Pool Corporation Reports Year End and Fourth Quarter 2025 Results; Provides 2026 Earnings Guidance
Rhea-AI Summary
Pool Corporation (Nasdaq: POOL) reported full-year 2025 results: net sales $5.3B (flat vs. 2024), gross margin 29.7% (20 bps improvement excluding a 2024 tariff reversal) and diluted EPS $10.85 ($10.73 adjusted for ASU 2016-09).
Inventory rose 13% to $1.5B; debt increased $249.1M to $1.2B after $341.1M of open-market share repurchases. 2026 EPS guidance: $10.85–$11.15 (excluding estimated unrealized tax benefits).
Positive
- Net sales stable at $5.3B year-over-year
- Gross margin improved 20 bps excluding 2024 tariff reversal
- 2026 EPS guidance of $10.85–$11.15
- Inventory increase reflects proactive purchasing ahead of price rises
Negative
- Diluted EPS declined 4% to $10.85 in 2025
- Operating income decreased 6% to $580.2M
- Net cash from operations fell to $365.9M from $659.2M
- Total debt rose by $249.1M to $1.2B after buybacks
Market Reaction
Following this news, POOL has declined 8.92%, reflecting a notable negative market reaction. Our momentum scanner has triggered 8 alerts so far, indicating moderate trading interest and price volatility. The stock is currently trading at $232.55. This price movement has removed approximately $931M from the company's valuation.
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Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
POOL’s essentially flat move (-0.05%) contrasts with mixed, mostly modest positive moves in key distributors (e.g., WCC +0.35%, AIT +0.49%, FERG +0.99%), while QXO and WSO are slightly negative, pointing to a company-specific setup.
Previous Earnings Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 23 | Q3 2025 earnings | Positive | +0.9% | Slight sales growth, margin expansion and EPS increase with guidance confirmed. |
| Jul 24 | Q2 2025 earnings | Positive | +3.0% | Net sales and EPS grew, margins held at 30% and guidance was raised slightly. |
| Apr 24 | Q1 2025 earnings | Negative | -6.7% | Sales, net income and EPS declined with margin compression despite steady guidance. |
| Feb 20 | FY 2024 earnings | Negative | +1.0% | Full-year EPS declined 15% but guidance and cash generation remained solid. |
| Oct 24 | Q3 2024 earnings | Negative | +7.6% | Sales and EPS were down, yet guidance was maintained and stock reacted strongly higher. |
Earnings releases often trigger modest moves, with a mix of positive and negative reactions; strong positive price responses have occurred even when headline metrics softened, especially when guidance stability reassured investors.
Over the past five earnings-related releases, POOL has reported largely steady sales with periods of margin resilience and EPS pressure. In 2024, full-year results showed lower EPS but maintained guidance, while Q1–Q3 2025 updates highlighted flat to slightly growing sales, incremental margin improvement, and guidance confirmations or small raises. Price reactions ranged from a -6.66% drop on weaker Q1 2025 trends to a 7.6% gain on Q3 2024 results, indicating that guidance tone and margin signals have been key drivers.
Historical Comparison
Across the last five earnings updates, POOL’s average one-day move was about 1.17%, consistent with generally moderate reactions to changes in sales trends, margins and EPS guidance.
Earnings updates from early 2024 through Q3 2025 show POOL moving from a year of declining EPS toward flatter sales with improving margins and refined guidance ranges. Today’s full-year 2025 results and 2026 EPS outlook continue this progression of emphasizing stable maintenance demand, incremental gross margin gains and disciplined cost control, while acknowledging softer EPS versus prior peaks.
Market Pulse Summary
The stock is down -8.9% following this news. A negative reaction despite relatively stable sales would fit prior episodes when weaker EPS and cash flow weighed on sentiment. Full-year 2025 EPS of $10.85 (or $10.73 excluding ASU 2016-09 benefits) declined versus 2024, while operating cash flow fell to $365.9 million from $659.2 million. Inventory expanded to $1.5 billion and debt to $1.2 billion, which could heighten concerns if demand slows further, even with 2026 EPS guidance of $10.85–$11.15.
