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what it is
Malibu Boats builds premium sport boats and fishing boats, then sells them through dealers around the world.
how it gets paid
Last year Malibu Boats made $808M in revenue. Saltwater fishing boats was the main engine at $286M, or 35% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 2.6% last year. 13.8% gross margin mattered most because a premium boat maker should not have this little cushion in a demand slump.
what just happened
Latest earnings showed a -$0.02 EPS result versus a $0.05 estimate, a 72.22% miss.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
35/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
20.7x trailing p/e — priced about right
8.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 44/100 — below average
What they do
Malibu Boats builds premium sport boats and fishing boats, then sells them through dealers around the world.
This business wins on brand and dealer reach. You do not casually swap out a $200,000 boat brand when Malibu, Axis, Pursuit, and Maverick already sit in a global dealer network across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Scale → more dealers and better shelf space → so what: Malibu can keep selling premium boats priced from $60,000 to $800,000 even in a slow market.
How they make money
$808M
annual revenue · their business grew -2.6% last year
Saltwater fishing boats
$286M
3.0%
Malibu towboats
$210M
6.0%
Axis towboats
$155M
4.0%
Cobalt boats
$132M
+2.0%
Parts, accessories, trailers
$25M
+1.0%
The products that matter
performance sport boat manufacturing
Malibu and Axis Boats
~$195M · 51% of sales
This core segment generates about $195M, or 51% of total sales. That is still the center of gravity.
core
aftermarket gear and replacement parts
Accessories & Parts
~$172M · 45% of sales
About $172M of revenue comes from accessories and parts, or 45% of sales. That matters because existing owners can keep spending even when new-boat demand slows.
recurring-ish
adjacent marine lines
Other Marine Products
~$57M · smaller bucket
At about $57M, this segment matters for a $383M company, but the disclosure on this page is thin enough that you should treat it as supporting revenue, not the thesis.
adjacent
Key numbers
$790M
fy2026 sales est
That is the fiscal 2026 revenue target, below the current $808M run rate, which tells you recovery is still being pushed out.
2.7%
operating margin
Operating margin → what is left after running the business → so what: Malibu has very little room for mistakes.
$23M
long-term debt
Debt is only 4% of capital, which means the balance sheet is not the main problem. Demand is.
20.7x
trailing p/e
P/E → stock price divided by earnings → so what: you are paying over 20 times profits for a company with earnings projected at $1.30.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 35 / 100
- long-term debt $23M (4% of capital)
- net profit margin 7.0% — keeps 7 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 10% — $0.10 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in MBUU 3 years ago → it's now worth $5,520.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
Latest earnings showed a -$0.02 EPS result versus a $0.05 estimate, a 72.22% miss.
The quarter was messy. Revenue hit $383M, up 103% vs. prior year, but EPS still came in at -$0.16 in the SEC figures and gross margin was just 13.8%.
$383M
revenue
-$0.16
eps
13.8%
gross margin
the number that mattered
13.8% gross margin mattered most because a premium boat maker should not have this little cushion in a demand slump.
-
malibu boats is likely to post lower results in fiscal 2026. (year ends june 30th.) the company actually posted better-than-expected first-quarter numbers.
-
sales of $194.7 million and adjusted earnings of $0.15 per share topped our estimates and advanced from the prior year.
-
the remainder of the fiscal year may be challenging, however.
-
demand for sport water craft remains soft as the economic environment is not ideal for consumers.although interest rates are starting to come down, they remain an impediment for a number of potential sport water craft customers looking to finance their purchase. too, persistent inflation has many consumers' budgets stretched, thus hurting their ability to make large, discretionary purchases.
-
with that in mind, we are forecasting a full-year 2026 sales decrease of 2%, to $790 million.over the past year however, the company was able to help dealer inventory get back to healthier levels.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is wake-boat demand staying weak after a 52.5% revenue drop.
med
demand does not recover
Revenue already fell to $383M last year, and the latest quarter still showed sales down 5% from a year ago. Boats are expensive discretionary purchases. When financing and consumer confidence get worse, demand can stay soft for longer than you want.
If that continues, the $790M fiscal 2026 revenue estimate looks too high.
med
margin compression
A 9.0% operating margin and 3.1% net margin do not leave much room for pricing mistakes, discounting, or factory under-absorption. This is a thin-cushion business right now.
Even small pressure on volume or pricing can hit earnings hard when you only keep about 3 cents of every sales dollar.
med
Saxdor integration risk
The Saxdor acquisition is part of the growth story and the international pitch. It also adds execution risk at a time when the core business is already under pressure.
If integration distracts management or costs more than expected, the rebound gets pushed out.
med
concentrated voting control
Class A and Class B holders do not have equal power, which means control can stay concentrated even if outside shareholders disagree with capital allocation or strategic decisions.
That does not change the quarter. It does change your leverage as a shareholder.
The combined risk is simple: if revenue keeps missing the recovery script and margin slips below 9.0%, this stock stops looking like a rebound play and starts looking like a value trap.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
next earnings report
May 14, 2026 is the next real checkpoint. You want to see whether sales are still falling from a year ago.
metric
operating margin
The current number is 9.0%. If that moves lower while revenue is still weak, the earnings math gets ugly fast.
trend
sales stabilization
A business that fell 52.5% last year does not need hero growth first. It needs proof the decline has actually bottomed.
risk
Saxdor execution
Listen for what management says about integration, dealer demand, and whether the acquisition is helping mix or just adding work.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
below average
Momentum score 4. In human-speak, analysts think this can lag from here unless the recovery gets more convincing.
risk profile
average
Stability score 3. Not a bunker stock, not a total train wreck.
chart momentum
below average
Technical score 4. The chart still looks like a stock trying to earn trust back.
earnings predictability
35 / 100
Expect surprises. That is what low visibility looks like in a cyclical consumer business.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 2 consecutive quarters — 81 buyers vs. 54 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 20.4M shares. net buying for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$13
$44
$33
current price
$29
target midpoint · 11% from current · 3-5yr high: $50 (+55% · 11% ann'l return)
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