Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. just made it to the finish line in 2025 with positive comps for the year, but the trend of positive comps in each of the first three quarters of the year gave way to a comp sales decline in the fourth quarter as the company dealt with a variety of external headwinds.

Fourth-quarter net sales were $334.9 million, down 1.6 percent year-over-year, with comparable store sales declining 1.8 percent. a loss in the fourth quarter due to an impairment charge to close stores and lower operating earnings excluding the charge.

Results exceeded the revised guidance delivered on December 4, when the retailer reported third-quarter results. Sportsman’s Warehouse also lowered its guidance for the year at the time, expecting sales to be flat to up slightly and adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $22 million to $26 million. On March 3, the retailer pre-announced results, indicating same-store sales of approximately $333.6 million and Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $9.6 million.

“While the first half of Q4 reflected a more pressured promotional environment, we turned our sales trends positive in the back half of the quarter, which contributed to our better-than-expected results,” commented company President and CEO Paul Stone.

“We also delivered positive same-store sales growth in each of the first three quarters of 2025, resulting in a 1 percent growth for the year,” he continued. “This is our first year of positive comps since 2020 and a meaningful milestone in our turnaround.”

Stone said that for several weeks prior to and through the first week of December, sales softened, driven by external factors, including the government shutdown and weaker-than-expected Black Friday and Cyber Week performance.

“We moved quickly to adjust our holiday strategy with a more promotional cadence to meet a value-driven consumer,” he explained. “These actions helped reverse trends with sales turning positive in December with strength coming into January, February and March. While we are encouraged by these improving trends, we remain measured as the U.S. consumer remains under pressure.”

Within the quarter, performance across the retailer’s so-called Core Pursuits was said to be strong.

Performance was led by Hunting & Shooting Sports, which increased 6.2 percent, driven by strength in firearms, ammunition and less-lethal personal protection, partially influenced by event-driven demand.

Hunting & Shooting Sports increased 4.4 percent for the year, reportedly driven by improved in-stock levels in core firearms and ammunition, better alignment of inventory with key hunting seasons and continued traction in personal protection, including less-lethal alternatives.

“Throughout 2025, we strengthened our position in personal protection by building a more focused assortment aligned with growing customer demand for safety solutions,” he said. “This work is supported by the expertise of our outfitters, many with law enforcement or military backgrounds, who provide trusted service and credibility that we believe is difficult for competitors to replicate. By leaning into this category with expertise, service and a more disciplined assortment, we are attracting new customers and gaining share, which is accelerated given current external factors.”

Fishing delivered positive quarterly comp results, up 3.2 percent for the period. Stone said warm weather in the West drove a double-digit decline in ice fishing, masking underlying strength. Excluding ice fishing, the Fishing department grew over 11 percent, reflecting its underlying strength.

For the full year, Fishing remained the strongest growth driver in 2025, increasing 10.3 percent for the year and nearly 18 percent on a two-year stack basis. This performance was said to reflect “more precise inventory timing, improved locally relevant assortments and continued strength in participation trends.”

The retailer is said to be encouraged by an early start to the spring season, with sales up double digits quarter-to-date.

“While our Core Pursuits performed well, Camping and Softlines remain challenged, reflecting their discretionary nature,” Stone commented. “We continue to sharpen assortments, eliminate lower productivity SKUs and align these categories more tightly to our Core Pursuits.” Inventory in the challenged categories reportedly declined in line with sales, which Stone said demonstrated improved discipline, efficiency and healthy inventory.

The e-commerce business reportedly outperformed again in Q4, with sales up 8.3 percent for the period and up 6.6 percent for the year.

“This underscores the strength of our omni-channel model and the growth potential in our Core Pursuits,” Stone noted. “We also saw improvements in both units per transaction and average order value, driven by regionally and seasonally relevant merchandise, better in-stocks and stronger attachment across categories.”

The CEO said the company made meaningful progress across four strategic priorities in 2025.

“First, through stronger planning and merchandising discipline, along with strategic technology investments, we significantly improved in-stock levels in the core 20 percent of products that drive 80 percent of our business. This delivered faster turns, SKU reduction and improved seasonal alignment.

“Second, we re-anchored the business to our local market advantage by strengthening the roles of our outfitters as trusted local experts and expanding locally relevant brands and products. Our position remains clear: outlocal the big box players and offer more depth in merchandising authority than smaller competitors.

