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Leslie's (LESL)
NASDAQ:LESL
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Leslie's (LESL) AI Stock Analysis

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LESL

Leslie's

(NASDAQ:LESL)

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Neutral 51 (OpenAI - 5.2)
Rating:51Neutral
Price Target:
$8.00
▲(189.86% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:06/10/26
The score is held back primarily by weak financial performance (large losses, negative equity, and only marginally positive free cash flow). Technicals are supportive with strong momentum, but overbought indicators add pullback risk. The earnings call shows credible operational improvement and reiterated guidance toward positive full-year FCF, yet profitability and leverage risks remain substantial, limiting the overall rating.
Positive Factors
Recurring consumable revenue
Leslie’s core revenue mix is dominated by consumable chemicals and serviceable maintenance items that require regular replenishment. This creates steady, repeatable unit demand and predictable seasonal cash flows, supporting long‑run revenue stability and customer retention across channels.
Negative Factors
Deep GAAP losses and negative margins
Sustained large GAAP losses and deeply negative margins indicate structural profitability shortfalls. Losses erode retained capital and limit the company's ability to self‑fund investments or absorb shocks without meaningfully improving margins or securing external financing over the medium term.
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Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Recurring consumable revenue
Leslie’s core revenue mix is dominated by consumable chemicals and serviceable maintenance items that require regular replenishment. This creates steady, repeatable unit demand and predictable seasonal cash flows, supporting long‑run revenue stability and customer retention across channels.
Read all positive factors

Leslie's (LESL) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)

Leslie's Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description
Leslie's, Inc. operates as a leading direct-to-consumer brand specializing in comprehensive pool and spa care throughout the United States. The company actively markets and sells a vast array of supplies, equipment, and related services to ensure ...
How the Company Makes Money
Leslie’s generates revenue primarily by selling pool and spa products through its owned retail stores and online platform. The largest recurring component of its sales is consumable pool and spa chemicals (such as water treatment and maintenance p...

Leslie's Earnings Call Summary

Earnings Call Date:May 13, 2026
(Q2-2026)
|
% Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Aug 05, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call emphasized solid operational and commercial progress: revenue and comparable sales growth, strong customer reactivation, meaningful gross margin expansion, inventory reductions, and a $9.2M improvement in adjusted EBITDA. Management outlined concrete cost-savings levers (store optimization, SKU rationalization, expense reductions) and reiterated full-year guidance while rolling out the Price Drop initiative and convenience capabilities (BOPIS, Uber). However, significant headwinds remain—GAAP and adjusted net losses are still material, adjusted EBITDA remains negative, store closures create a near-term sales drag, there is an upcoming one-time margin impact from inventory optimization, and leverage is high at $753M. On balance, the progress and momentum in customer metrics, margin expansion, and operational initiatives outweigh the outstanding challenges, but the company is not yet profitable and execution risk into the peak season and back half of the year is meaningful.
Positive Updates
Revenue Growth
Net sales increased 4.3% year-over-year to $184.7 million in Q2 (from $177.1 million), driven by strong retail performance, especially residential and PRO in March and the Western U.S.
Negative Updates
Net Loss and Adjusted Net Loss Remain Material
GAAP net loss widened to $52.5 million in Q2 from $51.3 million a year ago. Adjusted net loss increased to $50.0 million from $48.3 million, indicating continued unprofitable quarters despite improvements in EBITDA.
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Negative
Revenue Growth
Net sales increased 4.3% year-over-year to $184.7 million in Q2 (from $177.1 million), driven by strong retail performance, especially residential and PRO in March and the Western U.S.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Leslie’s reiterated fiscal 2026 guidance calling for net sales of $1.1 billion to $1.25 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $55 million to $75 million, with CapEx of $20 million to $25 million and positive free cash flow expected for the year; management said its pricing strategy should boost annual gross margins by ~100–150 basis points while inventory optimization will cause a one‑time ~100–200 bps reduction to annualized gross margin in Q3–Q4. They quantified discrete initiatives: completed store optimization (80 closures) with an expected annual net sales impact of ~$25–35 million but an annualized net EBITDA benefit of $4–10 million, SKU rationalization (removing ~2,000 long‑tail SKUs) to deliver ~$4–5 million of annualized EBITDA, and expense reductions of ~$7–12 million annually (benefits starting H2 2026); combined initiatives are expected to drive a $5–10 million improvement to EBITDA in fiscal 2026 after reinvestment in the Price Drop program. Management pointed to Q2 results underpinning the outlook—Q2 net sales $184.7 million (+4.3% YoY), comparable sales +6.6%, gross margin 28.9% (vs. 24.8% a year ago), adjusted EBITDA improvement to –$26.8 million (from –$36.1 million), inventory down ~22% to $262.4 million—and highlighted liquidity of ~$97.1 million available (including $99 million drawn on the credit line and $753 million of long‑term debt).

