Worry Over Consumer Spending Is Sinking Stocks in Leisure, Power Sports

Malibu Boats’ CEO is confident buyers will come back. (Courtesy Malibu Boats, Inc.)

Malibu Boats posted strong quarterly sales results, but its forecasts for the coming fiscal year have shaken investors’ confidence. That is dragging down shares of leisure and power-sports companies.

Thursday, Malibu announced fiscal fourth-quarter earnings per share of 42 cents from sales of $207 million. Wall Street was looking for EPS of 46 cents, but sales beat the $196 million analysts had penciled in.

The problem is that for fiscal year 2026, the 12 months through June, Malibu expects sales to be “flat to down mid-single digits.” That implies 2026 sales of about $790 million. Wall Street was looking for closer to $915 million, leaving a gap of $125 million, or 14% of analysts’ consensus call.

The shortfall could have come from a number of factors—bloated dealer inventories, for example, have been a problem for Deere —but the problem this time is caution among buyers as a result of higher interest rates and market volatility resulting from tariffs.

It comes down to “more of the consumer,” CEO Steve Menneto said on a conference call to discuss the results.

The stock dropped 17%, closing at $32.80. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

Shares of other leisure and power-sports companies were pressured, too.

RV makers Thor Industries and Winnebago fell 0.5% and 1.8%, respectively. Boat maker Brunswick dropped 2%. Polaris fell 2.1%. BRP, short for Bombardier Recreational Products, traded as low as $56.08, and was down most of the day, but managed a 0.8% gain, closing at $57.49.

Coming into Thursday trading, those five stocks were down an average of about 23% over the past 12 months. Only Thor had eked out a small positive return. Malibu Boats stock was down about 3%.

Malibu is focused on costs. Management did some buying before tariffs took effect to avoid cost increases. And improving manufacturing efficiency is a “continual” process, Menneto said.

For 2026, Malibu sees tariffs raising costs by 1.5% to 3%. That is roughly $10 to $20 million headwind.

In the long run, Menneto is confident buyers will come back. For now, they are hesitant.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com