Key Terms
asu 2016-09 regulatory
non-gaap financial
adjusted diluted eps financial
adjusted ebitda financial
basis points financial
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
2025 Highlights:
- Annual net sales of
$5.3 billion , consistent with 2024, showing stability with steady maintenance sales and growth in building materials in the back half of the year - Gross margin of
29.7% , representing an improvement of 20 bps over prior year without the impact of the 2024 tariff reversal - 2025 diluted EPS of
$10.85 or$10.73 without ASU 2016-09 tax benefits - Diluted EPS guidance for 2026 of
$10.85 -$11.15 without ASU 2016-09 tax benefits, reflecting expectations for modest sales growth and improved earnings
COVINGTON, La., Feb. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pool Corporation (Nasdaq/GSM:POOL) today announced full year and fourth quarter 2025 results.
“Our 2025 results highlight the differentiation of our customer experience and the depth of our building products portfolio, as well as the stability of our maintenance business and the strength and adaptability of the POOLCORP team. We were encouraged by improving trends for discretionary products in the second half of the year, even with ongoing consumer pressures. Throughout the year, our strategic initiatives remained focused on enhancing our value-added services, supporting industry professionals with our digital platforms and expanding our product offerings. We also maintained disciplined cost management as we navigated an evolving market environment, while continuing to invest in our sales center network and digital ecosystem to sustain our industry-leading position. These efforts are guided by our long-term strategy, positioning us to deliver returns for our shareholders while laying a solid foundation for future performance,” said Peter D. Arvan, president and CEO.
Year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024
Net sales were
Gross margin was
Selling and administrative expenses (operating expenses) increased
Operating income of
Net income decreased to
Earnings per diluted share declined
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
Our inventory balance increased
Net cash provided by operations was
Fourth quarter ended December 31, 2025 compared to the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024
Net sales decreased
Operating expenses increased
Net income decreased to
Earnings per diluted share decreased
2026 Outlook
“The POOLCORP team continues to support our customers while growing the outdoor living industry, building on the reputation that has distinguished us over the past 30 years as a publicly-traded company. The strength of our business is a direct result of the incredible dedication of our employees, the trust of our customers and our long-standing partnerships with our vendors. Looking forward, we’re focused on driving sustainable growth through innovation and disciplined execution. We expect earnings for 2026 to be in the range of
Our 2026 guidance does not include any estimated unrealized tax benefits related to stock option exercises, stock option expirations or restricted stock award vestings occurring in 2026.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release refers to our adjusted diluted EPS, and from time to time, we also reference our adjusted EBITDA when communicating with investors. Both of these are non-GAAP measures. See the addendum to this release for definitions of our non-GAAP measures and reconciliations of our non-GAAP measures to GAAP measures.
About Pool Corporation
POOLCORP is the world’s largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool and related backyard products. As of December 31, 2025, POOLCORP operated 456 sales centers in North America, Europe and Australia, through which it distributes more than 200,000 products to roughly 125,000 wholesale customers. For more information, please visit www.poolcorp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes “forward-looking” statements that involve risks and uncertainties that are generally identifiable through the use of words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “may,” “outlook,” and other words and similar expressions and include projections of earnings. The forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as they occur. Actual results may differ materially due to a variety of factors, including the sensitivity of our business to weather conditions; changes in economic conditions, consumer discretionary spending, the housing market, inflation or interest rates; our ability to maintain favorable relationships with suppliers and manufacturers; competition from other leisure product alternatives or mass merchants; our ability to continue to execute our growth strategies; changes in the regulatory environment; new or additional taxes, duties or tariffs; excess tax benefits or deficiencies recognized under ASU 2016-09 and other risks detailed in POOLCORP’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K, 2025 Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other reports and filings filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as updated by POOLCORP’s subsequent filings with the SEC.
