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Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology

Spotting Winners: Brunswick (NYSE:BC) And Leisure Products Stocks In Q4

BC Cover Image

Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Brunswick (NYSE: BC) and the best and worst performers in the leisure products industry.

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 13 leisure products stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.6% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.7% below.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 25.2% since the latest earnings results.

Brunswick (NYSE: BC)

Formerly known as Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, Brunswick (NYSE: BC) is a designer and manufacturer of recreational marine products, including boats, engines, and marine parts.

Brunswick reported revenues of $1.15 billion, down 15.2% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 11.3%. Overall, it was a satisfactory quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

Brunswick Total Revenue

Brunswick pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat of the whole group. Even though it had a relatively good quarter, the market seems discontent with the results. The stock is down 33.8% since reporting and currently trades at $43.27.

Is now the time to buy Brunswick? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q4: Malibu Boats (NASDAQ: MBUU)

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

Malibu Boats reported revenues of $200.3 million, down 5.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.8%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Malibu Boats Total Revenue

The stock is down 33.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $25.42.

Is now the time to buy Malibu Boats? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q4: Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG)

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

Harley-Davidson reported revenues of $687.6 million, down 34.7% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 3.8%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a miss of analysts’ motorcycles sold estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Harley-Davidson delivered the slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 19.9% since the results and currently trades at $21.50.

Read our full analysis of Harley-Davidson’s results here.

American Outdoor Brands (NASDAQ: AOUT)

Spun off from Smith and Wesson in 2020, American Outdoor Brands (NASDAQ: AOUT) 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 $58.51 million, up 9.5% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 4%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also put up a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The stock is down 32.1% since reporting and currently trades at $10.21.

Read our full, actionable report on American Outdoor Brands here, it’s free.

Acushnet (NYSE: GOLF)

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

Acushnet reported revenues of $445.2 million, up 7.8% year on year. This print missed analysts’ expectations by 2.1%. Aside from that, it was a strong quarter as it produced an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The stock is down 9.3% since reporting and currently trades at $59.98.

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

Market Update

As a result of the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has come down from frothy levels post-pandemic. The general rise in the price of goods and services is trending towards the Fed’s 2% goal as of late, which is good news. The higher rates that fought inflation also didn't slow economic activity enough to catalyze a recession. So far, soft landing. This, combined with recent rate cuts (half a percent in September 2024 and a quarter percent in November 2024) have led to strong stock market performance in 2024. The icing on the cake for 2024 returns was Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. Presidential Election in early November, sending major indices to all-time highs in the week following the election. Still, debates around the health of the economy and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts remain, leaving much uncertainty around 2025.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Growth Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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