“Third, we strengthened our authority in personal protection by optimizing our assortment, increasing depth in key handgun brands and introducing a broader non-lethal offering, including an exclusive collaborative partnership with Byrna that brought in-store theater, innovation and a new customer in the Sportsman’s. This reinforced our leadership and drove growth.

“Finally, we strengthened brand awareness and advanced our digital-first go-to-market strategy. We optimized our performance marketing approach, driving efficient traffic across our channels through targeting and a more powerful customer experience. Leveraging data-driven insights and personalization, we are reaching customers with greater precision to support profitable omni-channel growth.”

Looking ahead, Stone walked through the next phase of Sportsman’s Warehouse’s three-year transformation.

He said they are strengthening their leadership position in the Core Pursuits categories of Fishing, Hunting & Shooting Sports and Personal Protection.

“These pursuits define our brand and attract our most engaged, highest value customers,” he explained. “Building on the foundation we set last year, our focus centers on three initiatives to support our Core Pursuits.”

First, SPWH is upgrading its loyalty rewards program, working with a strategy and platform design firm to build a more powerful program that directly connects loyalty and the company’s credit card ecosystem. The upgrade is designed to increase retention, expand lifetime value and drive higher AOV and frequency through compelling rewards and personalized engagement. Testing is expected to start later this year and the planned of the enhanced program is scheduled for early Q1 of next year.

Second, the retailer is developing firearm solution bundling, building on its strength in Hunting & Shooting Sports and Personal Protection.

“With over 75 percent of firearm purchases beginning online and significant firearm traffic already coming to our site, we see a meaningful opportunity to convert more of that demand through an improved digital experience,” Stone explained. “This tool will help customers build a complete firearm solution tailored to the pursuit while improving our overall margins.” The customer is required to pick up their firearms in-store and SPWH is leveraging its e-commerce experience to improve attachment to the items relevant to a single firearms purchase.

Third, Stone said they are reinventing the omni-channel Fishing category experience, suggesting that Fishing still represents meaningful growth upside. He believes the company has about a 1 percent share of a large and growing category and said they have an ambitious omni-channel plan to double that share over the next three to four years.

This strategy includes two pathways:

Elevating the in-store experience through locally assorted merchandise built around species, seasons and innovation.

Strengthening the digital fishing experience with the new species and region-focused platform that integrates content and commerce.

“This will help anglers build their total solution more easily and quickly,” Stone continued. “While this work began in mid-2025, we are accelerating our pace given the category’s appeal to new high-value customers and its margin accretive profile.”

Outlook
Looking ahead to the year, Stone said the U.S. consumer remains under pressure, with rising fuel costs and broader macro dynamics adding to the weight on discretionary spending. Still, he said they are seeing bright spots.

“Since January, demand in Personal Protection and Ammo has strengthened, driven by external factors,” the CEO detailed. “We are capturing that demand while remaining realistic about duration. We also see potential tailwinds ahead, such as America’s 250th anniversary, which aligns well with our customers and categories. While early, we are seeing a strong start to the fishing season and believe we are well-positioned to capture demand due to our strategic initiatives in place for this category.”

Given all of this, he said they feel optimistic about the retailer’s positioning.

“Our strategy is working, our initiatives are gaining traction, and the turnaround is firmly underway,” Stone concluded. “The team is energized and disciplined, and our focus remains on driving profitable growth, disciplined management of inventory, while executing against the priorities we’ve laid out.”

Profitability & Expenses Summary
Gross profit was $95.2 million, or 28.4 percent of net sales, compared to $103.6 million, or 30.4 percent of net sales, in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. This decrease was primarily driven by category mix, with higher firearms and ammunition penetration, increased promotional activity, and lower sales in higher-margin categories.

Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses decreased to $96.2 million, or 28.7 percent of net sales, compared to $100.0 million, or 29.4 percent of net sales, in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, primarily driven by decreased payroll expense as we emphasize disciplined cost control.

Impairment charges of $17.8 million, related to asset write-offs for ten underperforming store locations, were recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025. No impairment charges were recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024.

Net loss was $21.7 million, compared to a net loss of $8.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. Adjusted net loss was $3.9 million, compared to adjusted net income of $1.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024.

Adjusted EBITDA was $9.6 million, compared to $14.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. Diluted loss per share was 56 cents, compared to diluted loss per share of 23 cents in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024.

Adjusted diluted loss per share was 10 cents, compared to Adjusted diluted earnings per share of 4 cents for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024.