Kristin S. Byars
Director, Investor Relations and Finance
985.801.5153
kristin.byars@poolcorp.com
| POOL CORPORATION Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) (In thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Year Ended | |||||||||||||||
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024(1) | |||||||||||||
| Net sales | $ | 982,209 | $ | 987,480 | $ | 5,289,396 | $ | 5,310,953 | ||||||||
| Cost of sales | 686,464 | 697,236 | 3,716,938 | 3,735,606 | ||||||||||||
| Gross profit | 295,745 | 290,244 | 1,572,458 | 1,575,347 | ||||||||||||
| Percent | 30.1 | % | 29.4 | % | 29.7 | % | 29.7 | % | ||||||||
| Selling and administrative expenses | 243,737 | 229,593 | 992,254 | 958,143 | ||||||||||||
| Operating income | 52,008 | 60,651 | 580,204 | 617,204 | ||||||||||||
| Percent | 5.3 | % | 6.1 | % | 11.0 | % | 11.6 | % | ||||||||
| Interest and other non-operating expenses, net | 11,383 | 10,433 | 46,770 | 50,250 | ||||||||||||
| Income before income taxes and equity in earnings | 40,625 | 50,218 | 533,434 | 566,954 | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 9,084 | 12,945 | 127,132 | 132,836 | ||||||||||||
| Equity in earnings of unconsolidated investments, net | 46 | 27 | 102 | 207 | ||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 31,587 | $ | 37,300 | $ | 406,404 | $ | 434,325 | ||||||||
| Earnings per share attributable to common stockholders:(2) | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic | $ | 0.85 | $ | 0.98 | $ | 10.89 | $ | 11.37 | ||||||||
| Diluted | $ | 0.85 | $ | 0.98 | $ | 10.85 | $ | 11.30 | ||||||||
| Weighted average common shares outstanding: | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic | 36,783 | 37,718 | 37,149 | 38,007 | ||||||||||||
| Diluted | 36,893 | 37,922 | 37,288 | 38,228 | ||||||||||||
| Cash dividends declared per common share | $ | 1.25 | $ | 1.20 | $ | 4.95 | $ | 4.70 | ||||||||
(1) Derived from audited financial statements.
(2) Earnings per share under the two-class method is calculated using net income attributable to common stockholders (net income reduced by earnings allocated to participating securities), which was
| POOL CORPORATION Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (In thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| December 31, | December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024(1) | $ | % | ||||||||||||
| Assets | |||||||||||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 104,963 | $ | 77,862 | $ | 27,101 | 35 | % | |||||||
| Receivables, net(2) | 136,063 | 115,835 | 20,228 | 17 | |||||||||||
| Receivables pledged under receivables facility | 211,740 | 199,026 | 12,714 | 6 | |||||||||||
| Product inventories, net(3) | 1,454,672 | 1,289,300 | 165,372 | 13 | |||||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 62,426 | 47,091 | 15,335 | 33 | |||||||||||
| Total current assets | 1,969,864 | 1,729,114 | 240,750 | 14 | |||||||||||
| Property and equipment, net | 267,065 | 251,324 | 15,741 | 6 | |||||||||||
| Goodwill | 707,345 | 698,910 | 8,435 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Other intangible assets, net | 283,882 | 290,732 | (6,850 | ) | (2 | ) | |||||||||
| Equity interest investments | 1,576 | 1,439 | 137 | 10 | |||||||||||
| Operating lease assets | 327,398 | 314,853 | 12,545 | 4 | |||||||||||
| Other assets | 68,996 | 81,812 | (12,816 | ) | (16 | ) | |||||||||
| Total assets | $ | 3,626,126 | $ | 3,368,184 | $ | 257,942 | 8 | % | |||||||
| Liabilities and stockholders’ equity | |||||||||||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 652,619 | $ | 525,235 | $ | 127,384 | 24 | ||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 109,301 | 171,194 | (61,893 | ) | (36 | ) | |||||||||
| Short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt | 13,029 | 49,473 | (36,444 | ) | (74 | ) | |||||||||
| Current operating lease liabilities | 105,336 | 98,284 | 7,052 | 7 | |||||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 880,285 | 844,186 | 36,099 | 4 | |||||||||||
| Deferred income taxes | 95,633 | 81,408 | 14,225 | 17 | |||||||||||
| Long-term debt, net | 1,186,424 | 900,883 | 285,541 | 32 | |||||||||||
| Other long-term liabilities | 48,313 | 44,959 | 3,354 | 7 | |||||||||||
| Non-current operating lease liabilities | 230,242 | 223,283 | 6,959 | 3 | |||||||||||
| Total liabilities | 2,440,897 | 2,094,719 | 346,178 | 17 | |||||||||||
| Total stockholders’ equity | 1,185,229 | 1,273,465 | (88,236 | ) | (7 | ) | |||||||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | 3,626,126 | $ | 3,368,184 | $ | 257,942 | 8 | % | |||||||
(1) Derived from audited financial statements.
