With warmer days ahead, pool stocks, like Pool Corp. (SYM: POOL) are gaining traction.
Pool Corporation is the world’s largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool and related backyard products. It operates 447 sales centers in North America, Europe and Australia, and distributes more than 200,000 products to roughly 125,000 wholesale customers.
Fueling interest, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway recently increased its holdings in POOL by 48%, adding another 194,630 shares. Part of the reason for that are the company’s dividend payments, stock buybacks, and recurring revenue.
In addition, Pool Corp. has a competitive advantage as a leader in the swimming pool market. Not only does it have a history of acquiring smaller competitors, but it also has strong recurring revenue from supplies and maintenance – which accounted for 65% of Pool’s total sales in 2024, as compared to about 60% in 2014.
Plus, as the company generates more cash flow, and margins continue to expand, Pool is also able to allocate more cash to stock buybacks and dividends.
Why So Much Interest?
For one, summer is quickly nearing.
Two, POOL has a strong economic moat thanks to the company’s scale and its reliable stream of revenue from maintenance products, as noted a moment ago. Plus, it has a strong history of returning cash to shareholders with dividends and stock buybacks.
Three, the company just increased its buyback program to $600 million.
“As of April 29, 2025, this adds $309.2 million to the $290.8 million remaining under its existing share repurchase program for the purchase of the company’s common stock in the open market at prevailing market prices,” said Pool, as quoted in a its press release.
Four, Pool just declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.25 per share, a 4% increase over the previous quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share. The dividend is payable on May 29, 2025 to stockholders of record on May 15, 2025.
As noted by John Stokely, Chair of the Board:
“Today marks POOLCORP’s 20th quarterly dividend-increase since 2004. This milestone, combined with the expansion of our share repurchase program, demonstrates the Board’s ongoing commitment to return capital to our shareholders.”
“We are proud of POOLCORP’s role in advancing the outdoor living industry through our vast sales center network. With a growing assortment of innovative products and a robust digital ecosystem that elevates the customer experience, we are connecting customers with our products and expertise like never before. Looking ahead, we believe that these efforts will translate into meaningful returns for our shareholders.”
With fundamentals strong, buybacks growing, and summer demand heating up, Pool Corp. could continue making waves for investors. But as always, it’s wise to stay alert to broader market conditions—especially as uncertainty builds across the economy.
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Written by Ian Cooper