Leslie's Financial Statement Overview

Summary
Financial quality is weak: profitability has deteriorated sharply with a deeply negative TTM net margin (-22.6%) and a large net loss (-$276.6M). Balance-sheet risk is elevated due to negative shareholder equity (TTM: -$541.3M) despite lower total debt versus 2024–2025. Cash flow is only slightly positive (TTM FCF ~$2.8M) and has fallen materially, offering limited cushion while losses persist.
Income Statement
24
Negative
Balance Sheet
18
Very Negative
Cash Flow
33
Negative
BreakdownTTMSep 2025Sep 2024Sep 2023Sep 2022Sep 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue1.22B1.24B1.33B1.45B1.56B1.34B
Gross Profit428.40M439.65M476.79M548.22M673.74M595.16M
EBITDA48.33M55.10M90.19M136.32M269.13M224.09M
Net Income-276.55M-236.97M-23.38M27.24M159.03M126.63M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets715.46M741.48M1.05B1.03B1.11B1.04B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments16.92M64.34M108.50M55.42M112.29M345.06M
Total Debt237.13M1.01B1.05B1.04B1.03B1.02B
Total Liabilities1.26B1.15B1.23B1.20B1.31B1.26B
Stockholders Equity-541.33M-407.99M-177.15M-161.36M-197.95M-217.56M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow2.77M-16.67M60.22M-32.11M34.92M140.63M
Operating Cash Flow26.58M8.82M107.47M6.47M66.64M169.56M
Investing Cash Flow-23.73M-25.35M-47.16M-52.54M-138.98M-35.35M
Financing Cash Flow-3.18M-27.64M-7.22M-10.80M-158.87M53.78M

Leslie's Technical Analysis

Technical Analysis Sentiment
Positive
Last Price2.76
Price Trends
50DMA
2.87
Positive
100DMA
2.03
Positive
200DMA
2.93
Positive
Market Momentum
MACD
1.43
Negative
RSI
78.85
Negative
STOCH
76.51
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For LESL, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 2.76 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 4.64, below the 50-day MA of 2.87, and below the 200-day MA of 2.93, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 1.43 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 78.85 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 76.51 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for LESL.

Leslie's Risk Analysis

Leslie's disclosed 46 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Leslie's reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks

Leslie's Peers Comparison

Overall Rating
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (61)
Financial Indicators
Name
Overall Rating
Market Cap
P/E Ratio
ROE
Dividend Yield
Revenue Growth
EPS Growth
63
Neutral
$327.44B23.30113.30%2.67%2.23%-4.48%
61
Neutral
$18.38B12.79-2.54%3.03%1.52%-15.83%
56
Neutral
$123.79B18.58-64.84%1.94%6.24%-2.12%
51
Neutral
$74.59M-0.2765.64%-7.46%-511.09%
47
Neutral
$1.01B15.6516.39%7.36%10.24%
46
Neutral
$17.24M-17.61-3.23%25.20%-10.54%-332.20%
40
Underperform
$118.67M-31.12-3.93%-2.32%-680.98%
* Consumer Cyclical Sector Average
Performance Comparison
Ticker
Company Name
Price
Change
% Change
LESL
Leslie's
7.97
-2.03
-20.33%
HD
Home Depot
328.39
-16.01
-4.65%
LOW
Lowe's
220.78
8.87
4.19%
TTSH
Tile Shop
2.98
-3.09
-50.91%
NHTC
Natural Health Trends
2.01
-1.93
-49.04%
ARHS
Arhaus
7.17
-1.22
-14.50%

Leslie's Corporate Events

Delistings and Listing ChangesRegulatory Filings and Compliance
Leslie’s Regains Nasdaq Compliance, Listing Issue Resolved
Positive
Jun 1, 2026
On February 11, 2026, Leslie’s Inc. disclosed that it had fallen out of compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(3)(C) after its market value of publicly held shares remained below the required $15 million threshold for 30 consecutive bus...
Executive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
Leslie’s shareholders affirm board, pay, and incentive plan
Positive
Mar 27, 2026
At its March 24, 2026 annual shareholder meeting, Leslie’s, Inc. investors elected three Class II directors and one Class III director to one-year terms expiring at the 2027 meeting, and ratified Grant Thornton LLP as the independent auditor...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Disclaimer

This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.Date of analysis: Jun 10, 2026