Earnings

Johnson Outdoors Sales Growth Cools After Two Faster Quarters

The Tip Desk · August 7, 2026 · 3 min read

Third-quarter net sales were $189.7 million, up 5% from a year earlier, while net income reached $1.42 a share on $15 million of tariff refunds.

Johnson Outdoors Inc. (JOUT), a global maker of outdoor recreation equipment, reported that year-over-year sales growth cooled to 5% in the fiscal third quarter ending July 3, 2026, after faster gains in each of the two preceding quarters.

Net sales were $189.7 million, compared with $180.7 million a year earlier. In the second quarter, the company had posted 16% growth, and in the first quarter, 31%. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Helen Johnson-Leipold said the company delivered solid results, with total sales increasing 5%, reflecting the strength of its market-leading brands.

Fishing, the largest reportable segment, generated $149.99 million of sales, up 7% from $140.68 million a year earlier. The increase was driven by strength in Minn Kota and pricing actions. Fishing operating profit was $26.36 million.

Diving sales were $23.31 million, up 10% from $21.20 million a year earlier, driven by strong sales in regulators and buoyancy compensator devices. Diving operating profit was $3.29 million.

Camping & Watercraft Recreation sales were $16.43 million, down 13% from $18.91 million a year earlier. The decline was primarily due to weak marketplace conditions in those segments. Camping & Watercraft Recreation operating profit was $1.12 million.

Gross margin expanded to 45.3% from 37.6% in the year-ago quarter. Operating income was $18.3 million, versus $7.3 million a year earlier. Tariff refunds received of approximately $15 million during the quarter contributed to the improvement. Operating expenses increased $7.0 million from the prior-year period, due primarily to increased sales-volume-related costs as well as increased variable compensation costs.

Profit before income taxes was $23.3 million, compared with $10.5 million in the prior-year third quarter. Net income was $14.9 million, or $1.42 a share, versus $7.7 million, or $0.75 a share, a year earlier. The effective tax rate was an expense of 35.8%, compared with 26.3% in the prior-year third quarter.

Chief Financial Officer Asad Rahman said the company recognized approximately $15 million of tariff refunds in the third quarter, with some of that benefit offset by broader cost inflation and other expense increases. As tariff policies continue to evolve, the company remains cautious about the outlook for costs and is monitoring developments closely.

Inventories, net, were $188.3 million as of July 3, 2026, compared with $163.7 million a year earlier. Rahman said inventory increased compared with the prior-year quarter as the company positioned the business to support sales demand, and that it remains confident in its inventory management processes and its ability to maintain healthy inventory levels.

Cash and short-term investments were $175.2 million as of July 3, 2026, an increase of $14.2 million over the prior-year quarter. Capital spending totaled $16.4 million in the current quarter, compared with $11.8 million in the prior-year quarter. In May 2026, the Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend to shareholders of record as of July 16, 2026, payable July 30, 2026.

For the nine months ended July 3, 2026, net sales were $525.1 million, a 15.0% increase over the prior fiscal nine-month period. Gross margin for that year-to-date period was 40.6%, compared with 34.8% a year earlier. Tariff refunds, pricing actions, improved overhead absorption, and cost-savings initiatives more than offset higher material costs to drive margin improvement in the current year-to-date period. Profit before income taxes for the year-to-date period was $32.2 million, versus a loss before income taxes of $(4.3) million in the first nine months of the prior year. Net income during the first fiscal nine months was $21.1 million, or $2.00 a share, versus a net loss of $(5.2) million, or $(0.52) a share, in the prior fiscal year-to-date period.

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