What are the key operating metrics for theme park companies?

Attendance: total guest count across all parks annually; the primary volume driver; Six Flags entity approximately 50M+; SeaWorld approximately 25M. Per capita guest spending (revenue per guest): total revenue divided by total attendance; includes admission, food and beverages, merchandise, and premium experiences; SEAS approximately $90-110/guest; SIX approximately $70-90/guest. Season pass penetration: percentage of attendance from season pass or membership holders; higher season pass penetration provides more predictable recurring revenue but lower per-visit admission capture; regional parks typically 40-60% season pass. Net revenue per guest: the per capita after subtracting the allocated cost of season pass redemptions. Adjusted EBITDA margin: the primary profitability metric for theme parks; SEAS approximately 25-30% EBITDA margin; SIX combined entity targeting 35%+ EBITDA margin with synergies. New attraction ROI: new major attractions (roller coasters cost $20-50M+) drive attendance and per-capita spending in their opening year; operators track attendance lift and revenue per dollar invested in new attractions.

What is Busch Gardens and how does it differ from SeaWorld parks?

Busch Gardens theme park concept: Busch Gardens began as a hospitality attraction at the Busch brewery in Tampa (1959) — originally a walking tour of the brewery surrounded by bird gardens and live animal exhibits; it evolved into a full theme park that today features roller coasters, live entertainment, and an African wildlife-themed animal safari, all on 300+ acres. The Busch Gardens difference from SeaWorld: SeaWorld Orlando/San Diego/San Antonio focus primarily on marine animals (orcas, dolphins, sea lions, penguins) with aquatic attractions and water shows; Busch Gardens Tampa/Williamsburg focus on African wildlife (giraffes, hippos, elephants, cheetahs visible from the park and from roller coasters) plus major roller coasters; the animal experience at Busch Gardens is a terrestrial safari/zoo hybrid rather than a marine focus. Overlap: both SeaWorld and Busch Gardens are now owned by SeaWorld Entertainment; both emphasize live animal experiences alongside rides; both market to families wanting both entertainment and wildlife education. The Busch Gardens coaster credibility: Busch Gardens Tampa is known for its excellent roller coaster collection — Montu (inverted B&M coaster), Cheetah Hunt (family-friendly launched coaster), Iron Gwazi (hybrid RMC coaster among the world's best), and Tigris (launched coaster); this coaster quality draws enthusiasts who might not choose SeaWorld's more marine-focused parks.

How do regional amusement parks generate revenue beyond gate admission?

Regional theme park revenue streams: gate admission (the primary revenue): single-day tickets at major regional parks cost $50-80+ at the gate (less if purchased online in advance); season passes ($50-150/season) are the most common purchase for local guests, often matching or exceeding one single-day ticket price; premium pass tiers ($100-300) add parking, dining credits, and priority access. In-park food and beverage: food costs at theme parks are premium-priced (a hamburger and drink at Six Flags might cost $25-30); food and beverage represents approximately 20-25% of in-park revenue per guest; all-day dining passes ($30-50 add-on) upsell enthusiasts into prepaid dining that drives in-park food purchase. Merchandise: branded souvenirs, photo packages, and character merchandise; typically 15-20% of in-park spending. Premium experiences: quick-queue/front-of-line access (Flash Pass or similar virtual queue systems charging $30-100+ per person per day); character dining experiences; VIP tour packages; backstage animal encounters at SeaWorld ($40-100 add-on for dolphin touch or behind-the-scenes tours). Parking: separate parking fees ($25-35/day) are common; season parking passes are sold. Hotels (at destination parks): Cedar Point Hotel Breakers, Knott's Berry Farm Hotel, and SeaWorld Discovery Cove resort generate accommodation revenue at higher margins than gate admission for guests who stay on property for multi-day visits.

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SEAS

SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. · Consumer Discretionary - Theme Parks & Marine Entertainment

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N/A this month

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SIX

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation · Consumer Discretionary - Regional Amusement Parks

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Scoreboard verdict

Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin

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MIXED SETUP

Comparison scoreboard

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AI Score

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Target Up.

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Op. Margin

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Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026

Quick take

SEAS vs SIX Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside

SEAS (SeaWorld) and SIX (Six Flags, merged with Cedar Fair) are both regional theme park operators but with fundamentally different park identities — SeaWorld offers marine animal encounters, conservation education, and Busch Gardens thrill rides across 12 parks in mostly Sun Belt markets, while Six Flags operates 53 parks nationally with thrill ride focus, Cedar Point as a destination asset, and $120M+ in merger synergies underway.

