Abstract

Hayward Holdings, Inc. is scheduled to report quarterly results Pre-Market on February 25, 2026, and this preview consolidates updated consensus forecasts, last quarter’s financials, and near-term operational drivers guiding expectations.

Market Forecast

For the current quarter, market expectations indicate revenue of 332.07 million (+9.68% year-over-year), EBIT of 86.75 million (+14.30% year-over-year), and adjusted EPS of 0.281 (+18.80% year-over-year), implying growth acceleration versus last year and a sequential step-up from the seasonal trough. Forecast margin figures were not provided; consensus is centered on revenue scaling and earnings per share expansion with year-over-year growth embedded in the estimates.

Within the main business, order patterns heading into the peak selling months are expected to favor Hayward Holdings, Inc.’s core equipment franchise, with automation upgrades and energy-efficient systems likely to anchor demand. The most promising segment is the residential pool category, which generated 217.54 million last quarter and continues to dominate the company’s sales mix; detailed year-over-year segment growth was not disclosed in the available dataset.

Last Quarter Review

In the previous quarter, Hayward Holdings, Inc. recorded revenue of 244.34 million (+7.37% year-over-year), a gross profit margin of 51.21%, GAAP net profit attributable to the parent company of 24.03 million, a net profit margin of 9.83%, and adjusted EPS of 0.14 (+27.27% year-over-year).

A key highlight was the outperformance versus consensus: revenue exceeded estimates by 12.15 million and adjusted EPS surpassed by 0.021, even as GAAP net profit declined by 46.36% quarter-on-quarter, reflecting the seasonality of the business and a pronounced winter trough in the demand cycle. By segment, the company’s main business remained highly concentrated in residential pools, contributing 217.54 million and representing 89.03% of sales, while commercial pools and industrial flow control contributed 14.08 million and 12.71 million, respectively.

Current Quarter Outlook (with major analytical insights)

Core Residential Pools Franchise

The core residential pools franchise constitutes the majority of Hayward Holdings, Inc.’s revenue base and is the primary determinant of quarterly performance. With last quarter’s segment revenue at 217.54 million and a sales mix contribution of 89.03%, the segment’s momentum into the spring requisition window will likely define the revenue trajectory toward the consensus of 332.07 million (+9.68% year-over-year). In recent seasonal cycles, residential demand typically pivots from maintenance and replacement activity in the winter to higher-value equipment sales as temperatures rise, thereby enhancing revenue per unit through mix improvements. Against that backdrop, the estimate profile—EPS at 0.281 (+18.80% year-over-year) and EBIT at 86.75 million (+14.30% year-over-year)—implies leverage from higher throughput, disciplined costs, and price/mix favoring premium equipment families. While margin forecasts were not provided, investors will monitor the relationship between pricing discipline and input costs to assess how gross profit margin may evolve relative to last quarter’s 51.21%.

Inventory positioning among distributors and retailers is often a critical predicate for spring orders, and the previous quarter’s positive revenue surprise suggests inventory calibration did not impede shipments. The sequential drop in GAAP net profit (-46.36% quarter-on-quarter) underscores the seasonal trough, but it also sets the stage for a typical spring recovery pattern. If orders align with the consensus growth implied by the forecast, the residential franchise should present a sequentially stronger revenue cadence, with profit conversion dependent on fixed-cost absorption and mix tilting toward higher-margin categories. Execution in channel replenishment, lead times on core equipment, and promotional cadence will likely be the operational variables determining whether the trajectory of EPS outpaces the revenue growth rate in the quarter.

Most Promising Growth Vector: Residential Automation and Energy-Efficient Upgrades

Within the residential pools umbrella, automation and energy-efficiency upgrades continue to attract attention due to their potential to lift average selling prices and drive recurring attachment across product lines. While segment-level year-over-year growth figures were not provided, the pattern implied by consensus—EPS growth at 18.80% year-over-year versus revenue growth at 9.68%—suggests earnings sensitivity to mix, particularly where premium equipment, advanced controls, and efficiency features are involved. Product categories that historically demonstrate higher value-add tend to include automation interfaces, smart controls, pumps and filtration systems with upgraded efficiency profiles, and connected components that integrate across the pool equipment stack. As consumers refresh aging equipment or expand feature sets, the cumulative demand for replacement parts and incremental upgrades creates a constructive backdrop for monetizing value-added innovations.

Pricing dynamics and cost inputs are central to the margin outlook for these categories. Given last quarter’s gross margin of 51.21% and net margin of 9.83%, continued demand for higher-margin upgrades can support gross margin stability, provided materials inflation and logistics costs remain manageable. In practice, the elasticity of demand for premium features within residential pools often varies by region and income demographics; however, customer preferences tend to coalesce around reliability, longer lifecycle cost savings, and user-friendly automation. For Hayward Holdings, Inc., the primary execution question this quarter is the balance between promoting accessibility to drive volume and preserving price realization to capture mix benefits. This equilibrium will contribute directly to earnings performance versus the forecast EPS of 0.281.

