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United Parks Gave CEO Marc Swanson About $2 Million in Stock on the Same Day Kyle Miller Became President
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United Parks Gave CEO Marc Swanson About $2 Million in Stock on the Same Day Kyle Miller Became President

Michael Travels
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On September 22, the day United Parks & Resorts changed its bylaws to let separate people hold the CEO and President roles and named Kyle Miller President, Chief Executive Officer Marc Swanson received 59,524 restricted stock units. At $33.60 a share, the closing price that day, that works out to almost exactly $2 million.

The grant was disclosed in a Form 4 that Swanson filed with the SEC on Thursday, October 1. United Parks is the parent company of SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando and Discovery Cove, and is based in Orlando.

The lighthouse at the entrance to SeaWorld Orlando

SeaWorld Orlando, one of the parks in the United Parks portfolio. Photo: SeaWorld Orlando media room

What the filing shows

The Form 4 lists a transaction dated September 22, 2026: 59,524 shares of common stock acquired at $0.00, which brings Swanson's direct holdings to 447,454 shares. A footnote says the shares are "restricted stock units issued pursuant to the Issuer's 2025 Omnibus Incentive Plan" and sets out when they vest:

  • 7,440 on December 31, 2026
  • 7,440 on June 30, 2027
  • 7,440 on December 27, 2027
  • 12,401 on each of December 31, 2028, December 31, 2029 and December 31, 2030

Those six tranches add up to 59,523, one unit fewer than the 59,524 reported in the table. The filing does not explain the difference.

Swanson also has to hold on to at least half of the net shares he receives as the units vest, until one year after the final vesting date if he is still employed then, or until the second anniversary of the day he leaves the company.

Bar chart of the vesting schedule for 59,524 restricted stock units: 7,440 units on each of December 31, 2026, June 30, 2027 and December 27, 2027, then 12,401 units on December 31 of 2028, 2029 and 2030

The vesting schedule from the October 1 Form 4. Chart: Parks Magic, from SEC filing data

Where the $2 million figure comes from

The Form 4 gives a share count, not a dollar value. The price comes from Miller's own filing. The September 22 Form 8-K says Miller's one-time stock options carry "an exercise price equal to the stock price of the Company's common stock at the close of trading on the date of grant," and his Form 4 sets that exercise price at $33.60. Multiply Swanson's 59,524 units by $33.60 and you get $2,000,006.

The same arithmetic puts Miller's new restricted stock units, 14,880 of them, at just under $500,000, which matches the "grant date fair value of $500,000" in the 8-K. On that basis, Swanson's grant is four times the size of Miller's restricted stock unit grant, though Miller's package also includes stock options and performance stock units sized at $1,000,000 each.

The price matters for the share count. When some of Swanson's earlier units vested on June 30, his previous Form 4 recorded the shares withheld for taxes at $47.74. The $33.60 close on September 22 was about 30% below that figure. Measured against his December 2025 award, which the proxy values at $3,999,977 for 113,765 units, or about $35.16 a unit, the September price was only about 4% lower.

What the filing does not say

The Form 4 does not say why the award was made. It does not call it a retention award, an inducement or part of a pay review. The September 22 Form 8-K, which spelled out Miller's pay package in detail, says only that "Marc Swanson will continue to serve as the Company's Chief Executive Officer." It does not describe any new award for him.

This is not Swanson's first large restricted stock unit grant. As we noted in our September 24 look at the company's 2026 proxy statement, he received an award sized at $4,000,000 on December 15, 2025. The proxy described that one as an inducement for him to stay with the company longer term. It vests about 12.5% first, then two slices of about 6.25%, then three yearly installments of 25%. The new grant also starts with about 12.5% (7,440 units), but its next two tranches are the same size, followed by three larger yearly installments of 12,401.

The Form 4 does not say whether the new grant is a special award or part of his regular long-term incentive pay. According to the proxy, his 2025 annual long-term incentive award, split 25% stock options and 75% performance-vesting restricted stock units with a target value of $1,800,000, was granted on November 11, 2025.

On timing: the transaction date is September 22, and the Form 4 was signed and filed on October 1, nine days later. Form 4s are generally due within two business days of a transaction, which for a Tuesday, September 22 grant would be Thursday, September 24. Miller's Form 4 for his September 22 grants was filed on September 24. Swanson's previous Form 4, covering a June 30 tax withholding, was filed on September 10, also past its own two-business-day window, which closed July 2.

Sources

Image credits: SeaWorld Orlando entrance lighthouse photo by the SeaWorld Orlando media room. Vesting chart by Parks Magic from SEC filing data.

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