POOLPool products distribution
Pool Corporation
Not investment advice. Kevin may own this stock. How we value stocks
By Kevin Amado
Updated
- Price
- $215.78
- Analysts view
- Leaning bullish
- Discount category
- Close to intrinsic value
- Pick status
- Research only
- Next earnings
- Earnings Jan 22 · · estimated
- Market cap
- $7.7B
- Shares of Oct 21, 2026
- Yield at current rate
- 2.4%
- Current annual rate, at the price of Nov 12, 2026
- Dividend yield
- 2.4%
- Last 12 months, at the price of Nov 12, 2026
- P/E (trailing)
- 19.8
- Price of Nov 12, 2026
- EPS (trailing)
- $10.90
- 12 months to Sep 30, 2026
- 52-week range
- $152.70 – $278.17
- To Nov 12, 2026
- Beta
- 0.93
- Vs S&P 500, 5 years monthly, to Oct 30, 2026
- Average volume
- 780K
- 3 months, to Nov 12, 2026
Check the numbers:ExchangeGoogle FinanceYahoo FinanceSEC filings
In short
- Thesis
- Investors fear that the pool-building boom is over, but steady maintenance demand and a smooth CEO change over the next two to four quarters can close the gap.
- Gap
- Can close. The October 22 report on the peak pool season and the next quarters show whether maintenance demand holds while construction stays weak.
Company guidance: Adjusted diluted EPS of $10.87 to $11.17 for 2026 (, Q3 2026 earnings release (8-K))
Price history
About
Pool Corporation is the largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies and equipment. It does not build or install pools. It buys chemicals, parts, and equipment from manufacturers, and resells them to pool builders, retailers, and service companies.
It also sells irrigation and landscape products through its Horizon network, and tile and stone through National Pool Trends. It supplies the independent Pinch A Penny franchise stores. The company earns money on the markup between its purchase cost and its resale price.
Thesis
Investors discount Pool Corporation because they fear the pandemic-era pool-building boom is over for good. A sudden CEO change and Berkshire Hathaway's full stock exit add to this caution. But most of Pool Corporation's sales come from maintenance and repair, not new construction. Pool owners buy chemicals and replace parts every year, whether or not new pools get built.
For the discount to close, maintenance demand must keep growing even while new construction stays weak. New CEO John Watwood must also show he can run the company without disruption after a sudden leadership change. The Q3 2026 report of October 22, 2026 showed 4% sales growth and kept the 2026 guidance, but gross margin fell again. Gross margin must stop falling.
The full-year 2026 report, expected in early 2027, gives the first outlook from the new CEO. A fuller picture, including whether new-pool construction has found a bottom, likely needs two to four more quarters. If maintenance demand proves durable and margins stabilize, the discount can close over that time.
Checkpoints
- Oct 22, 2026FailedQ3 2026 results: peak-season maintenance sales and gross marginSales growth from maintenance products, a gross margin in line with the 2026 guidance of about 29.4% and confirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $10.87 to $11.17 pass; lower sales or a guidance cut fails.Outcome: Net sales rose 4% with solid maintenance growth and the 2026 guidance stayed the same, but gross margin fell to 29.0%, below the 29.4% that the test asked for.
- Jan 22, 2027 · est.PendingFull-year 2026 results and first 2027 outlook from new CEOA 2027 outlook with EPS growth and signs that new-pool construction has stopped falling passes; flat or lower EPS guidance or a new strategy that disrupts operations fails.
- Jul 2027 · est.PendingQ2 2027 results: second peak season under CEO WatwoodSales and operating income above Q2 2026 with stable margins pass; a second year of falling operating income fails.
Recent events
- October 28, 2026John Stokely stopped his interim role as Executive Chair, which he took in May 2026 when John Watwood became CEO. He stays Chair of the Board, and the board again made him lead independent director. The company disclosed this on November 2, 2026.
