American Outdoor Brands, Inc. reported its Outdoor Lifestyle category, which includes hunting and meat processing, grew 5.4 percent in the third quarter ended January 31, but weakness in Shooting Sports due to cautious retail ordering patterns led to a 3.3 percent overall decline. Earnings for the maker of outdoor accessories under the Bubba, Caldwell, Grilla Grills and Hooyman labels were down due to the impact of tariffs and markdowns used to clear slow sellers.

Third Quarter Highlights 

  • Quarterly net sales were $56.6 million, a decrease of $1.9 million, or 3.3 percent, compared with net sales of $58.5 million for the comparable quarter last year.
  • Quarterly gross margin was 41.0 percent, compared with quarterly gross margin of 44.7 percent for the comparable quarter last year.
  • Quarterly GAAP net loss was $4.1 million, or $(0.32) per diluted share, compared with GAAP net income of $169,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the comparable quarter last year.
  • Quarterly non-GAAP net income was $1.5 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, compared with non-GAAP net income of $2.7 million, or 21 cents per diluted share, for the comparable quarter last year. GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments for net income exclude acquired intangible amortization, stock compensation, non-cash impairment of assets held for sale related to the company’s ust brand, and other costs.
  • Quarterly non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $3.3 million, or 5.8 percent of net sales, compared with adjusted EBITDA of $4.7 million, or 8.1 percent of net sales, for the comparable quarter last year.

“We were pleased to deliver third-quarter net sales results that exceeded our expectations, supported by strong retail sell-through and continued momentum across our growth brands. Total POS increased by 5 percent year over year, led by strength in our Outdoor Lifestyle category, which, we believe, indicates that consumers continue to engage with our innovative product offerings. Net sales for the quarter were $56.6 million, declining 3.3 percent from last year – a favorable result given variability in retailer ordering patterns and broader market dynamics that we’ve experienced so far in fiscal 2026. Our third quarter performance reinforces our confidence in our full year outlook.

“Our Outdoor Lifestyle category, which includes hunting and meat processing, generated over 62 percent of our net sales in the quarter and delivered growth of 5.4 percent, driven by strength in our Bog and Meat! Your Maker brands. In Shooting Sports, our Caldwell brand delivered solid growth in the quarter, reflecting strong retailer and consumer response to our innovative ClayCopter platform. That momentum was reinforced at Shot Show in January, where engagement around our new ClayCopter and Claymore connected products was exceptionally strong. Increasingly, our retail partners are seeking differentiated innovation to drive traffic and strengthen consumer engagement, and Caldwell’s performance demonstrates how our innovation pipeline enables us to gain share even within a challenged category. In fact, Caldwell was a bright spot within our Shooting Sports category, which declined 15 percent year over year, largely due to continued softness in aiming solution products – a trend we are seeing across the broader market.

“New products represented over 26 percent of our net sales in the quarter. Our relentless focus on innovation continues to expand how we connect with consumers. As we enter peak fishing season, we are preparing an initial rollout in April of Scoretracker Live, a platform that integrates Major League Fishing (MLF) Scoretracker technology into our Bubba app to deliver real-time tournament hosting and live scoring to anglers and organizers everywhere. Scoretracker Live brings the intensity and excitement once reserved for professional MLF bass tournaments to events of any size – from neighborhood competitions and school teams to local clubs and regional circuits. It also supports the growing adoption of catch-and-release tournament formats that promote sustainable fisheries, aligning competitive excitement with responsible stewardship.

“These new products from Caldwell and Bubba demonstrate that we are intentionally executing on a strategy that pairs innovative hardware with integrated digital capabilities in categories where connectivity enhances the consumer experience. By building connected product ecosystems around select growth brands, we are deepening engagement, creating differentiated value for our retail partners, and supporting recurring revenue opportunities. We look forward to building on that momentum with innovation from Bubba that we’ll unveil this summer at ICAST, the world’s largest sport fishing expo.

“Taken together, our third quarter performance highlights the strength of our diversified brand portfolio and the effectiveness of our long-term strategy. Equally important, we remain disciplined in how we allocate capital – prioritizing investments that support innovation and long-term value creation, refining our portfolio to ensure alignment with our strategic direction, and actively managing working capital to enhance financial flexibility.”

Andrew Fulmer, chief financial officer, said, “In the third quarter, net sales came in ahead of our expectations, and we delivered gross margins of 41 percent, despite actions we took to clear certain slow-moving inventory and the higher tariff costs we absorbed during the period. Our balance sheet remains strong and continues to give us the flexibility to support our strategic objectives. During the quarter, we repurchased approximately 181,000 shares of our common stock for $1.4 million, and we ended the period debt-free with $10.4 million in cash. We believe this solid financial position allows us to continue pursuing growth opportunities that drive long-term value for our shareholders.”

Fiscal 2026 Outlook
Fulmer continued, “We are encouraged by our performance so far in fiscal 2026, particularly in light of the ongoing tariff environment, cautious retailer ordering patterns, and broader consumer uncertainty. As such, we are maintaining our financial outlook and continue to expect fiscal 2026 net sales in the range of approximately $191 million to $193 million. Recall that at the end of fiscal 2025, retailers accelerated approximately $10 million of orders originally planned for fiscal 2026 to get ahead of impending tariffs, creating a more challenging comparison for the current year. Adjusting for that acceleration, the underlying decline in net sales for fiscal 2026 would be approximately 5 percent, which we would view as solid performance given the current environment. For the full fiscal year, we continue to expect gross margin in the range of 42 percent to 43 percent and adjusted EBITDA in the range of 4.0 percent to 4.5 percent of net sales.”

Image courtesy Claymore/American Outdoor Brands