Malibu Boats (NASDAQ:MBUU) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Malibu Boats (NASDAQ:MBUU) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.06), FiscalAI reports. Malibu Boats had a net margin of 0.18% and a return on equity of 4.78%. The company had revenue of $252.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $257.64 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. Malibu Boats’s revenue was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Malibu Boats’ conference call:

• Net sales rose 29.9% to $252.9 million, including $51.1 million from Saxdor, while adjusted EBITDA increased 21.7% to $14.3 million. Excluding Saxdor, adjusted EBITDA fell to $10.3 million from $11.8 million, with weaker Malibu performance weighing on legacy results.
• Management said summer retail demand softened, particularly in ski/wake boats, as payment-sensitive buyers remained cautious; industry powerboat registrations fell about 11% in July–September. The company expects a mid- to high-single-digit market decline through the transition period and plans to keep wholesale shipments aligned with retail demand amid elevated incentives.
• U.S. Saxdor production at Fort Pierce began ahead of schedule, with serial production underway and capacity for about 200 boats annually before a plant expansion. Saxdor’s 8% adjusted EBITDA margin reflects ramp-up investment, and management expects margins to move toward 10%–11% as production scales and the model mix shifts to larger boats.
• For the December quarter, the company forecast net sales of $236 million–$248 million and adjusted EBITDA of $13 million–$15 million. Management expects the July–December transition period to have lower margins than the following six months, partly because of Saxdor’s production ramp, and cautioned that the transition-period results should not be annualized.
• Free cash flow was negative $39.5 million, primarily reflecting a seasonal inventory rebuild, annual compensation and dealer incentive payments; management expects working-capital needs to ease through the first half of calendar 2027. The company ended September with $213.5 million of available liquidity and pro forma net leverage of about 1.5 times.

Malibu Boats Trading Down 16.3%

NASDAQ:MBUU traded down $4.04 on Thursday, reaching $20.71. 935,927 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 265,632. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $407.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.72 and a 200-day moving average of $26.88. Malibu Boats has a 52-week low of $19.46 and a 52-week high of $34.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MBUU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Malibu Boats from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Malibu Boats in a report on Monday, August 31st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Malibu Boats in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Malibu Boats from $34.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Malibu Boats from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

About Malibu Boats

Malibu Boats, Inc is a recreational powerboat manufacturer headquartered in Loudon, Tennessee. The company designs, manufactures and sells boats for watersports, boating and fishing activities, serving consumers through a network of independent dealers in the United States and international markets.

Its portfolio includes Malibu and Axis wake and watersports boats, as well as a range of saltwater and freshwater fishing and offshore boats sold under brands including Pursuit, Maverick, Cobia, Pathfinder and Hewes.