930 reported their earnings in the same week. And I think 445 00:23:49.990 --> 00:23:52.769 it's basically the same earnings call, except I think they 446 00:23:52.789 --> 00:23:58.190 did less stock buybacks. But basically, everything was down, right? 447 00:23:58.269 --> 00:24:04.269 So let's see. Total revenue dropped. And also net income dropped. 448 00:24:04.869 --> 00:24:09.319 And adjusted EBITDA fell 5%. And for the first nine 449 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:13.190 months in 2026, attendance was down 4%. Their income was 450 00:24:13.230 --> 00:24:18.710 down 28% on the 1.6 drops in total revenue. Total 451 00:24:18.750 --> 00:24:22.950 revenue per cap

was up 2.8%, driven by 4.8% higher 452 00:24:23.069 --> 00:24:24.690 in-park spending, so that was fine. 453 00:24:25.190 --> 00:24:27.849 But it's the same. 454 00:24:28.359 --> 00:24:30.259 They also announced, of course, that they are going to 455 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:34.380 delay the Sequest to 2027, which we kind of knew. 456 00:24:34.779 --> 00:24:37.279 They teased they're going to announce a new ride at 457 00:24:37.339 --> 00:24:41.599 IAAPA Expo coming up next week. And they also teased 458 00:24:41.700 --> 00:24:44.299 that they were going to be building something new in 459 00:24:44.740 --> 00:24:49.180 the Middle East, the new partner somewhere in the Middle East. 460 00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:53.380 So it, what was weird to me was the, almost 461 00:24:53.420 --> 00:24:57.779 like the, the disconnect where they were painting this like 462 00:24:57.880 --> 00:25:01.019 a great performance and everything is going well and, and 463 00:25:01.059 --> 00:25:02.259 all this stuff. 464 00:25:02.420 --> 00:25:05.559 But the numbers are just like, they're so bad. It's 465 00:25:05.579 --> 00:25:06.380 just so bad. 466 00:25:06.660 --> 00:25:08.220 And I get the impact spending up and all that 467 00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:11.769 kind of stuff, but like, No, and I think it 468 00:25:11.809 --> 00:25:18.230 kind of reinforces also our hypothesis from the last call, 469 00:25:18.269 --> 00:25:21.549 which is that they're just trying to prepare assets for 470 00:25:21.609 --> 00:25:25.640 sale or they're just trying to consolidate their shares so 471 00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:28.279 that when they sell stuff, they get higher. I mean, 472 00:25:29.579 --> 00:25:32.119 it just doesn't seem like they're concerned at all with 473 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:34.740 the stuff that makes the part. Just looking at these two, 474 00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:37.970 we rag on Six Flags so much and everybody does. 475 00:25:38.500 --> 00:25:40.500 It's always blah, blah, about six o'clock. But just look 476 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:43.019 at the difference in these two earnings calls. You have Riley, 477 00:25:43.079 --> 00:25:46.059 who's apologizing about safety, who has actual plans, talking about 478 00:25:46.099 --> 00:25:48.650 live entertainment and their plan for what they're bringing back 479 00:25:48.670 --> 00:25:51.650 to the parks, et cetera. And then you have United Parks, 480 00:25:51.710 --> 00:25:54.390 where they're still blaming the weather. All the numbers are 481 00:25:54.410 --> 00:25:59.289 going in the wrong direction. And he's just saying that 482 00:25:59.650 --> 00:26:00.869 they're going to delay their rides. 483 00:26:00.910 --> 00:26:04.900 I mean, come on. I mean, it's such a foil. 484 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:05.720 I don't know. Anyway. 485 00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:10.769 Well, no, but I think that's important to recognize. It's 486 00:26:10.809 --> 00:26:16.009 interesting because I was at Hollow Scream at Busch Gardens, 487 00:26:16.410 --> 00:26:19.890 and I was talking to one of the people that 488 00:26:19.910 --> 00:26:21.990 I worked with years and years and years ago when 489 00:26:22.009 --> 00:26:22.769 I was still in the park. 490 00:26:23.490 --> 00:26:23.890 And. 491 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:31.440 They were not particularly pleased about the way things were going. 492 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:34.970 And prior to these announcements being made, Um, they did 493 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:39.539 do a, a team member rollout of, of some of 494 00:26:39.559 --> 00:26:41.539 the things they were going to say. And now the 495 00:26:41.579 --> 00:26:44.740 information's out there. I can talk about it, but basically 496 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:49.079 they said, uh, you know, the only thing that is 497 00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:52.109 up is a slight increase in per cap. 498 00:26:52.710 --> 00:26:52.970 Right. 499 00:26:53.049 --> 00:26:54.769 That's it. But I don't, but I don't get paid 500 00:26:54.809 --> 00:26:55.329 in per cap. 501 00:26:56.089 --> 00:26:56.329 Right. 