CEO of Carowinds parent company to step down amid 2Q net loss, lower attendance
The CEO of Six Flags Entertainment, parent company to Carowinds, is stepping down amid significant revenue losses and a slump in attendance at its amusement parks.
Six Flags CEO and President Richard Zimmerman will depart by the end of the year, the Charlotte-based company announced Wednesday ahead of its second-quarter earnings call.
Zimmerman has been CEO of Six Flags since the $8-billion merger last year with Carowinds’ longtime owner, Cedar Fair. Zimmerman was Cedar Fair’s CEO at the time.
The announcement came the same day Six Flags detailed a net loss of $100 million in the second quarter. Officials cited bad weather, including hurricanes and heat, as a contributing factor.
Net revenue in the second quarter of 2025 increased to $930 million, compared to $572 million for the same period last year, due to newly merged Six Flags operations.
Meanwhile, overall park attendance dropped by 9%, with about 1.4 million fewer visitors. Six Flags had 14.2 million visits compared to 15.6 million for the same quarter last year.
The company did not provide statistics for individual amusement parks.
Six Flags said 379 out of 2,042 operating days across the company were impacted by weather, and there were 49 days where some parks closed entirely. About 60% of the weather-impacted days happened on high attendance days of Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
“These conditions impacted park operations, guest visitation and season pass sales during the critical months of May and June,” the company stated in its earnings report said. “Weather conditions were particularly disruptive during the final six weeks of the quarter.”
Over the past four weeks, combined attendance was up more than 300,000 visits or 4% on a year-over-year basis, Zimmerman said, highlighting an increase of more than 290,000 visits, or a 5% hike, at Six Flag’s 15 largest locations, which includes Carowinds.
Carowinds is a 400-acre amusement park that straddles the North Carolina and South Carolina border in Charlotte and Fort Mill, S.C. It’s the largest amusement park in the Carolinas, and the only one in either state on Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best list for water and amusement parks nationwide.
Zimmerman will remain on Six Flags’ board. Last year, his total compensation was $9.1 million, according to SEC documents.
The company has already begun looking for his replacement, and Zimmerman will remain until that person is appointed by the board.
“The board and I have decided that now is the right time to begin the process of finding our company’s next leader,” Zimmerman said on the earnings call with analysts. “Someone who will build on the progress we’ve made so far and propel Six Flags to its full potential.”
About Six Flags and its CEO
This is the first season for Carowinds operating under Six Flags Entertainment. In July 2024, Carowinds’ longtime owner Cedar Fair, based in Sandusky, Ohio, merged with Six Flags, then based in Arlington, Texas.
As part of the plan, Cedar Fair CEO Zimmerman was named president and chief executive officer of the combined company. With 38 years of entertainment industry experience, Zimmerman had been Cedar Fair CEO since 2018.
Six Flags CEO Selim Bassoul was named executive chairman of the combined company’s board of directors, made up of 12 directors, six from Cedar Fair’s board and six from Six Flags’ board.
Formerly based in Arlington, Texas, Six Flags is now headquartered at 8701 Red Oak Blvd., Charlotte, about 5 miles northeast of Carowinds.
Twice this year, Carowinds has laid off an undisclosed number of employees.
In May, the company confirmed it was reducing its full-time staff systemwide by over 10%. In January, Carowinds confirmed a round of layoffs due to a “strategic decision” that required “restructuring of some roles.”
Changes at Carowinds
This month, Six Flags announced that 2026 season pass holders will be able to enter any of its 42 amusement and water parks in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Last November, Six Flags said it would invest over two years more than $1 billion at its 42 theme parks on upgrades, including new restaurants and menus.
As part of the park’s larger plan to make way for new attractions, three rides at Carowinds — Nighthawk roller coaster, Scream Weaver and Drop Tower — were removed before reopening this year.
New attractions include a 27,280-square-foot adults-only swim-up bar called Carolina Harbor Shore Club, which debuted in Carolina Harbor Waterpark this season. It’s the first time Carowinds has provided an adults-only experience.
Two more new attractions — a roller coaster and an interactive raft ride — also opened in Carowinds’ children’s area called Camp Snoopy.
The new family roller coaster, Snoopy’s Racing Railway family roller coaster opened in June, followed in July by Charlie Brown’s River Raft Blast, an eight-seat boat with on-board and onshore water cannons so riders can spray other boats while navigating the 415-foot river channel.
Camp Snoopy also has a new splash play area and remodeled store for meet-and-greets with Peanuts costume characters.
Next year, a “record-breaking water ride” is planned at Carowinds. Details about the ride have not been released.
This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 2:15 PM.