(2) The allowance for doubtful accounts was
(3) The inventory reserve was
| POOL CORPORATION Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) (In thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Year Ended | ||||||||||||
| December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024(1) | Change | ||||||||||
| Operating activities | ||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 406,404 | $ | 434,325 | $ | (27,921 | ) | |||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation | 42,678 | 36,784 | 5,894 | |||||||||
| Amortization | 8,927 | 8,697 | 230 | |||||||||
| Share-based compensation | 22,733 | 19,248 | 3,485 | |||||||||
| Equity in earnings of unconsolidated investments, net | (102 | ) | (207 | ) | 105 | |||||||
| Net (gains) losses on foreign currency transactions | (492 | ) | 218 | (710 | ) | |||||||
| Goodwill impairment | 285 | — | 285 | |||||||||
| Other | 12,803 | 13,775 | (972 | ) | ||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions: | ||||||||||||
| Receivables | (27,324 | ) | 29,146 | (56,470 | ) | |||||||
| Product inventories | (147,405 | ) | 66,201 | (213,606 | ) | |||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other assets | 91,799 | 75,122 | 16,677 | |||||||||
| Accounts payable | 119,358 | 14,429 | 104,929 | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other liabilities(2) | (163,814 | ) | (38,552 | ) | (125,262 | ) | ||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities(2) | 365,850 | 659,186 | (293,336 | ) | ||||||||
| Investing activities | ||||||||||||
| Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired | (10,831 | ) | (4,692 | ) | (6,139 | ) | ||||||
| Purchases of property and equipment, net of sale proceeds | (56,334 | ) | (59,476 | ) | 3,142 | |||||||
| Other investments, net | (627 | ) | (2,001 | ) | 1,374 | |||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (67,792 | ) | (66,169 | ) | (1,623 | ) | ||||||
| Financing activities | ||||||||||||
| Proceeds from revolving line of credit | 1,929,200 | 1,517,800 | 411,400 | |||||||||
| Payments on revolving line of credit | (1,698,700 | ) | (1,575,700 | ) | (123,000 | ) | ||||||
| Proceeds from term loan under credit facility | 50,000 | — | 50,000 | |||||||||
| Payments on term loan under credit facility | (12,500 | ) | (25,000 | ) | 12,500 | |||||||
| Proceeds from asset-backed financing | 473,500 | 727,000 | (253,500 | ) | ||||||||
| Payments on asset-backed financing | (473,100 | ) | (744,600 | ) | 271,500 | |||||||
| Payments on term facility | (19,938 | ) | — | (19,938 | ) | |||||||
| Proceeds from short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt | 17,700 | 8,873 | 8,827 | |||||||||
| Payments on short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt | (16,644 | ) | (10,103 | ) | (6,541 | ) | ||||||
| Payments of deferred financing costs | (1,397 | ) | (2,077 | ) | 680 | |||||||
| Proceeds from stock issued under share-based compensation plans | 9,702 | 13,190 | (3,488 | ) | ||||||||
| Payments of cash dividends | (184,916 | ) | (179,633 | ) | (5,283 | ) | ||||||
| Repurchases of common stock | (346,286 | ) | (306,300 | ) | (39,986 | ) | ||||||
| Net cash used in financing activities | (273,379 | ) | (576,550 | ) | 303,171 | |||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | 2,422 | (5,145 | ) | 7,567 | ||||||||
| Change in cash and cash equivalents | 27,101 | 11,322 | 15,779 | |||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period | 77,862 | 66,540 | 11,322 | |||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of period | $ | 104,963 | $ | 77,862 | $ | 27,101 | ||||||
(1) Derived from audited financial statements.
