POOLHIGH SIGNALFINANCIAL10-K

Pool Corporation shows severe cash flow deterioration with operating cash flow plummeting 45% while debt surged 28% and share buybacks continued at elevated levels.

The combination of drastically reduced operating cash flow generation alongside significant debt increases and continued aggressive share repurchases suggests potential liquidity stress and questionable capital allocation priorities. This financial profile raises concerns about the company's ability to maintain current operations and shareholder returns without further leveraging the balance sheet.

Comparing 2026-02-26 vs 2025-02-27View on EDGAR →
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

Pool Corporation's financial position deteriorated markedly, with operating cash flow collapsing 45% to $366M while total debt jumped 28% to $667M and cash reserves fell 45% to just $16M. Despite this cash generation weakness, the company increased share buybacks by 13% to $346M while inventory swelled 13% to $1.5B, creating a concerning disconnect between operational performance and capital allocation. The overall picture signals potential liquidity constraints and raises questions about management's financial discipline during a period of weakening cash generation.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT CHANGES
Cash & Equivalents
Balance Sheet
-45.4%
$29.9M→$16.4M

Cash declined 45.4% — significant cash burn or deployment; verify adequacy of remaining liquidity runway.

Operating Cash Flow
Cash Flow
-44.5%
$659.2M→$365.9M

Operating cash flow fell 44.5% — earnings quality concerns; investigate working capital changes and non-cash items.

Total Debt
Balance Sheet
+28.3%
$519.6M→$666.8M

Debt rose 28.3% — additional borrowing for investment or operations; monitor coverage ratios.

Interest Expense
P&L
+20.3%
$6.6M→$8.0M

Interest costs rose 20.3% — monitor debt levels and coverage ratio in rising rate environment.

Total Liabilities
Balance Sheet
+16.5%
$2.1B→$2.4B

Liabilities increased 16.5% — monitor debt-to-equity ratio and interest coverage.

Current Assets
Balance Sheet
+13.9%
$1.7B→$2.0B

Current assets grew 13.9% — improving short-term liquidity or inventory/receivables build.

Share Buybacks
Cash Flow
+13.1%
$306.3M→$346.3M

Share repurchases increased 13.1% — management returning capital, signals confidence in intrinsic value.

Inventory
Balance Sheet
+12.8%
$1.3B→$1.5B

Inventory built 12.8% — monitor whether demand supports this build or if write-downs may follow.

LANGUAGE CHANGES
NEW — 2026-02-26
PRIOR — 2025-02-27
ADDED
As of February 20, 2026, there we re 36,787,820 shares of common stock outstanding.
As of December 31, 2025, we operated 456 sales centers strategically located in North America, Europe and Australia, from which we sell swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products, irrigation and landscape maintenance products and hardscapes, tile and stone products.
Our customer base generally includes pool builders, pool service companies, retail stores, commercial pool operators and landscape contractors.
We distribute products through our five distribution networks listed below: SCP Distributors (SCP); Superior Pool Products (Superior); Horizon Distributors (Horizon); National Pool Trends (NPT), formerly National Pool Tile prior to November 2025; and Sun Wholesale Supply (Sun Wholesale).
Operating in a fragmented industry, we add considerable value by purchasing products from a large number of manufacturers and then efficiently distributing the products with high levels of customer service on conditions that are generally more favorable than our customers could obtain on their own.
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REMOVED
As of February 20, 2025, there were 37,630,465 shares of common stock outstanding.
We believe that our industry is fragmented, and as such, we add considerable value to the industry by purchasing products from a large number of manufacturers and then efficiently distributing the products with high levels of service to our customer base on conditions that are more favorable than our customers could obtain on their own.
As of December 31, 2024, we operated 448 sales centers in North America, Europe and Australia, from which we sell swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products, irrigation and landscape maintenance products and hardscape, tile and stone products to our customer base, including pool builders, retail stores, service companies, landscape contractors and others, through our five distribution networks listed below: SCP Distributors (SCP); Superior Pool Products (Superior); Horizon Distributors (Horizon); National Pool Tile (NPT); and Sun Wholesale Supply (Sun Wholesale).
Our Industry We operate in the outdoor living industry, which services approximately 11.0 million bodies of water in the United States alone, including 5.4 million in-ground swimming pools.
These pools require routine maintenance throughout their lifetime, and we believe significant growth opportunities reside with pool remodel and pool equipment replacement activities due to the aging of the installed base of swimming pools.
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