502 00:26:56.849 --> 00:26:59.839 Was there, was there, was there phrase? And the company 503 00:26:59.880 --> 00:27:02.180 doesn't show profit in per cap. Per cap is a 504 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:05.380 very interesting measurement. It's a measurement of how well you 505 00:27:05.460 --> 00:27:09.400 are doing once guests are there. It can help you 506 00:27:09.740 --> 00:27:13.859 decide where to put signs. It can help you decide 507 00:27:13.940 --> 00:27:16.380 when to offer discounts. It can help you decide where 508 00:27:16.420 --> 00:27:21.829 to place certain revenue generating elements. But per cap is 509 00:27:21.910 --> 00:27:22.970 not a measurement of profit. 510 00:27:23.589 --> 00:27:23.730 No. 511 00:27:24.490 --> 00:27:25.869 And we have to keep that in mind. 512 00:27:29.369 --> 00:27:32.230 Well, tell them that because they seem to be just 513 00:27:33.529 --> 00:27:35.130 over the moon. 514 00:27:35.230 --> 00:27:39.529 But again, this is a cultural thing. This is a 515 00:27:39.589 --> 00:27:43.670 cultural thing. We talk about how hard it is to 516 00:27:43.710 --> 00:27:47.680 change brand. It's even more difficult to change culture. And culturally, 517 00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:51.980 there is an Ivy Tower mentality in these parks because 518 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:59.710 the entire first iteration of Bush Entertainment Corporation... They didn't 519 00:27:59.809 --> 00:28:03.769 have to generate profit. They were a tax write-off for 520 00:28:03.809 --> 00:28:06.849 a beer company. And I know I've oversimplified that. 521 00:28:06.910 --> 00:28:07.170 Yes. 522 00:28:07.210 --> 00:28:08.049 We're going to get comments. 523 00:28:08.089 --> 00:28:08.369 Yes. 524 00:28:08.390 --> 00:28:10.710 People are going to yell at me, but I'm sorry. 525 00:28:10.730 --> 00:28:13.430 I was there at the time and I know exactly 526 00:28:13.470 --> 00:28:17.000 what it was. It was a way to, you know, 527 00:28:17.259

--> 00:28:19.400 when we first, when I first started working for the company, 528 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:23.480 it was making friends as our business, not making profit 529 00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:25.759 as our business, making friends as our business. And if 530 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:28.180 you think back to the quality of the park back 531 00:28:28.220 --> 00:28:30.619 in those days, those of you who are old enough 532 00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:35.089 to remember, uh, you'll recognize that that mentality worked as 533 00:28:35.130 --> 00:28:38.890 far as creating a good product. Um, we were under, 534 00:28:39.089 --> 00:28:44.990 we were developed under the auspices of a very successful brewery, which, 535 00:28:45.269 --> 00:28:48.849 you know, it was less than what was it? The, the, the, 536 00:28:49.910 --> 00:28:53.930 the budgets for, and it was a much smaller portfolio 537 00:28:53.950 --> 00:29:02.150 of parks, but the about 0.75% of the total budget 538 00:29:02.259 --> 00:29:08.559 for all of Anheuser-Busch. So that when you are raised, 539 00:29:08.619 --> 00:29:11.099 when the culture is developed, even though none of those 540 00:29:11.140 --> 00:29:13.559 people are still there, but when the culture is developed 541 00:29:13.579 --> 00:29:16.430 in that way, it takes a long, long time and 542 00:29:16.470 --> 00:29:19.849 a very concerted effort to turn that behemoth of a 543 00:29:19.910 --> 00:29:22.549 ship in a new direction so that it can be profitable. 544 00:29:23.089 --> 00:29:27.109 So And I'm not saying they're being stupid. I'm not 545 00:29:27.150 --> 00:29:29.109 saying they're being dumb. I'm saying this is a cultural 546 00:29:29.230 --> 00:29:35.079 challenge that I think they need to address in hopes 547 00:29:35.140 --> 00:29:38.200 that they can get over these rough numbers because they 548 00:29:38.240 --> 00:29:45.240 are rough numbers. Yeah. Philip's going, that was very nice. 549 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:47.200 They are more than rough numbers. They stink. 550 00:29:48.220 --> 00:29:49.099 Yeah. 551 00:29:49.099 --> 00:29:53.000 4% attendance drop, like 4.7% attendance drop, right? And 10% 552 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:54.440 decrease in income. 553 00:29:54.920 --> 00:29:55.400 That's like. 554 00:29:55.980 --> 00:29:59.619 But yet on the flip side, he's over here say 555 00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:07.880 we're happy to report that during Q3, you know, they're so, yeah. Anyway. Yeah, yeah. 556 00:30:08.269 --> 00:30:10.869 Well, sorry to end on such a bummer note, but 557 00:30:11.029 --> 00:30:14.210 we are out of time. So once again, thank you 558 00:30:14.250 --> 00:30:16.130 all for commenting. Thank you for listening. Thank you for 559 00:30:16.170 --> 00:30:18.740 paying attention. You guys pay more attention to what we 560 00:30:18.779 --> 00:30:21.460 say than we do, I think, sometimes. So we appreciate that. 561 00:30:22.019 --> 00:30:24.259 We appreciate that you hold us accountable. And we also 562 00:30:24.299 --> 00:30:27.609 appreciate that what we say sparks you to share your 563 00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:29.690 opinions and your points of view, even if they differ 564 00:30:29.730 --> 00:30:32.230 from ours. So we appreciate each and every one of 565 00:30:32.269 --> 00:30:34.549 you as listeners. And we hope to see you next 566 00:30:34.609 --> 00:30:36.410 time here on Green Tagged Theme Park in 30.