Swimming pool distributor Pool (NASDAQ: POOL) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2026, with sales up 2.2% year on year to $1.82 billion. Its GAAP profit of $5.17 per share was 2.7% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
Is now the time to buy Pool? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.
Pool (POOL) Q2 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $1.82 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.82 billion (2.2% year-on-year growth, in line)
- EPS (GAAP): $5.17 vs analyst expectations of $5.31 (2.7% miss)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $294.7 million vs analyst estimates of $294 million (16.2% margin, in line)
- EPS (GAAP) guidance for the full year is $10.81 at the midpoint, missing analyst estimates by 2.3%
- Operating Margin: 14.7%, in line with the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow was -$54.47 million compared to -$42.86 million in the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $7.15 billion
Company Overview
Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Louisiana, Pool (NASDAQ: POOL) is one of the largest wholesale distributors of swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related leisure products.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years. Over the last five years, Pool grew its sales at a weak 2.2% compounded annual growth rate. This fell short of our benchmarks and is a tough starting point for our analysis.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within consumer discretionary, a stretched historical view may miss a company riding a successful new product or trend. Pool’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its revenue was flat over the last two years. 
This quarter, Pool grew its revenue by 2.2% year on year, and its $1.82 billion of revenue was in line with Wall Street’s estimates.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 2.8% over the next 12 months. While this projection suggests its newer products and services will catalyze better top-line performance, it is still below the sector average.
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Operating Margin
Pool’s operating margin has generally stayed the same over the last 12 months, and we generally like to see margin increases due to economies of scale and cost efficiency over time.
This quarter, Pool generated an operating margin profit margin of 14.7%, in line with the same quarter last year. This indicates the company’s overall cost structure has been relatively stable.
Earnings Per Share
Revenue trends explain a company’s historical growth, but the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) points to the profitability of that growth — for example, a company could inflate its sales through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.
Sadly for Pool, its EPS declined by 3.7% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew by 2.2%. This tells us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded due to non-fundamental factors such as interest expenses and taxes.
In Q2, Pool reported EPS of $5.17, in line with the same quarter last year. This print missed analysts’ estimates. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Pool’s full-year EPS to grow 6.6% from $10.87 to $11.59.
Key Takeaways from Pool’s Q2 Results
Revenue and adjusted EBITDA were broadly in line with expectations, but full-year EPS guidance fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was a mixed quarter. The stock traded up 1.8% to $199.79 immediately after reporting.
So should you invest in Pool right now? When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