Full-Year Summary
(52 weeks ended January 31, 2026)

  • Net sales were $1.21 billion, an increase of 1.0 percent, compared to $1.20 billion in fiscal year 2024. The increase in net sales was said to be primarily driven by growth in Hunting and Shooting Sports and Fishing, supported by improved in-stock levels and a more targeted, seasonally and regionally aligned merchandising strategy. Additional gains came from an increased focus on Personal Protection, including less-lethal alternatives, and a shift to a digital-first marketing approach. We opened one new store in November 2025, which contributed $2.3 million in net sales.
  • Same-store sales increased 1.0 percent compared to fiscal year 2024, primarily as a result of the same factors noted above that drove net sales growth.
  • Gross profit was $373.5 million or 30.9 percent of net sales, compared to $370.5 million or 30.9 percent of net sales for fiscal year 2024. We experienced gross margin improvements across most departments, but these were offset by lower margins in Hunting and Shooting Sports and by an unfavorable mix shift toward lower-margin firearms and ammunition.
  • Gross profit was also impacted by a prior-year correction to the customer loyalty liability, reducing gross margin by approximately 0.2 percent of net sales.
  • SG&A expenses increased to $393.0 million, or 32.5 percent of net sales, compared to $388.7 million, or 32.5 percent of net sales, for fiscal year 2024, due to increases in non-recurring expenses and a reinvestment in customer-facing and sales-driving areas of the business, including store and support area labor to drive sales.
  • Impairment charges of $17.8 million, related to asset write-offs for ten underperforming store locations, were recorded in fiscal year 2025. No impairment charges were recorded in fiscal year 2024.
  • Net loss was $(50.1) million, compared to a net loss of $(33.1) million in fiscal year 2024. Adjusted net loss was $(21.3) million, compared to adjusted net loss of $(20.2) million in fiscal year 2024.
  • Adjusted EBITDA was $27.5 million, compared to $29.6 million in fiscal year 2024.
  • Diluted loss per share was $1.30, compared to diluted loss per share of $(0.87) in fiscal year 2024. Adjusted diluted loss per share was 56 cents, compared to adjusted diluted loss per share of $(0.53) in fiscal year 2024.

Balance Sheet and Capital Allocation Summary
(as of January 31, 2026)

The company ended fiscal year 2025 with net debt of $90.0 million, a decrease of 6.1 percent compared with the prior year, comprised of $47.5 million of borrowings outstanding under the company’s revolving credit facility, $44.2 million of net borrowings outstanding under the company’s term loan facility, and $1.7 million of cash and cash equivalents.

Inventory at the end of fiscal year 2025 was $312.9 million, a 8.5 percent decrease versus the prior year-end.

Total liquidity was $107.8 million as of the end of fiscal year 2025, comprised of $106.1 million of availability under the company’s revolving credit facility and term loan facility and $1.7 million of cash and cash equivalents.

Fiscal Year 2026 Outlook
For fiscal year 2026, the company estimates same-store sales to be down 1.0 percent to up 2.0 percent, and adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $30 million to $36 million. The company also expects capital expenditures for 2026 to be in the range of $20 million to $25 million, primarily consisting of technology investments and general store maintenance. There are no new store openings planned for 2026.

“We were encouraged by our performance in 2025, particularly our return to positive comparable sales growth,” said Jennifer Fall Jung, chief financial officer of Sportsman’s Warehouse. “We strengthened our balance sheet through disciplined inventory management, reducing inventory by 8.5 percent, while improving its quality and productivity. This, combined with focused expense management, allowed us to generate positive free cash flow, pay down our debt, and enhance overall liquidity.”

“We are approaching the year with a balanced outlook,” continued Fall Jung. “Our strategic initiatives are firmly in motion, and we believe the actions we’ve taken position us to drive profitable growth, improve returns, and continue strengthening the balance sheet. Following the comprehensive review of our store fleet, we expect to close approximately five locations over the next 12 months. These closures are anticipated to occur after the holiday season, and as such, we do not expect a material impact to this year’s results.”

The company has not reconciled expected adjusted EBITDA for fiscal year 2025 to GAAP net income because it does not provide guidance for net (loss) income and is unable to provide a reconciliation to net (loss) income without unreasonable effort. The company is unable to estimate net (loss) income on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort due to the variability and complexity of the charges excluded from Adjusted EBITDA.

Image courtesy Sportsman’s Warehouse