(2) Operating cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2025 were reduced by
ADDENDUM
Base Business
When calculating our base business results, we exclude for a period of 15 months sales centers that are acquired, opened in new markets or closed. We also exclude consolidated sales centers when we do not expect to maintain the majority of the existing business and existing sales centers that are consolidated with acquired sales centers.
We generally allocate corporate overhead expenses to excluded sales centers on the basis of their net sales as a percentage of total net sales. After 15 months, we include acquired, consolidated and new market sales centers in the base business calculation including the comparative prior year period.
We have not provided separate base business income statement data within this press release as our base business results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2025 closely approximated our consolidated results. Excluded sales centers contributed less than
The table below summarizes the changes in our sales centers during 2025.
| December 31, 2024 | 448 | ||||
| Acquired locations | 3 | ||||
| New locations | 8 | ||||
| Consolidated/closed locations | (3 | ) | |||
| December 31, 2025 | 456 |
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The non-GAAP measures described below should be considered in the context of all of our other disclosures in this press release.
Adjusted EBITDA
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income or net loss plus interest and other non-operating expenses, provision for income taxes, depreciation, amortization, share-based compensation, goodwill and other impairments and equity in earnings or loss of unconsolidated investments. Other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently than we do, which may limit its usefulness as a comparative measure.
Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of performance as determined by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). We believe Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, operating income or loss, net income or loss, net cash flows provided by or used in operating, investing and financing activities or other income statement or cash flow statement line items reported in accordance with GAAP.
From time to time, we use Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental disclosure because management uses it to monitor our performance, and we believe that it is widely used by our investors, industry analysts and others as a useful supplemental performance measure. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA, when viewed with our GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations, provides an additional measure that enables management and investors to monitor factors and trends affecting our ability to service debt, pay taxes and fund capital expenditures.
The table below presents a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA.
| (Unaudited) | Year Ended December 31, | |||||||
| (In thousands) | 2025 | 2024 | ||||||
| Net income | $ | 406,404 | $ | 434,325 | ||||
| Adjustments to increase (decrease) net income: | ||||||||
| Interest and other non-operating expenses(1) | 47,262 | 50,032 | ||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 127,132 | 132,836 | ||||||
| Share-based compensation | 22,733 | 19,248 | ||||||
| Equity in earnings of unconsolidated investments, net | (102 | ) | (207 | ) | ||||
| Goodwill impairment | 285 | — | ||||||
| Depreciation | 42,678 | 36,784 | ||||||
| Amortization(2) | 7,952 | 7,838 | ||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 654,344 | $ | 680,856 | ||||
(1) Shown net of (gains) losses on foreign currency transactions of (
(2) Excludes amortization of deferred financing costs of
Adjusted Diluted EPS
We have included adjusted diluted EPS, a non-GAAP financial measure, in this press release as a supplemental disclosure, because we believe this measure is useful to management, investors and others in assessing our period-to-period operating performance.
Adjusted diluted EPS is a key measure used by management to demonstrate the impact of tax benefits from ASU 2016-09 on our diluted EPS and to provide investors and others with additional information about our potential future operating performance to supplement GAAP measures.
We believe this measure should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, diluted EPS presented in accordance with GAAP, and in the context of our other disclosures in this press release. Other companies may calculate this non-GAAP financial measure differently than we do, which may limit its usefulness as a comparative measure.
The table below presents a reconciliation of diluted EPS to adjusted diluted EPS.
| (Unaudited) | Three Months Ended | Year Ended | ||||||||||||||
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Diluted EPS | $ | 0.85 | $ | 0.98 | $ | 10.85 | $ | 11.30 | ||||||||
| Less: ASU 2016-09 tax benefit | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.12 | 0.23 | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted diluted EPS | $ | 0.84 | $ | 0.97 | $ | 10.73 | $ | 11.07 | ||||||||
FAQ
What were Pool Corporation's reported 2025 net sales and EPS (POOL)?
How did Pool Corporation's margin and profitability change in 2025 (POOL)?
What is Pool Corporation's 2026 EPS guidance and what does it exclude (POOL)?
How did Pool Corporation's balance sheet change at year-end 2025 (POOL)?
What drove Pool Corporation's cash flow and leverage moves in 2025 (POOL)?
How did Pool Corporation perform in the fourth quarter of 2025 (POOL)?
