Acushnet Holdings Corp. (Acushnet, GOLF) President and CEO David Maher told analysts on Wednesday that the company’s headlines remain growth and strength in its core Titleist Golf Equipment segment, improving profitability within FootJoy and the durability of the Golf Gear franchise.
“Overall, we are pleased with the strength of our brands, the company’s healthy balance sheet and Acushnet’s clear future direction as we prepare for a full slate of product launches and new initiatives scheduled for 2027,” Maher said on the company’s Q3 conference call with analysts.”
The CEO said that there are many data points which frame recent industry growth, with the most compelling being eight consecutive years of participation increases, which he said affirms the game’s enduring appeal. He also pointed to the “meaningfully improved” financial health of golf courses and golf retailers, which has led to outsized investment in facilities to meet the future needs of an evolving golfer base.
Acushnet reported that consolidated net sales for the third quarter decreased 1.3 percent, or down 0.6 percent on a constant-currency (cc) basis year-over-year (y/y) to $649.2 million. The sales dip was reportedly due to lower net sales in FootJoy Golf Wear and Golf Gear – said to be primarily related to lower sales volumes – partially offset by higher net sales in Titleist Golf Equipment, reportedly due primarily to “higher sales volumes and average selling prices in golf balls.”
Segment Summary
Titleist Golf Equipment posted 0.5 percent y/y increase (+1.2 percent cc) in net sales, said to be primarily driven by higher sales volumes of recently introduced GTS drivers and fairways, as well as higher average selling prices and higher sales volumes of Pro V1 golf ball models. These increases were said to be partially offset by lower sales volumes of second model year T-Series irons.
“We are pleased with strong demand across the Titleist golf ball lineup, which has grown in all regions, led by Pro V1 which has posted volume gains in 2026 on top of last year’s record launch,” Maher noted.
He said Titleist Golf Clubs also “remain vibrant” on the strength of new GTS metals, which have benefited from their Q2 launch timing and momentum in Vokey wedges and Scotty Cameron putters.
Golf Gear net sales decreased 9.5 percent y/y (-9.0 percent cc), said to be primarily due to lower sales volumes across all product categories, partially offset by higher average selling prices in golf bags. Maher said the third quarter decline is partly timing related as the company prepares for launches of new Titleist golf bag and Club Glove product offerings in the fourth quarter.
FootJoy Golf Wear saw a 7.5 percent y/y decrease (+7.1 percent cc) in Q3 net sales, which was said to be primarily due to lower sales volumes, partially offset by higher average selling prices, both across all product categories.
“As previously noted, we are focused on and making good progress towards strengthening FootJoy’s underlying profitability,” Maher explained. “FJ’s performance-oriented and premium product assortment is generating positive trending ASPs, expanded margins and historically low levels of closeout footwear sales, all of which are delivering improved year-on-year profitability in the segment.”
He said the shoes business continues to build positive momentum, growing more than 30% in the quarter with strong gains in EMEA and the U.S.
Region Summary
United States
A 1.4 percent decrease in U.S. net sales to $391.4 million in the third quarter was said to be largely driven by a $7.5 million y/y decrease in FootJoy Golf Wear and a $5.5 million y/y decrease in Golf Gear, partially offset by a $5.3 million increase in Titleist Golf Equipment.
The decreases in FootJoy Golf Wear and Golf Gear in the U.S. were apparently due primarily to lower sales volumes across all product categories. The increase in Titleist Golf Equipment was said to be primarily driven by higher sales volumes of recently introduced GTS drivers and fairways, as well as higher average selling prices of Pro V1 golf ball models, partially offset by lower sales volumes of the second model year T-Series irons. The U.S. was up 6 percent y/y for the year-to-date (YTD) period.
Net sales in regions outside the United States decreased 1.2 percent y/y (+0.5 percent constant-currency) due to net sales increases in EMEA and Japan, partially offset by constant-currency decreases in Korea and Rest of World.
In EMEA, the 4.5 percent constant-currency sales increase to $94.1 million was said to be primarily driven by higher net sales of products that are not allocated to one of the company’s three reportable segments and in Titleist Golf Equipment, mainly golf balls. EMEA was up 8% percent YTD on a constant-currency basis
In Japan, the 0.5 percent constant-currency sales increase was reportedly due to higher net sales across all reportable segments, partially offset by lower net sales of products that are not allocated to one of the company’s three reportable segments. Japan was up 11 percent year-to-date.
In Korea, the 5.3 percent constant-currency sales decrease to $64.1 million was said to be primarily due to lower net sales in FootJoy Golf Wear, mainly apparel, and Golf Gear. Korea was “about flat” for the YTD period with “healthy gains” from Titleist equipment.
In Rest of World (ROW), the decrease was due to lower net sales across all reportable segments, offset in part by an increase in net sales of products that are not allocated to one of our three reportable segments. ROS was up 8 percent year-to-date.
“In summary, we are pleased with Acushnet’s performance, the health of the golf consumer and the direction of the company,” Maher said. “Product lines are in great shape. Inventory positions, both owned and at retail, are in line for this time of the year, and we are enthused about our new product pipelines as we prepare for 2027. Q4, as is often the case, will be a period of transition as we convert Pro V1 production to next-generation product and make key investments in R&D, fitting networks and our TPI performance platform to drive future growth.”
