Key Stats for Pool Corporation Stock
- 52-Week Range: $173 to $345
- Current Price: $185
- Street Mean Target: $261
- Street High Target: $300
- Analyst Consensus: 5 Buys / 7 Holds / 1 Underperform
- TIKR Model Target (Dec. 2030): $268
Pool Corporation Stock Beat Q1 Estimates, Then Kept Falling
Pool Corporation (POOL) beat first-quarter 2026 revenue and earnings estimates across every key metric, yet the stock has continued sliding toward a 52-week low, and that gap between operating performance and share price is where the real investment question lives.
Pool Corporation is the world’s largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment, and maintenance products, operating around 455 sales centers across North America, Europe, and Australia.
Net sales rose 6% to $1,138 million in Q1, topping the Street estimate of $1,098 million by 3.61%.
Adjusted EPS came in at $1.43, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by 6.18%.
Operating income grew 7% to $82.61 million, with operating margin expanding 10 basis points to 7.26%, ahead of the company’s own expectations heading into the quarter.
Management confirmed full-year diluted EPS guidance of $10.87 to $11.17, unchanged, with the midpoint implying around 2% to 3% growth over the prior year.
CEO Peter Arvan described the platform’s structural advantages directly on the Q1 2026 earnings call: “Over nearly 4 decades, we’ve built something that goes well beyond distribution, an integrated platform of supplier relationships, proprietary products, technology, franchise networks and field expertise that no one can replicate.”
Several developments compounded the selloff beyond the earnings beat. Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it had dissolved its entire stake in Pool Corporation in the first quarter. A CEO transition was announced May 4, with John B. Watwood replacing Peter Arvan and the previously scheduled May 12 Investor Day postponed with no new date set.
Yet directors responded immediately with open-market purchases. Director Manuel J. Perez de la Mesa bought around $1.9 million worth of shares. Three other directors collectively added more shares at prices ranging from around $190 to around $194.
The instinct to look for a broken business here misreads what the data shows.
Wall Street’s Take on POOL Stock After the CEO Transition
The Street’s conviction on Pool Corporation stock has softened considerably over the past year, and the current consensus reflects that uncertainty more than it reflects the underlying business.
Of the analysts covering POOL as of late May 2026, 5 rate the stock a buy, 7 rate it hold, and 1 rates it underperform, a distribution that has shifted toward the middle since the stock’s peak.
Revenue of $1,138 million beat consensus by 4%, and Adjusted EPS of $1.43 beat the estimate of $1.35 by $0.08, a clean double beat that would normally move a stock higher.
EBITDA of $101.49 million beat the Street estimate of $97.57 million by 4.02%, with EBITDA margins holding at 8.92%.
Free cash flow of $17.15 million missed the consensus estimate of $26.45 million by 35.17%, driven primarily by higher inventory investment ahead of peak season.
Management framed the $1.7 billion inventory balance as deliberate stocking in the fastest-moving product lines, not a structural problem, and guided for a normal seasonal reduction through the summer months.
Pool Corporation stock delivered underlying EPS growth of around 8% in its seasonally weakest quarter with no recovery yet in discretionary spending. The core thesis does not require a housing rebound to function.
Is Pool Corporation Stock Undervalued in 2026? The TIKR Model Says Yes at $268
TIKR’s base case values Pool Corporation at around $268 by December 2030, implying a total return of roughly 45% from the current price of around $184, or around 8% annualized over the next 4.6 years.
The mid case assumes revenue growing at a CAGR of around 3%, net income margins near 8%, and EPS growing at around 5% compounded annually, with the P/E multiple contracting at around 2% per year. If those assumptions hold, POOL delivers an IRR of roughly 7%.
The low case, anchored to a revenue CAGR of 3% and net income margins near 7%, produces a stock price of around $270 at an IRR of roughly 5%, still above today’s price on the conservative end of the range.
The high case, with revenue growing at around 4% and net income margins approaching 8%, reaches a stock price of around $392 and an IRR of roughly 9%.
POOL is undervalued. At around $184, Pool Corporation stock prices in a near-zero long-run recovery across all three scenarios, yet even the conservative TIKR case targets a stock price meaningfully above where shares trade today.
Is Pool Corporation stock a buy right now?
Based on TIKR’s mid-case model, Pool Corporation stock is undervalued at around $184, with a base-case target of around $268 by December 2030, implying a total return of roughly 45%.
Q1 2026 delivered a 6.18% EPS beat and 3.61% revenue beat on top of around 8% underlying earnings growth.
The key variable to watch is whether maintenance demand holds and discretionary categories continue their gradual recovery through the peak summer season.
What happened to Pool Corporation stock in 2026?
Pool Corporation stock fell sharply in 2026, declining from a 52-week high of around $345 to near $173, even as Q1 results beat estimates across revenue, EBITDA, and adjusted EPS.
Key headwinds include a CEO transition announced May 4, Berkshire Hathaway’s full exit from POOL disclosed in May, and analyst price target reductions. Multiple directors responded with open-market purchases totaling over $2 million.
Should You Invest in Pool Corporation?
The only way to really know is to look at the numbers yourself. TIKR gives you free access to the same institutional-quality financial data that professional analysts use to answer exactly that question.
Pull up Pool Corporation stock and you’ll see years of historical financials, what Wall Street analysts expect for revenue and earnings in the quarters ahead, how valuation multiples have moved over time, and whether price targets are trending up or down.
You can build a free watchlist to track Pool Corporation alongside every other stock on your radar. No credit card required. Just the data you need to decide for yourself.
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