Leisure Products Stocks Q3 Recap: Benchmarking Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF)

Looking back on leisure products stocks’ Q3 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Acushnet and its peers.

Leisure products cover a wide range of goods in the consumer discretionary sector. Maintaining a strong brand is key to success, and those who differentiate themselves will enjoy customer loyalty and pricing power while those who don’t may find themselves in precarious positions due to the non-essential nature of their offerings.

The 12 leisure products stocks we track reported a very strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 8.6% on average since the latest earnings results.

Acushnet

Producer of the acclaimed Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, Acushnet is a design and manufacturing company specializing in performance-driven golf products.

Acushnet reported revenues of $657.7 million, up 6% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3.8%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Interestingly, the stock is up 23.7% since reporting and currently trades at $93.14.

Best Q3: American Outdoor Brands

Spun off from Smith and Wesson in 2020, American Outdoor Brands is an outdoor and recreational products company that offers outdoor and shooting sports products but does not sell firearms themselves.

American Outdoor Brands reported revenues of $57.2 million, down 5% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 12.3%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

American Outdoor Brands achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 11.1% since reporting. It currently trades at $8.58.

Weakest Q3: Ruger

Founded in 1949, Ruger is an American manufacturer of firearms for the commercial sporting market.

Ruger reported revenues of $126.8 million, up 3.7% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 2.1%. Still, it was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 14.7% since the results and currently trades at $37.52.

Read our full analysis of Ruger’s results here.

Harley-Davidson

Founded in 1903, Harley-Davidson is an American motorcycle manufacturer known for its heavyweight motorcycles designed for cruising on highways.

Harley-Davidson reported revenues of $1.34 billion, up 16.5% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 2.8%. Overall, it was a stunning quarter as it also put up a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Harley-Davidson pulled off the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 23.7% since reporting and currently trades at $20.67.

Read our full, actionable report on Harley-Davidson here, it’s free.

Malibu Boats

Founded in California in 1982, Malibu Boats is a manufacturer of high-performance sports boats and luxury watercrafts.

Malibu Boats reported revenues of $194.7 million, up 13.5% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 4.3%. It was an exceptional quarter as it also produced a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is up 3.4% since reporting and currently trades at $33.69.

Read our full, actionable report on Malibu Boats here, it’s free.

Wrapping up Q3 earnings, we look at the numbers and key takeaways for the leisure products stocks, including Polaris and its peers.

Leisure products cover a wide range of goods in the consumer discretionary sector. Maintaining a strong brand is key to success, and those who differentiate themselves will enjoy customer loyalty and pricing power while those who don’t may find themselves in precarious positions due to the non-essential nature of their offerings.

The 12 leisure products stocks we track reported a very strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Luckily, leisure products stocks have performed well with share prices up 10.7% on average since the latest earnings results.

Polaris

Founded in 1954, Polaris designs and manufactures high-performance off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, and motorcycles.

Polaris reported revenues of $1.86 billion, up 6.6% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3.7%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS and EBITDA estimates.

Polaris delivered the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 1.7% since reporting and currently trades at $69.95.

Best Q3: American Outdoor Brands

Spun off from Smith and Wesson in 2020, American Outdoor Brands is an outdoor and recreational products company that offers outdoor and shooting sports products but does not sell firearms themselves.

American Outdoor Brands reported revenues of $57.2 million, down 5% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 12.3%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS and EBITDA estimates.

American Outdoor Brands achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 23.2% since reporting. It currently trades at $9.51.

Weakest Q3: Ruger

Founded in 1949, Ruger is an American manufacturer of firearms for the commercial sporting market.

Ruger reported revenues of $126.8 million, up 3.7% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 2.1%. Still, it was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA and EPS estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 14.1% since the results and currently trades at $37.74.

Read our full analysis of Ruger’s results here.

Harley-Davidson

Founded in 1903, Harley-Davidson is an American motorcycle manufacturer known for its heavyweight motorcycles designed for cruising on highways.

Harley-Davidson reported revenues of $1.34 billion, up 16.5% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 2.8%. It was a stunning quarter as it also put up a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Harley-Davidson achieved the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 24.2% since reporting and currently trades at $20.54.

Read our full, actionable report on Harley-Davidson here, it’s free.

Clarus

Initially a financial services business, Clarus designs, manufactures, and distributes outdoor equipment and lifestyle products.

Clarus reported revenues of $69.35 million, up 3.3% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 4.3%. Taking a step back, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates but EPS in line with analysts’ estimates.

The stock is up 14.7% since reporting and currently trades at $3.74.

Read our full, actionable report on Clarus here, it’s free.

What Happened?

Shares of golf equipment and apparel company Acushnet jumped 4% in the afternoon session after KeyBanc raised its price target on the stock. The investment bank lifted its price target for Acushnet to $90 from $85, keeping an Overweight rating on the shares due to the company's strong earnings performance.

The shares closed the day at $91.32, up 3.5% from previous close.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Acushnet’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 5 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 11 months ago when the stock gained 10% on the news that the S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that the company would be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 index before the opening of trading on Thursday, February 13, 2025. Being included in the index means that Acushnet will likely be held by many mutual funds and ETFs, which could potentially drive up demand for the stock. We note that while buying of the stock could increase, this development does not change the fundamentals of the company. Revenue growth, expense efficiency, and capital intensity of the business, for instance, are not impacted by index inclusion or exclusion, so this is more of a technical tailwind for the stock.

Acushnet is up 11.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $91.32 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Acushnet’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,210.

What Happened?

Shares of off-Road and powersports vehicle corporation Polaris jumped 4.6% in the morning session after Seaport Global Securities initiated coverage on the stock with a "Buy" rating and an $83 price target. 

The price target represented about a 20% potential upside from where the stock was trading. In its research, the firm pointed to Polaris's position as a manufacturer of high-quality outdoor recreational products, such as off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles, and boats, as key reasons for its positive outlook. The new coverage from analyst Gerrick Johnson at the financial services firm marked a significant development for the company.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Polaris’s shares are very volatile and have had 29 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 29 days ago when the stock gained 5.3% on the news that the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points, signaling a potential boost for consumer spending. 

This dovish action, combined with highly accommodating signals from Chair Jerome Powell and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 surging.The market's bullish reaction was rooted in several key takeaways from the Fed's announcement. Most significantly, the central bank confirmed it would begin expanding its balance sheet by buying short-term bonds, a move that injects critical liquidity and lowers short-term Treasury yields. 

Furthermore, the Fed signaled a shift in priority by removing language that described the labor market as "remaining low," suggesting it would be more focused on supporting economic growth. While the Fed's official forecast projected only one cut for the next year, traders immediately priced in the expectation of more aggressive easing, banking on at least two rate reductions. This widespread anticipation of sustained, low borrowing costs and the virtual certainty that rate hikes would be off the table boosted corporate valuations and created powerful momentum for the equity market rally.

Polaris is up 9.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $72.81 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Polaris’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $694.31.