Vail Resorts faces a contested board election on Dec. 14, with Oasis Management Company Ltd. and a shareholder seeking seats as the ski operator confronts weaker annual earnings and lower pass sales.
The company is asking shareholders to elect its nine director nominees. Oasis put forward Robert A. Chapek, former CEO of The Walt Disney Company; M. Ashton Hudson, partner at Value Acquisition Fund and founder and chairman of Riverwood Asset Management; Bryce Roberts, founder and managing director of INDIE Enterprises and co-founder and managing director of O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures; and Picabo Street, a retired Olympic alpine skier and 1998 gold medalist. Shareholder Gregory Syvert Meyer also nominated himself.
The virtual meeting is set for 11 a.m. ET (9 a.m. Mountain Time). Shareholders of record at the close of business Oct. 19 may vote.
Net income attributable to Vail Resorts was $147.5 million in fiscal 2026, ended July 31, compared with $280 million the previous year. Resort Reported EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, fell 11.7% to $745.7 million from $844.1 million. Vail's results release cited weather-related effects on visits and revenue, especially at its Rockies and Tahoe resorts.
Oasis's Oct. 13 preliminary proxy said its group beneficially owned 3,431,293 Vail shares, or about 9.6% of the outstanding common stock. Its filing calculated total shareholder returns of negative 11% over one year, negative 39% over three years and negative 50% over five years through June 17, 2026. Oasis argues that Vail needs closer board oversight and greater attention to guest experience, pricing, marketing and use of its resorts.
Vail's board questions whether the dissident candidates have the experience it believes is needed to oversee its plans and says a board shake-up could disrupt its strategy. It points to changes in marketing, new pass and lift-ticket products and its Epic Experience strategy. The board also says guest satisfaction reached a record, lift-ticket market share increased and pass sales for the coming season were outperforming the industry.
A separate year-over-year measure in Vail's results release showed pass product unit sales for the 2026-27 North American ski season through Sept. 18 were down about 12% from the comparable period through Sept. 19, 2025. Oasis said it would pay its solicitation costs and may seek reimbursement if its nominees are elected. Vail plans to reduce its board to nine members at the annual meeting and, after a search expected to finish in early 2027, increase it to 10. Shareholders will decide the slates at the Dec. 14 meeting.