- October 22, 2026Pool Corporation reported Q3 2026 results. Net sales rose 4%, to $1.50 billion, with 3% from higher prices and growth in maintenance and building materials. Gross margin fell to 29.0%, from 29.6%, because of higher inbound freight costs, customer mix and a comparison with mid-season price increases in 2025. Operating income fell 3%, to $172.2 million, and diluted EPS stayed at $3.40. The company confirmed its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $10.87 to $11.17.
- October 8, 2026Pool Corporation confirmed that it will report Q3 2026 results on October 22, 2026, before the market opens.
Show 6 older eventsHide older events
- October 5, 2026Pool Corporation said that Senior Vice President Kenneth St. Romain will retire from his executive role on December 31, 2026. After that date, he will advise the CEO.
- September 25, 2026Pool Corporation added Jean-Marc Germain, the former CEO of Constellium, to its board as an independent director from September 30, 2026.
- August 25, 2026Pool Corporation extended its receivables securitization facility to August 25, 2028. The facility can now fund up to $400 million from March to September and up to $300 million in the other months.
- July 29, 2026Pool Corporation's board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.30 per share, paid August 27, 2026.
- July 23, 2026Pool Corporation reported Q2 2026 results. Net sales rose 2%, to $1.82 billion. Gross margin fell to 29.7%, from 30.0%, because of higher inbound freight costs and customer mix. Diluted EPS stayed at $5.17. The company kept its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $10.87 to $11.17, without $0.21 of CEO transition costs.
- May 4, 2026Pool Corporation named John B. Watwood as President and CEO. Peter Arvan left the CEO role and the board on the same day, by mutual agreement. Chair John Stokely became Executive Chair, and the company postponed its May 12 Investor Day.
Latest news and filings
- Last earnings
- October 22, 2026 (8-K on sec.gov)
- Next earnings
- Expected about January 22, 2027. The company has not confirmed the date.
- 8-KOther company newsFiled · pool-20261028
- 8-KInvestor disclosureFiled · pool-20261028
- 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Sep 30, 2026Filed · pool-20260930
- 8-KEarnings release and Investor disclosureFiled · Press release and exhibits
- 8-KChange of directors or officersFiled · pool-20261005
- 8-KChange of directors or officersFiled · pool-20260923
- 8-KNew material agreement and New debt or financial obligationFiled · pool-20260828
- 8-KInvestor disclosureFiled · pool-20260729
- 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Jun 30, 2026Filed · pool-20260630
- 8-KEarnings release and Investor disclosureFiled · Press release and exhibits
Risks
- New in-ground pool construction fell to just below 60,000 units in 2025, about half of the peak of about 117,000 units in 2021. High interest rates keep making this discretionary purchase harder to finance. A further drop would cut sales of building materials and equipment.
- The company installed a new, first-time CEO in 2026 after the previous CEO's sudden departure. A leadership transition adds execution risk at a time when the business already faces soft discretionary demand.
- Gross margin stayed at 29.7% in 2024 and 2025, but it fell in 2026 because of higher inbound freight costs and customer mix. It was 29.0% in Q3 2026, against 29.6% in Q3 2025, and 29.3% in the first nine months. Operating expenses grew 5% in Q3 2026, faster than sales. Continued margin pressure would offset revenue gains from the more stable maintenance business.
Balance sheet
- Cash
- $106M
- Debt
- $1.2B
- Net debt
- $1.1B
- Net debt / EBITDA
- 1.6×
- EBITDA $659M, last 12 months
- Interest cover
- 14×
- times profit pays interest
Cash against debt
debt covered by cashnet debt $1.1B
Leverage: net debt / EBITDA
low, under 2×medium, 2× to 4×high, over 4×
When the debt is due
The last debt is due in 2029.
