Vail Resorts, Inc. vs SPHERE ENTERTAINMENT CO., two Entertainment stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Vail runs ski resorts; Sphere Entertainment runs the Las Vegas Sphere venue and MSG Networks. Both are built around fixed physical assets, but the balance sheets differ sharply, Vail levered at 3.3 times equity, Sphere light at 0.36. Vail earns more on equity, 17.12% to Sphere's 5.33%, and keeps a thinner but comparable net margin, 5.54% against 9.04%. Sphere converts better to cash, a 6.13% free cash yield against Vail's 3.56%, though Vail pays a 6.43% dividend where Sphere pays none. By size the two are near each other, $4.9 billion and $6.1 billion. A seasonal, debt-heavy resort against a young single-venue operator.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | MTN | SPHR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $150.34 | $148.34 |
| Market cap | $5.4B | $5.3B |
| Sector | Entertainment | Entertainment |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -4.1% | — |
| P/E | 32.4 | 50.0 |
| P/B | 5.86 | 2.37 |
| P/S | 1.89 | 4.01 |
| EV/EBITDA | 11.0 | 28.6 |
| Revenue growth | -1.3% | +10.9% |
| Operating margin | 41.0% | 1.9% |
| Net margin | 5.5% | 9.0% |
| Return on equity | 17.1% | 5.3% |
| Return on assets | 2.8% | 2.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 8.3% | -3.7% |
| FCF yield | 3.3% | 7.0% |
| Dividend yield | 5.9% | — |
| Debt / equity | 3.30 | 0.36 |
| Current ratio | 0.91 | 1.22 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.64 | 1.92 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.