Six Flags posts net loss of $100 million in second quarter
Posted
From the press release:
- Net revenues totaled $930 million, $389 million of which relates to the legacy Six Flags operations added in the merger.
- Net loss attributable to Six Flags Entertainment Corporation was $100 million, which included a net loss of $126 million from legacy Six Flags operations added in the merger.
- Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter totaled $243 million, $62 million of which relates to the legacy Six Flags operations added in the merger.
- Attendance totaled 14.2 million guests, 6.3 million of whom attended legacy Six Flags parks added in the merger. Combined attendance of 14.2 million guests was down 9% or 1.4 million visits compared to the second quarter last year.
- In-park per capita spending was $62.46, including admissions per capita spending of $34.19 and per capita spending on in-park products of $28.27.
- Out-of-park revenues totaled $72 million, $15 million of which relates to legacy Six Flags operations added in the merger.
- The active pass base(which reflects total outstanding and active season passes and memberships), totaled approximately 6.7 million units as of June 29, 2025, down approximately 579,000 units or 8% compared to combined active pass base for legacy Cedar Fair and legacy Six Flags at the end of the second quarter last year.
Setting up a lot of "Six Flags was worse than we thought" excuses.
I'd love to know how many of those 579K season pass losses were folks who held both, and cancelled one of them (I certainly did).
Wow, this is extraordinarily bad. And what's interesting is the legacy break out. Sure, old SF was bad, but they managed to tank the Cedar Parks as well. But we have the admissions number we've all wanted... $34.19 per visit. That strikes me as insanely low.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
I haven't read all of it yet, but it's really really bad.
We've all read anecdotes about how the parks weren't full this year (blame it on weather, etc.), but these kinds of numbers will lead to serious knee jerk reactions. None of those will improve the guest experience for 2026.
And here it is, in the update section:
"Evaluating divestiture of non-core assets to accelerate deleveraging".
This would imply that they're looking at things that haven't been announced yet. I'm starting to worry about Michigan's Adventure (given the operational changes there this summer).
What else is on the block, Lake George?
They have cost cut so much. They have chased off customers and affected their revenue. This includes closing entire parks ahead of the schedule time advertised. Poor operations ( to promote fast lane revenue). Cutting out entire advertised events . Cutting live entertainment. Mass ride removals. It all provides a bad customer experience and people are not returning.
Plus, there’s a bigger problem of only chasing two types of customers and the amount of money it would take to start obtaining moderate attraction customers who have better disposable incomes
unfortunately, I don’t see this company changing its path because reversing all of this is going to require spending money on something other than a big shiny new ride. It’s going to require investing in employees, right maintenance, and keeping the parks open as advertised even if it’s a losing day. It’s just not going to happen because they don’t have the resources.
Where is this going to end up? More closed parks sold for the real estate? Bankruptcy? This fire sale on season passes isn’t going to do anything to increase revenue in the long run if the experience is still bad and I feel the experience is going to be worse.
I don't have the time to look now, but one thing that seemed a bit scary to me is having $107MM in cash on hand, and $400MM available in remaining credit facilities.
I don't know the comparison to this same date in prior years, but that cash number seems low, given that they should be in the cash generation period of the calendar. (Yes I know that July is the big month, and the fall events are cash printing machines). However, this just feels low.
This is what a $1,050,000 salary and a $1,202,925 bonus + additional compensation gets you.
The company will downsize to a core 15-16 parks based on repeated comments by Witherow. Let the guessing game begin which parks go.
Pretty ugly quarter. Let's see if they can re-bound in Q3.
It will be interesting what the plan will be going forward and who is going to take over as CEO.
With the all parks passport, I am wondering if this is going to cut into Knotts / SFMM pass holders. (Reminds me of GL/SFOh and Sea World)?
How much of the GP is renewing their passes for 2026? I feel like they are back to giving away the gate and I don't see this as a viable plan going forward. $34.19 can't be sustainable.
I would like to know what parks are fall under 'Non-core Assets'?
Both Zimmerman and Witherow have mentioned this is a “volume business” which says to me they will keep the gate low, hit the consumer with in-park pricing hikes, and go down the path of legacy SF that created the mess those parks are. Witherow also said “base-level staffing” is the strategy which is both a result of challenging hiring conditions but also a move to maintain the guest experience with way less staff (ie. entertainment cuts, no parades, more animatronics vs. cast members at Halloween, etc.) All I can say is best of luck!
Witherow stated Cedar Point went from 120,000 passes to 400,000 with price cuts. Kind of unclear what pass type because he was talking about prior Platinum passes vs. the pass structure today but it shows why they are doubling down on volume strategy-low entry pricing with higher in-park costs.
Zimmerman sounded slightly defeated to me towards the end. Bassoul absolutely must be terminated as Chairman of the Board and his compensation axed. Won’t happen because of our culture in corporate America but this mess is his making and he should be held accountable.
Mforcebob:
With the all parks passport, I am wondering if this is going to cut into Knotts / SFMM pass holders. (Reminds me of GL/SFOh and Sea World)?
raises hand. I had both, now dropped to one, and saved $200+ bucks.
Why do they think the volume strategy will work? I mean, volume at a higher gate, sure, that will work. Trying to invent a new business model when you have working models in front of you is totally bizarre.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
Volume, as an overall focus strategy, never worked for us. Volume, this late in the season as a strategy to close out a season, is beneficial. Way back in the day it was understood there has to be a base floor somewhere, legacy CF knew that but it seems the legacy SF culture is where the “great business minds” are at. Good luck to them! lol
Brian Witherow has been around since the Kinzel days. It's weird to hear him talk now as if he wrote the legacy Six Flags playbook.
How the hell did I miss Zimmerman's departure notice:
Six Flags (FUN) Entertainment announced that Richard A. Zimmerman, president and CEO and member of the Six Flags Board of Directors will step down as the Company’s president and CEO by the end of 2025. To ensure leadership continuity and a smooth transition, Zimmerman will continue to serve as president and CEO until the Board has appointed a successor. He will also continue to serve as a director on the Company’s Board. The Six Flags Board of Directors has initiated a process to identify the Company’s next CEO with the assistance of a leading global executive search firm, and both internal and external candidates will be considered.
You must be logged in to post
