What Happened?
Shares of pool products retailer Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) fell 11.2% in the afternoon session after the company reported disappointing financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025 that missed Wall Street's expectations.
Sales fell 16% year over year to $147.1 million, below the analyst consensus of $158 million. The company's performance was further impacted by a wider-than-expected adjusted loss of $5.24 per share, which missed the estimated loss of $4.24. Profitability also suffered, with the gross margin shrinking to 18.4% from 27.2% in the prior year's quarter. Adding to the concerns, same-store sales plunged 15.5%, and the company's total store count declined to 950 from 1,021 a year ago, signaling significant operational challenges.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Leslie’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 101 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Leslie's and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 26 days ago when the stock dropped 2.6% on the news that the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as much as 0.7%, reflecting lingering uncertainty, and capping off a volatile week which saw stocks enjoy some relief as President Donald Trump reduced tensions with European allies by backing off his threat of imposing new tariffs. Threats of tariffs initially created uncertainty for businesses, as they can lead to higher costs for multinational corporations and disrupt global supply chains. By withdrawing the threat, the administration removed a significant headwind for the market, prompting a relief rally. This development was a key factor in helping major indexes recover from earlier losses, even as some analysts noted that underlying geopolitical risks and market volatility remain concerns for investors.
Leslie's is down 40.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $1.02 per share, it is trading 96.7% below its 52-week high of $30.80 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Leslie’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2.22.
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