Pool Corp. (POOL +1.38%) had a 2025 that its shareholders would probably like to forget. The stock dropped by 30% due in large measure to its slow revenue growth. Net sales were also down slightly year over year for the first nine months of the year.
The stock's dividend yields about 2.2% at the current share price. However, the stock faces an uphill battle in the new year, and if the price falls further, that would give a higher yield to interested investors who wait to buy. Pool Corp. had a monstrous run in the 2010s and comfortably outpaced the S&P 500, so it's still worth keeping an eye on the stock despite its recent performance. These are some of the key details investors should monitor.
Consumers are feeling the financial pinch
Image source: Getty Images.
Although inflation rates have calmed down somewhat, living costs remain high, and that is causing an affordability crisis in the U.S. While some stocks have performed well even as more people are feeling the financial pinch, that hasn't been the case for Pool Corp.
NASDAQ: POOL
Key Data Points
Pool Corp. offers products and services that are primarily for upper-middle-class and wealthy households, especially now. Most lower- and middle-class households aren't thinking about buying a pool, and even some upper-middle-class families may not have the spare funds lately to cover regular pool maintenance.
Pools are luxuries, and non-essentials don't fare well during periods of economic turbulence. While gross domestic product growth has still been strong, that doesn't reflect how most people are faring now, nor how they feel about their finances. In the current economy, people are complaining about fast food being too expensive. That's not a good environment in which to sell pools.
Pool Corp. needs to show higher growth rates to change the narrative
Due to the unfavorable macroeconomic backdrop, Pool Corp.'s growth has slowed over the past few years. The company will have to reaccelerate sales in order to justify another stock price rally.
International growth may be the catalyst that makes investors feel good about the stock again. When discussing its Q3 results, Pool Corp. told investors that 95% of its sales came from North America in 2025's first nine months. But the company has been expanding in Europe and Australia, which may be ripe with growth opportunities. Strong international sales may be enough to compensate for the sluggish domestic situation.
However, it will still take some time before that international expansion has any meaningful effect on revenue. With only 5% of total sales coming from outside North America, even if international sales doubled right now, it wouldn't have a major effect on total revenue. While global sales are a long-term opportunity, for the company to solve its current woes, it will have to improve its domestic sales. That seems unlikely to happen in the near term, given the economic challenges that average consumers face now.
