Six Flags Entertainment Corporation Common Stock New

Good morning, everyone.

My name is Ellie, and I will be your conference operator today.

providing an update on select balance sheet items as well as early performance indicators for the season ahead. For the fourth quarter, we are in the middle of our guidance range, delivering adjusted EBITDA of $165 million on attendance of 9.3 million guests and revenues of $650 million. Two dynamics impacted the quarter. First, results for the quarter were up against a record performance in October of 2024, which we discussed on our last earnings call. Secondly, operating days and the winter holiday calendar mattered a lot. We operated 779 days in the fourth quarter of 2025 versus 878 days last year. As was expected, and as we discussed last quarter, a significant portion of the decline in operating days reflects our decision not to operate winter holiday events at four parks, a decision that was made earlier in the year. In hindsight, that decision did not optimize profits at every part the way we needed it to. Those events can be meaningful demand drivers, and removing them created a self-inflicted headwind in terms of both attendance and operating leverage. We're taking that learning directly into our planning for 2026, and we will rethink the winter holiday strategy with a tighter returns-driven approach, market by market, rather than applying a broad brush. And while weather created variability in the quarter with 15 park closure days versus three last year, the more significant impact on demand was our decision to eliminate the winter holiday events, which created an attendance headwind of approximately 425,000 visits. At the same time during the quarter, spending by guests visiting our parks was strong. Per capita spending was up year over year, supported by higher guest spending on admissions and on in-park products. That matters because it reinforces that when guests get through the gates, there is clear opportunity to drive revenue and profitability through better execution, including higher throughput, better staffing alignment, efficient food and beverage operations, and overall guest flow. For the full year, we produced net revenues of $3.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $792 million, while entertaining 47.4 million guests, and delivering per capita spending of $61.90. Similar to the quarter, the year reflects a mix of strong guest spending and execution gaps that impacted attendance and operating efficiency, particularly around the operating calendar. We're using those outcomes as inputs into a tighter operating plan for the upcoming season with a focus on consistency and repeatability across the portfolio. As we noted on our last earnings call, this past season taught us a lot. It proved to be a tale of two cohorts. Our best performing parks overcame their operating challenges. And in several instances, parks delivered record or near record years. At the same time, there were other parks in our portfolio that weren't as well positioned to withstand the operating challenges. The stark difference in park performance reinforces the notion that some of the profitability challenges we faced in 2025 were episodic and execution related. rather than structural or systemic in nature. This distinction matters as we strategize our path forward. Turning briefly to the balance sheet, in early January, we completed a significantly oversubscribed refinancing of our April 2027 notes at attractive rates. It's an important step in strengthening our capital structure and increasing financial flexibility as we focus on execution and performance. We have substantial covenant cushion, extended maturities, and a clear deleveraging framework. Our leverage reflects 2025 depressed EBITDA, not structural over-indebtedness. Touching quickly on our longer lead indicators, at year end, deferred revenues were up approximately 1%, driven primarily by higher advanced sales of single-day tickets and increased deposits from our group business channel. More importantly, sales trends of season passes and memberships have accelerated since year end. supported by our new season pass architecture that includes guest access to multiple parks via newly designed regional pass products. While this represents a small sample size, the improved sales from the past few weeks are an indication that the strategic changes we've made are resonating with consumers. We're entering the most important part of the selling season with improving momentum, clearer offerings, and a stronger platform to convert demand into park visits. a dynamic John will speak to in more detail in just a moment. Lastly, while we are not issuing formal guidance, our internal plans for the season ahead are built around improving revenue and cash flow relative to 2025. With that, let me turn the call back to John.