Six Flags stock tumbles as big attendance miss leads to surprise revenue decline

Shares of Six Flags Entertainment Corp.
SIX,
+5.78%
tumbled 8.8% in premarket trading Thursday, after the theme park operator reported second-quarter profit and revenue that fell well below expectations, as a big attendance miss offset higher spending per guest. Net income fell to $45.4 million, or 53 cents a share, from $70.5 million, or 81 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was $1.01. Revenue surprisingly fell, by 5.3% to $435.4 million from $459.8 million, while the FactSet consensus was for a rise to $518.5 million. Attendance dropped 21.2% to 6.7 million, well below the FactSet consensus of 8.2 million. “The decrease in attendance was net of a favorable visitation shift of approximately 200 thousand guests from first quarter to second quarter 2022 due to the later timing of the Easter holiday in 2022, which impacted operating calendars as a result of schools scheduling spring-break vacations in the second quarter of 2022 versus the first quarter in 2021,” the company said. Meanwhile, total guest spending per capita increased 23.0% to $63.87, as admissions spending grew 26.7% to $36.35 and in-park spending increased 18.3% to $27.52. The stock has dropped 13.1% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+2.13%
has rallied 7.0%.