New York, May 24, 2026, 12:02 EDT
Pool Corp finished Friday at $184.64, up 1.62% for the session and about 5.3% higher than the previous Friday as the stock rebounded slightly heading into the U.S. holiday weekend. Shares are still trading well under last year’s levels.
That’s it from the main tape for now. Nasdaq markets are closed Sunday and remain shut through Monday, May 25, for Memorial Day. Investors will have to wait until Tuesday for trading to pick up again and gauge the bounce.
Pool heads into its busiest pool season with a CEO change, a delayed investor day, and shares still trading as if investors doubt demand for housing-linked and outdoor-living goods. Over the last year, Pool shares have dropped almost 40%, data from Investing.com show. The 52-week range is $172.68 to $345.00.
Pool runs the biggest wholesale pool and backyard products business globally. Based in Covington, Louisiana, it has around 455 sales centers in North America, Europe and Australia and sells over 200,000 products to about 125,000 wholesale buyers.
Pool’s last full earnings report gave some backing to the shares. Net sales in the first quarter came in at $1.14 billion, up 6%. Operating income increased 7% to $82.6 million. Diluted EPS moved to $1.45. The company left its 2026 EPS outlook unchanged at $10.87 to $11.17.
Former CEO Peter Arvan called maintenance demand “resilient.” But he said discretionary categories are in a “gradual” recovery. Discretionary sales refer to non-essentials like upgrades and building materials, not regular pool chemicals or service needs. GlobeNewswire
Pool is making leadership moves. On May 4, the company said John B. Watwood took over as president and CEO. Peter Arvan left his roles as president, CEO and director. John E. Stokely is now executive chair. Watwood said his priority is “building upon the strong foundation already in place.” Pool postponed its May 12 investor day and will set a new date later. GlobeNewswire
Pool bumped up its share buyback program to $600 million and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 a share. The dividend will go out May 28 to shareholders on record as of May 14. Stokely called it “disciplined capital allocation.” GlobeNewswire
Leslie’s shares jumped 11.7% Friday, but it wasn’t the same across the group. SiteOne Landscape Supply dropped 1.8%. Pool rose 1.6%, landing between the two. The move for Pool looked like a rebound, not a sign that the whole sector is turning higher.
U.S. stocks ended higher. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust added 0.37% Friday. The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF inched up 0.16%. That was a slight move in the homebuilder group that traders follow for read-throughs to backyard, remodeling and outdoor-living stocks.
Pool faces data this week that could affect its multiple. Home-price numbers and consumer confidence are out Tuesday. The Bureau of Economic Analysis is set to release the next personal consumption expenditures price index, which tracks what consumers pay for goods and services, on May 28.
But risks are still in play. Pool has listed concerns over weather, consumer discretionary spending, housing, inflation, rates, supplier relationships and competition as possible issues that could impact its performance. A weak housing market, bad weather late in the season, or higher rates could hit the stock before Pool can prove if maintenance work will drive results this season.