Pool Corporation has no public bonds, and all its debt is variable-rate bank and securitization debt, mostly at the parent level. The debt is seasonal: it peaks in the second quarter, when supplier payments for winter inventory fall due, and it falls as customers pay in the summer. At September 30, 2026, total debt was $1,167 million, $105 million more than one year earlier. Of this, $21 million was due within one year. Cash was $106 million. The 10-Q for Q3 2026 gives the split of the debt at September 30, 2026: $280.0 million drawn on the revolver, $500.0 million of term loan, $90.0 million of term facility, $286.0 million under the receivables securitization facility and $13.6 million under an Australian credit facility. The unsecured Credit Facility, with an $800 million revolver and the term loan, and the term facility all fall due on September 30, 2029. The receivables securitization facility runs to August 25, 2028 and can fund up to $400 million from March to September and $300 million in the other months. At September 30, 2026, $343 million of customer receivables were pledged under it. EBITDA is adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months to September 30, 2026, our sum of the company's quarterly figures. Interest cover is operating income over net interest and other non-operating expense in the first nine months of 2026. Two interest rate swaps fix the rate on $300 million at about 0.7% until February 26, 2027. Interest cost on that part will rise when the swaps end. The company also has $352 million of operating lease liabilities for its sales centers. Operating cash flow in the first nine months of 2026 was $420 million, up 47%. In the same period, Pool returned $338 million to shareholders, with $140 million of dividends and $198 million of buybacks. The debt does not limit its choices today.
As of
Show 4 sourcesHide sources
Dividends
- Yield at the current rate
- 2.4% (current annual rate, at today’s price)
- Dividend yield
- 2.4% (last 12 months, at today’s price of $215.78)
- Paid per share
- $5.15 in the last 12 months (4 payments)
- Current annual rate
- $5.20 ($1.30 × 4 a year)
- Payout ratio
- 46% of the last fiscal year’s earnings (the year that ended December 31, 2025)
- Latest ex-dividend date
- November 10, 2026, $1.30 per share
Dividends per share by year
| 2016 | $1.19 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $1.42 | |
| 2018 | $1.72 | |
| 2019 | $2.10 | |
| 2020 | $2.29 | |
| 2021 | $2.98 | |
| 2022 | $3.80 | |
| 2023 | $4.30 | |
| 2024 | $4.70 | |
| 2025 | $4.95 |
From 2020 to 2025, the dividend grew by about 16.7% a year. From 2015 to 2025, the dividend grew by about 17.3% a year.
Source: company filings and market data, read on November 13, 2026. The ex-dividend date is the first day a buyer no longer gets the next payment.
Questions about Pool Corporation
What does Pool Corporation do?
Pool Corporation is the largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies and equipment. It does not build or install pools. Its market cap is $7.7B at the current price of $215.78.
When does Pool Corporation report earnings next?
This is an estimate: Pool Corporation may report on January 22, 2027. It last reported results on October 22, 2026.
Is Pool Corporation stock below its intrinsic value?
Pool Corporation stock is close to intrinsic value. This is general information, not advice.
What changed recently at Pool Corporation?
The latest update is from October 28, 2026. John Stokely stopped his interim role as Executive Chair, which he took in May 2026 when John Watwood became CEO.
What are the main risks for Pool Corporation?
New in-ground pool construction fell to just below 60,000 units in 2025, about half of the peak of about 117,000 units in 2021. The company installed a new, first-time CEO in 2026 after the previous CEO's sudden departure. Gross margin stayed at 29.7% in 2024 and 2025, but it fell in 2026 because of higher inbound freight costs and customer mix.
How much debt and cash does Pool Corporation have?
At September 30, 2026, Pool Corporation had $1.2B of debt and $106M of cash.
Does Pool Corporation pay a dividend?
Yes. The current annual dividend of Pool Corporation is $5.20 per share. That is a dividend yield of 2.4% at the current price of $215.78. In the last 12 months, it paid $5.15 per share (2.4%). The latest ex-dividend date was November 10, 2026.
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