SEAS vs SIX is niche marine entertainment brand with conservation differentiation and premium pricing at select venues (SeaWorld's dolphin encounters, Discovery Cove's $300+ day resort, and Busch Gardens' wildlife-coaster hybrid positioning — facing Orlando competition from Disney/Universal) versus the world's largest regional park network executing a major post-merger integration (Six Flags/Cedar Fair's 53-park portfolio leveraging national scale, Cedar Point marquee asset, and procurement synergies — managing high leverage while maintaining guest experience quality across a massive portfolio) — differentiated marine experience versus regional park scale.

Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026

SEAS and SIX are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly.

Normalized 1Y performance

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Recent returns

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Analyst price targets & sentiment

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Price target data unavailable

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Price target data unavailable

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Who should consider this stock?

SEAS may suit investors who:

→Value SeaWorld's unique marine animal exhibit and conservation positioning as providing durable experiential differentiation that Six Flags parks cannot easily replicate
→See Discovery Cove's extreme pricing power ($300-400/day for exclusive dolphin swim) as a proof point for SeaWorld's ability to monetize premium experiences beyond standard theme park admission
→Believe SeaWorld's Busch Gardens parks (Tampa, Williamsburg) provide valuable roller coaster and wildlife hybrid experiences that appeal to families who want both thrill rides and animal encounters

SIX may suit investors who:

→Believe the Six Flags/Cedar Fair merger will generate the targeted $120M+ in annual synergies, materially improving combined EBITDA margins beyond what either standalone company could achieve
→Value Cedar Point as one of the world's premier amusement parks — a destination asset that generates out-of-market visitation unlike typical regional parks
→See the national season pass opportunity as creating recurring revenue loyalty that benefits the combined entity disproportionately versus smaller regional park operators with fewer parks to offer as season pass venues

Performance & AI score

Metric	SEAS	SIX
AI score	N/A	N/A
AI rank	N/A	N/A
Latest close	N/A	N/A
1M return	N/A	N/A
6M return	N/A	N/A
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$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)

How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?

Period	SEAS	SIX

Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.

Valuation & upside potential

Metric	SEAS	SIX
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Trailing P/E	N/A	N/A
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Price/Sales	1.76	1.89
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Growth, profitability & risk

Metric	SEAS	SIX
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ROIC proxy	N/A	N/A
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Dividend yield	N/A	N/A
Beta	1.36	2.00
Debt/equity	N/A	N/A
Current ratio	N/A	N/A
Quick ratio	N/A	N/A

Drawdown & downside risk

Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.

1Y risk snapshot

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5Y risk snapshot

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10Y risk snapshot

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Performance metrics by period

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Business comparison

Category	SEAS	SIX
Company	SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc.	Six Flags Entertainment Corporation
Sector	Consumer Discretionary - Theme Parks & Marine Entertainment	Consumer Discretionary - Regional Amusement Parks
Industry	N/A	N/A
Core business	SeaWorld Entertainment operates 12 theme parks across the United States under multiple brand identities: SeaWorld (Orlando, San Diego, San Antonio), Busch Gardens (Tampa, Williamsburg), Aquatica (water parks in multiple cities), Discovery Cove (Orlando exclusive dolphin swim resort), and Adventure Island. SeaWorld's differentiation from pure coaster parks is its marine animal program — live animal exhibits, educational encounters, and conservation programs built around orcas, dolphins, sea lions, penguins, and other marine life. SeaWorld has transitioned from theatrical animal shows to conservation-education focused encounters after the Blackfish controversy. SeaWorld also develops roller coasters and thrill attractions (Mako, Manta, Ice Breaker in Orlando) to compete on thrill rides alongside the marine experience.	Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (formed by the 2024 merger of Six Flags Entertainment Group and Cedar Fair, L.P.) is the world's largest regional amusement park operator with approximately 53 parks across North America. The combined portfolio spans regional thrill ride parks (Six Flags Over Texas, Magic Mountain), iconic destination parks (Cedar Point, Knott's Berry Farm), water parks, and mixed-use entertainment venues. The combined entity serves 50M+ guests annually, making it the second-largest U.S. theme park operator by attendance after Disney. The company is executing on $120M+ in merger synergies while maintaining the distinct identities of its flagship properties.
Investor focus	Investors track SeaWorld's total attendance, per capita spending (admission + in-park food/retail/experiences), season pass and membership revenue, Adjusted EBITDA margins, and capital investment ROI from new attraction openings.	Investors track total attendance across all parks, per capita in-park spending, season pass and membership revenue (a key source of recurring revenue), Adjusted EBITDA, synergy realization timeline, and leverage reduction (debt paydown from merger financing).

