Six Flags is confronting both a reputational crisis and a financial one following the death of a parkgoer at its Georgia property. Shares of the theme park operator dropped sharply when markets opened on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, according to Forbes, which reported the decline reached the company's lowest level since 2009.
Forbes reported that Six Flags stock dipped below $10 per share at one point during the session and remained down more than 14 percent just before the market closed for the day.
The selloff followed the death of Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, who was killed after being ejected from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday. The incident occurred one day before the steep market reaction.
In the aftermath of the fatality, nine roller coasters across six of the company's theme parks were shut down. The investigation into the circumstances of the death remains ongoing.
The scale of the shutdown — nine coasters spanning six parks — signals that the company is applying heightened scrutiny to ride safety well beyond the single attraction involved in the incident. For a business whose revenue depends on public confidence in ride safety, the combination of a widely reported death and a multi-park shutdown represents a significant operational and financial challenge.
The stock's slide to its lowest point since 2009 underscores how severely investors reacted to the news. The $10-per-share threshold and the double-digit percentage decline reflect the market's assessment of the potential costs — from litigation and regulatory review to lost attendance — that could follow the tragedy.
Six Flags has not yet issued a public statement on the financial impact or on when the shuttered coasters will reopen. The investigation into Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem's death continues.