Pursuit (PRSU) Q2 2026 earnings review
Strong Pricing Offsets Weather, But Guidance Raise is an Illusion
Pursuit delivered a record Q2 with revenue up 14% to $133.5M and Adjusted EBITDA growing 10% to $32.7M. The company successfully executed textbook capital recycling: selling the non-core Flyover business at a premium 14.5x multiple while acquiring Eagle Wing Tours at a 6.5x multiple. Despite management touting a $5M increase to full-year Adjusted EBITDA guidance, the core organic business outlook was effectively maintained or slightly lowered when accounting for M&A timing and FX headwinds. The underlying business remains highly resilient, relying on 10% RevPAR growth to offset weather-driven volume declines at attractions.
🐂 Bull Case
Selling Flyover for $75M (14.5x EBITDA) and buying Eagle Wing for C$23.9M (6.5x EBITDA) demonstrates disciplined multiple arbitrage. Pro forma net leverage sits at just ~1.0x, providing massive dry powder.
Same-store RevPAR grew 10% and effective ticket prices grew 6%. Pursuit's 'Category of One' assets in supply-constrained locations continue to command premium pricing regardless of macro noise.
🐻 Bear Case
Attraction visitation was negatively impacted by a higher portion of poor weather days in Q2, contrasting sharply with 2025's 'near ideal' conditions. The business remains highly exposed to environmental factors during its short peak season.
The $5M EBITDA guidance raise is entirely mechanical (holding Flyover longer + new Eagle Wing acquisition), masking the fact that the organic growth outlook was not upgraded despite a 'record' quarter.
⚖️ Verdict: 🟢
Bullish. The core thesis—owning irreplaceable assets with severe supply constraints—is working perfectly. Pursuit is successfully trading high-multiple, non-core assets for high-return, synergetic acquisitions while aggressively buying back stock.
Key Themes
The Guidance 'Raise' Illusion
Management increased FY26 Adjusted EBITDA guidance by $5M. However, the math reveals a stable-to-decelerating core forecast. The +$5M is composed of: +$6M from Flyover (sold later than modeled), +$1.5M from the Eagle Wing acquisition, and -$2M from unfavorable FX. Netting these out, the organic business guidance was actually lowered by ~$0.5M. This contradicts the highly positive 'record quarter' narrative and suggests volume headwinds from poor weather are offsetting pricing gains.
Textbook Multiple Arbitrage
Pursuit's portfolio transformation is accelerating. The company closed the Flyover divestiture at an implied 14.5x EBITDA multiple ($75M). Two weeks prior, it acquired Eagle Wing Tours (marine wildlife experience in Victoria, BC) for C$23.9M at a 6.5x multiple. Selling non-core, lower-margin tech-based attractions to buy high-margin, irreplaceable experiential assets at less than half the multiple is a massive driver of shareholder value.
Pricing Power Offsets Volume Softness
Despite management noting that Q2 attraction visitation was 'negatively impacted by a higher portion of poor weather days,' Revenue still grew 14%. This was driven by aggressive, successful yield management: same-store effective ticket prices grew 6%, and same-store lodging RevPAR surged 10%. The ability to push price when volume falters proves the resilience of their 'Category of One' strategy.
Weather and Environmental Exposure (Macro)
The contrast between Q2 2025 ('near ideal weather') and Q2 2026 ('higher portion of poor weather days') highlights a permanent, unmanageable risk. Because Pursuit generates the vast majority of its profits in Q2 and Q3, a single bad weather pattern or localized event (like the 2024 Jasper wildfires) can materially derail the entire fiscal year.
FX Headwinds
The Canadian dollar continues to pressure reported USD results. Management adjusted its CAD/USD exchange rate assumption down to $0.71, creating a $2M headwind to full-year Adjusted EBITDA. While a weaker CAD makes Canadian destinations more attractive to US travelers (supporting volume), it dilutes the translated profit.
Tabacón Integration Success
The July 2025 acquisition of Tabacón in Costa Rica continues to deliver stronger year-over-year results. Pursuit is already breaking ground on its first organic growth project there—three new premium villas. This proves the company can successfully export its 'Refresh, Build, Buy' playbook outside of North America and into year-round, counter-seasonal markets.
Other KPIs
Stable. Adjusted for the Flyover sale and Eagle Wing acquisition, leverage sits at roughly 1.0x, dramatically below management's target range of 2.0x to 3.5x. With total liquidity at $220 million, Pursuit is heavily under-levered and primed for further M&A or accelerated buybacks.
Accelerating. The company bought back $7.5M in Q2, bringing the total to $43M at an average price of $35.72. They still have $57M remaining on their authorization, providing a hard floor under the stock price.
Stable. SG&A grew only 5.9% YoY in Q2, well below the 14.3% revenue growth, demonstrating strong cost control and operational leverage as new assets scale.
Guidance
Accelerating. Implies roughly 7.2% YoY growth vs FY25 ($452.4M). Excluding Flyover, revenue is guided to $460M, reflecting strong underlying momentum fueled by Tabacón, Eagle Wing, and yield growth.
Accelerating. The $133M midpoint implies 13.5% YoY growth vs FY25 ($117.1M). Excluding Flyover, the base business is expected to generate $121M to $131M, showing healthy margin expansion on the core portfolio.
Accelerating significantly from $75M in FY25. This includes $70-$80M in Growth Capex dedicated to high-return organic projects like the Jasper SkyTram and Banff Gondola enhancements. Management expects these to yield sub-7x EBITDA multiples upon completion.
Key Questions
Volume vs Pricing Dynamics
You noted poor weather impacted Q2 attraction visitation. Can you quantify the specific YoY traffic decline at legacy attractions versus the pricing offset, and how is visitation trending in the early weeks of the critical Q3 peak season?
Leverage Deployment
With pro forma net leverage at 1.0x and a target of 2.0x to 3.5x, you have substantial balance sheet capacity. In the current M&A environment, are you seeing more opportunities for 'bolt-on' acquisitions like Eagle Wing, or larger foundational platforms like Tabacón?
Eagle Wing Integration
Eagle Wing Tours expands you into the Vancouver Island market. How quickly do you expect to deploy growth capital into this specific asset, and what is the realistic capacity expansion potential for marine wildlife tours compared to your terrestrial assets?