SEAS strengths

→Marine animal exhibit differentiation creates unique guest experiences unavailable at competing regional parks — orca encounters, dolphin interactions, penguin exhibits, and sea turtle recovery centers provide educational content that Six Flags parks cannot offer; this differentiation captures families seeking educational entertainment
→Busch Gardens brand (Tampa and Williamsburg) provides SeaWorld exposure to thrill ride guests who might not choose a marine park — Busch Gardens offers roller coasters, animal safari-style wildlife exhibits, and live entertainment; it captures both coaster enthusiasts and animal-experience seekers
→Discovery Cove's premium pricing model demonstrates extraordinary pricing power — Discovery Cove charges $300-400+ per person for a full-day dolphin swimming, snorkeling, and exclusive beach experience; the resort has limited daily capacity (maintained for exclusivity) and consistently books months in advance

SIX strengths

→Scale-based procurement synergies create structural cost advantages versus any standalone regional park operator — buying food, merchandise, uniforms, and capital equipment for 53 parks at once generates negotiating leverage that neither standalone Six Flags nor Cedar Fair alone could achieve
→Cedar Point and Knott's Berry Farm provide destination-level park assets that generate revenue from overnight guests and multi-day visitors — these marquee parks differentiate the portfolio from purely regional day-trip parks and support higher per-capita revenue
→National season pass providing access across 53 parks creates higher-value propositions for enthusiast guests who visit multiple parks annually — a family near Chicago can visit Six Flags Great America and also plan a vacation to Cedar Point with the same season pass

Risks to watch — SEAS

→SeaWorld's core parks face intense competition from Disney and Universal in the Florida market — SeaWorld Orlando's primary guest source overlaps with Disney World and Universal visitors choosing how to allocate Orlando entertainment days; a day at SeaWorld competes with a day at Disney
→Animal welfare concerns remain an ongoing reputational risk — any incident involving captive animals could reignite Blackfish-era boycotts; SeaWorld's brand depends on maintaining its conservation messaging credibility
→Attendance at SeaWorld parks remains below pre-Blackfish peak in some markets — a decade after the documentary, some demographic segments still avoid SeaWorld; full recovery of the pre-Blackfish audience has not been achieved universally

Risks to watch — SIX

→Integration execution risk from combining two distinct operating cultures — Six Flags historically invested less in guest experience; Cedar Fair focused on premium experience and higher per-capita spending; integrating these cultures without degrading Cedar Fair's guest experience quality is the primary near-term risk
→High leverage from merger financing constrains capital allocation flexibility — the combined entity carries approximately $4B+ in net debt; debt service competes with park capital investment for free cash flow
→Regional parks face competition from home entertainment, streaming, and a broadening leisure market — discretionary entertainment spending is divided among more alternatives than ever; regional park operators must continuously invest in new attractions to drive repeat visits

Frequently asked questions

Theme park market tiers: Tier 1 — Disney and Universal: destination parks drawing international and domestic travelers for multi-day vacations; extremely high investment in IP (Disney's Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar; Universal's Harry Potter, Nintendo); average guest travels 500+ miles and stays 4-7 days; per-capita spending $150-300+/day. Tier 2 — Regional destination parks: Cedar Point, Knott's Berry Farm, Busch Gardens, and a handful of others drawing guests 50-300 miles; some overnight stays; coaster enthusiasts plan annual trips; per-capita $80-120/day. Tier 3 — Regional day-trip parks: most Six Flags parks, most SeaWorld parks outside Orlando; guests drive under 2 hours; primarily day-trips; heavy season pass penetration; per-capita $60-90/day. How regional parks compete with Disney: regional parks cannot compete on IP (Disney/Universal own the most powerful entertainment brands globally); regional parks compete on accessibility (close to home, quick day-trip decision), affordability (regional park admission + food is far cheaper than Disney multi-day package), and thrill ride investment (Cedar Point's coaster collection is unmatched by Disney); different occasion — Disney is an event (once-a-year or once-a-childhood bucket list visit); regional parks are recurring (families with season passes visit 4-8 times/summer).

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