Profitability
Third quarter gross profit totaled $322 million, up $3 million compared to Q3 last year, reportedly driven by improved profitability in FootJoy and higher sales volumes at shoes, partially offset by higher product costs in Titleist Golf Equipment.
Third quarter gross margin of 49.6 percent of net sales was up 110 basis points y/y, while YTD gross margin was 50.5 percent of net sales, up 190 basis points y/y.
“On a normalized basis, year-to-date gross margin was 48.6 percent, flat year-over-year despite an approximately $29 million headwind from higher tariff expense,” noted company CFO Sean Sullivan.
SG&A expense amounted to $217 million in the quarter, up $12 million y/y, said to be primarily due to higher IT-related expenses associated with ERP implementation project and higher incentive compensation expense.
“With respect to the ERP implementation project, I am pleased to report that the company went live in the third quarter in North America and at our golf ball manufacturing operations in Thailand,” Sullivan shared. “While the system cutover proceeded smoothly, we experienced some temporary disruption in our custom embroidery operations, which impacted FootJoy and Golf Gear. From here, we will continue to advance the ERP implementation in phases across our remaining geographic regions.”
Interest expense was $12 million in the quarter, down $3 million y/y due to a decrease in interest rates.
“Our effective tax rate in Q3 was 25.5 percent, down from 37.3 percent last year, primarily driven by changes in our jurisdictional mix of earnings and a reduced income tax benefit related to the U.S. deduction of foreign-derived intangible income,” Sullivan added.
Adjusted EBITDA of $115 million was down 3 percent in the quarter. Year-to-date, net sales of $2.22 billion were up 6 percent in constant-currency terms and adjusted EBITDA of $468 million was up 17% year-over-year. Excluding the net tariff refund impacts, adjusted EBITDA is up 8 percent year-to-date.
Balance Sheet Summary
Sullivan said the company’s strong balance sheet and cash flow position the company well to continue executing its capital allocation strategy with a focus on investing for long-term growth while returning capital to shareholders.
“Our net leverage ratio at the end of Q3 using average trailing net debt was 1.9x, down sequentially,” the CFO added.
He said inventories were up $60 million versus last year, and they remain comfortable with this position ahead of new product launches in 2027.
YTD Cash Flows
Year-to-date cash flow from operations amounted to $319 million, up $124 million from the 2025 YTD period, driven in part by tariff refunds received in the second quarter and a reduction in working capital requirements.
“Capital expenditures (CapEx) were $57 million in the first 9 months of 2026, reflecting our continued strategic investments in additional golf ball manufacturing capacity and increased club assembly to support the sustained demand of our products globally,” Sullivan noted. “We still expect full year 2026 CapEx spend to be approximately $95 million.”
Adjusted EBITDA was $114.7 million in Q3, down 3.3 percent y/y. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 17.7 percent of net sales for the third quarter, compared to 18.0 percent for the prior-year Q3 period.
Cash Dividend and Share Repurchase
The Acushnet Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.255 per share of common stock. The dividend will be payable on December 18, 2026 to shareholders of record on December 4, 2026. The number of shares outstanding as of October 29, 2026 was 57,204,768.
During the three months ended September 30, 2026, the company repurchased 616,749 shares of its common stock on the open market at an average price of $89.81 for an aggregate of $55.4 million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2026, the company repurchased 904,988 shares of its common stock on the open market at an average price of $89.94 for an aggregate of $81.4 million. On October 15, 2026, the company repurchased 583,527 shares of its common stock from Magnus Holdings Co., Ltd. (Magnus), for an aggregate of $52.5 million in satisfaction of its previously disclosed obligations under a share repurchase agreement with Magnus.
Outlook
Sullivan said the company’s continue to expect full year net sales to be in the range of $2.650 billion to $2.675 billion, up approximately 4.1 percent y/y at the midpoint.
“On a constant-currency basis, we expect net sales to increase between 3.3 percent and 4.2 percent,” the CFO declared. “We also now expect full year adjusted EBITDA to be $455 million to $470 million, which includes the full year net tariff refund benefit of approximately $30 million. We still expect full year free cash flow to meaningfully improve year-over-year, converting at roughly 40% to 50% of adjusted EBITDA.”
Sullivan said the updated full year outlook reflects the strength of the company’s year-to-date performance and expectations for the fourth quarter.
“At the midpoint, the guidance implies fourth quarter net sales of approximately $440 million and an adjusted EBITDA loss of approximately $5 million,” Sullivan added. “This is consistent with our seasonally lower fourth quarter earnings profile and reflects the timing of expected lower sales in Titleist Golf Equipment, including the impact of accelerating our metals launch into the second quarter, which shifted sales and earnings earlier in the year as well as the transition to the 2027 Pro V1 launch. During the fourth quarter, we also plan to continue our strategic investments in technology and fitting as well as preparing for our product launches in 2027.”
Image courtesy Titleiest Acushnet Holdings Corp.