Key Points
Pool Corp's third-quarter sales and earnings came in slightly ahead of Wall Street's estimates.
The company successfully passed rising freight costs onto consumers to protect its profit margins.
Despite today's double-digit pop, Pool Corp shares are still down sharply over the last year.
Pool Corp (NASDAQ:POOL) is making a splash on Thursday morning. On a day when the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) is down 1.2%, the pool products giant rose as much as 10.6% after reporting great Q3 results.
Solid Q3 numbers and steady guidance
In the third quarter of 2026, Pool Corp's sales rose 3.7% year over year to $1.50 billion. Earnings held steady at $3.40 per diluted share. The average analyst was looking for earnings near $3.36 per share on revenues near $1.48 billion, so the company outperformed modestly across the board.
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Price increases drove the top-line boost as the company passed on rising freight costs to the end customer. Looking ahead, management reaffirmed the full-year revenue and earnings targets provided with the Q2 report in July and the Q1 update in April.
Image source: Getty Images.
Pool Corp is still treading water
Today's jump was sorely needed because 2026 hasn't been kind to the company. Even now, Pool Corp's stock trades 37% lower over the last year with a 49% drop in two years. The stock lost its place on the S&P 500 table in June, and Berkshire Hathaway exited its Pool Corp position in May.
I do appreciate the company's ability to pass the freight-based inflation buck to its customers without gutting its revenue growth. At the same time, it's hard to get excited about a company aiming for single-digit percentage gains while the stock price has been trending down for years.
As a longtime Floridian with a backyard pool and a Pool Corp subsidiary in walking distance, I have a soft spot for this company. This morning, I used three items from that Pinch A Penny store to chase an audacious squirrel out of the patio, for instance. But I'm not a fan of the stock, which trades at bargain-bin P/E multiples for good reason.
Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway and Pool. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.