An additional operational dimension is serviceability and aftermarket support for upgraded equipment, which can enhance customer retention and influence replacement cycles. Even without explicit segment-level year-over-year data, the product strategy favoring integrated systems and smarter components implies a thesis of raising the value capture per pool. If distributors lean into systems selling and end customers continue to favor convenience and efficiency, the residential upgrade pathway can deliver sustained uplift through the quarter. The depth of this uplift, however, will depend on avoiding channel bottlenecks and maintaining adequate inventory in components that drive the upgrade bundle.

Key Stock Price Drivers This Quarter

In the near term, the most direct stock price driver is whether the company delivers revenue close to or above the consensus of 332.07 million and whether adjusted EPS of 0.281 (+18.80% year-over-year) aligns with or exceeds expectations. Investors will parse reported EBIT (forecast at 86.75 million, +14.30% year-over-year) for signs of operating leverage, paying close attention to the interplay between fixed-cost absorption and revenue mix. Because margin forecasts were not provided, the company’s disclosure on gross profit margin and net profit margin will be pivotal in contextualizing headline results against last quarter’s 51.21% and 9.83%, respectively.

Another material driver is channel demand cadence and order visibility into the peak selling months. The timing and pace of replenishment orders from distributors and retail channels will inform whether the quarter tracks toward the implied year-over-year revenue growth of 9.68%. If the company reveals stronger-than-anticipated order intake or indicates backlog support, it can improve investor confidence in the durability of the spring ramp. Conversely, any signs of elongated lead times, uneven regional demand, or inventory caution in the channel can weigh on sentiment even if headline revenue meets expectations.

Pricing discipline and cost management form a further pillar of the stock’s near-term narrative. Without explicit margin guidance, the market will look for signals such as price realization in premium categories, materials cost trajectories, and manufacturing efficiency gains. If prices hold and cost inputs are tame, margin resilience can augment EPS performance beyond what revenue growth alone would predict. On the other hand, if promotional intensity increases or materials/logistics costs trend higher, the margin translation may lag revenue gains, tempering the impact on EPS. Updates on product availability, order fulfillment, and category mix—especially in automation and efficiency upgrades—will therefore serve as high-frequency indicators for how the quarter is unfolding.

Analyst Opinions

Among accessible sell-side and institutional commentaries within the observed period, the prevailing stance on the upcoming report is constructive, anchored by the consensus forecast calling for 332.07 million in revenue (+9.68% year-over-year), 86.75 million in EBIT (+14.30% year-over-year), and adjusted EPS of 0.281 (+18.80% year-over-year). The majority view frames the near-term setup as favorable for a sequential rebound from last quarter’s seasonal trough, with revenue expansion driven by the core residential franchise and incremental upside potential contingent on mix improving toward higher-value equipment families. On balance, the skew of sentiment is bullish, and views emphasizing growth in adjusted EPS outnumber cautious assessments that would otherwise call for a slower-than-consensus top line.

This constructive alignment reflects several common themes across previews: confidence in the spring demand pivot supporting shipment volumes, a thesis that automation and efficiency features can aid margin stability, and recognition of last quarter’s positive surprises in revenue and EPS as indicators of operational execution. The bullish narrative typically points to a setup where Hayward Holdings, Inc. can deliver year-over-year growth consistent with aggregate forecasts, while margin commentary—though absent in explicit forecast form—leans toward resilience if pricing remains disciplined and mix tilts favorably. In this framing, EPS leverage relative to revenue growth is a focal point, consistent with the forecast skew showing EPS rising faster than revenue in percentage terms.

The majority-side analysis also acknowledges the primary execution risks without categorizing them as dominant: channel order timing, promotional cadence, and input cost variability. However, these are considered manageable within the quarters ahead if the company sustains product availability and continues to cultivate integrated, value-added bundles in residential pools. A strong print on revenue, backed by progress on EPS, would be viewed as validation of this stance. Given the current balance of views, the preponderance of commentary anticipates an in-line to better-than-expected outcome, with the magnitude of upside—if any—dependent on the coherence of mix dynamics and the tenor of management’s quantitative commentary on margins and order visibility.

In summary, the majority opinion tilts bullish, placing emphasis on the seasonally supportive environment, the product portfolio’s mix potential, and estimate trajectories that imply earnings leverage. While explicit margin forecasts are not provided, the consensus of expectations regards the quarter as a plausible step-up in both revenue and adjusted EPS, setting the tone for how investors will value Hayward Holdings, Inc.’s operational momentum across the approaching peak demand phase.