Golf equipment and apparel company Acushnet (NYSE: GOLF) reported Q4 CY2025 results exceeding the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 7.2% year on year to $477.2 million. The company’s full-year revenue guidance of $2.65 billion at the midpoint came in 1.9% above analysts’ estimates. Its GAAP loss of $0.58 per share was 90.5% below analysts’ consensus estimates.

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Company Overview

Producer of the acclaimed Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, Acushnet (NYSE: GOLF) is a design and manufacturing company specializing in performance-driven golf products.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years. Over the last five years, Acushnet grew its sales at a weak 9.7% compounded annual growth rate. This was below our standard for the consumer discretionary sector and is a tough starting point for our analysis.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within consumer discretionary, a stretched historical view may miss a company riding a successful new product or trend. Acushnet’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its annualized revenue growth of 3.6% over the last two years was below its five-year trend. We’re wary when companies in the sector see decelerations in revenue growth, as it could signal changing consumer tastes aided by low switching costs.

We can dig further into the company’s revenue dynamics by analyzing its three most important segments: Titleist Balls, Titleist Clubs, and FootJoy, which are 30%, 31.6%, and 21.4% of revenue. Over the last two years, Acushnet’s Titleist Balls (golf balls) and Titleist Clubs (golf clubs) revenues averaged year-on-year growth of 4.1% and 8.7% while its FootJoy revenue (apparel) was flat.

This quarter, Acushnet reported year-on-year revenue growth of 7.2%, and its $477.2 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 5.1%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 1.5% over the next 12 months, a slight deceleration versus the last two years. This projection doesn't excite us and suggests its products and services will see some demand headwinds.

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Operating Margin

Operating margin is a key measure of profitability. Think of it as net income - the bottom line - excluding the impact of taxes and interest on debt, which are less connected to business fundamentals.

Acushnet’s operating margin might fluctuated slightly over the last 12 months but has remained more or less the same, averaging 12% over the last two years. This profitability was inadequate for a consumer discretionary business and caused by its suboptimal cost structure.

This quarter, Acushnet generated an operating margin profit margin of negative 3.8%, down 2.6 percentage points year on year. This contraction shows it was less efficient because its expenses grew faster than its revenue.

Earnings Per Share

Revenue trends explain a company’s historical growth, but the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) points to the profitability of that growth – for example, a company could inflate its sales through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.

Acushnet’s EPS grew at a weak 19.3% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This performance was better than its flat revenue but doesn’t tell us much about its business quality because its operating margin didn’t improve.

In Q4, Acushnet reported EPS of negative $0.58, down from negative $0.02 in the same quarter last year. This print missed analysts’ estimates. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Acushnet’s full-year EPS of $3.10 to grow 19.1%.

Key Takeaways from Acushnet’s Q4 Results

We enjoyed seeing Acushnet beat analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. We were also glad its full-year revenue guidance exceeded Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its EPS missed and its EBITDA fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Zooming out, we think this was a mixed quarter. The stock remained flat at $99.49 immediately following the results.

Is Acushnet an attractive investment opportunity at the current price? When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).