Acushnet Holdings Corp. upped its guidance for the year as net earnings 65.1 percent on a 13.8 percent sales gain in the second quarter. While tariff refunds helped drive the earnings gains, David Maher, Acushnet’s president and CEO, said the top-line growth reflected “strength and momentum” within Titleist golf equipment, propelled by a vibrant launch of its GTS drivers and fairways; “steady” growth in FootJoy and TitleistGolf Gear; and healthy fundamentals around the sport of golf.

“Fueling these results, the Acushnet team remains focused on the game’s avid, dedicated golfer and enthused about healthy industry fundamentals and growing participation,” Maher told analysts. “First half rounds of play are projected to be up low single digits with growth in the U.S., Japan, and Korea, offset by modest declines in Europe, which comped against an outsized weather-related increase in 2025.”

Summary of Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results

Consolidated sales for the quarter increased 13.8 percent, or 14.2 percent on a constant currency basis, driven by higher net sales in Titleist golf equipment, primarily due to higher sales volumes in golf clubs and higher average selling prices in golf balls, as well as higher net sales in FootJoy golf wear and Golf gear, due to higher average selling prices across all product categories in both segments.

Product Category Performance

Titleist golf equipment sales vaulted 91.1 percent the quarter, led by an 80.4 percent hike in golf club sales. Maher said the gains were led by the successful launch of Titleist’s GTS line of metals. He said, “Noteworthy is the good work by our team to accelerate product development and production timelines to move this launch from Q3 into the seasonal peak of Q2. While GTS is the headline within golf clubs, successful new Vokey Design SM11 wedges and Titleist irons also contributed to our growth in the first half.”

Golf balls, also part of golf equipment sales, grew 11.8 percent. The gains were led by Pro V1 growth on top of the challenging comp against last year’s launch volumes. Maher said, “On the PGA TOUR, Titleist golf balls have 22 wins to date, 18 more than the nearest competitor, as this pyramid of influence, validation, and success helps to fuel our golf ball momentum in the marketplace. Within the Titleist golf equipment segment, we continue to fuel our success and momentum with our strong commitment to fittings and value-added consumer connections across regions.

Golf gear segment sales were up 3.8 percent in the quarter.  Double-digit gains in the half were seen by Titleist gloves and bags as well as the  Club Glove travel brand.

FootJoy delivered 3.1 PERCENT growth in the quarter, led by strong footwear sales. Maher said, “FJ’s underlying fundamentals continue to strengthen with increased focus on premium performance franchises Premiere, HyperFlex, and Pro/SL, generating a favorable product mix shift within footwear and similar trends with FJ apparel, which are helping to offset softness in Japan and Korea.”

Regional Performance

On a geographic basis, U.S. grew 14.7 percent, largely driven by an increase in Titleist golf equipment of $59.0 million. The increase in Titleist golf equipment was primarily driven by higher sales volumes in golf clubs, including the recently introduced GTS drivers and fairways and latest generation T-Series irons, as well as higher average selling prices and sales volumes of its Pro V1 golf ball models. Maher also said the U.S. region saw “benefits from healthy rounds of play and strong engagement from our core dedicated golfer base.”

Net sales in regions outside the United States increased 12.4 percent, or 13.3 percent on a constant currency basis, due to increases across all regions.

In EMEA, the 15.9 percent increase reflected growth in Titleist golf equipment and Golf Gear. Maher said EMEA benefited from “healthy rounds of play and strong engagement from our core dedicated golfer base.” Korea ‘s 7 percent gain was likewise driven by golf equipment and the accelerated GTS metals launch and double-digit footwear gains. Rest of World’s sales climbed 15 percent versus last year’s second quarter, led by “outsized growth” in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and China.

Q2 Earnings Review
Net income attributable to Acushnet increased 65.1 percent to $124.8 million, year over year. These results include approximately $38 million in IEEPA tariff refunds, net of the impact on incentive compensation.  Adjusted EBITDA was $208.6 million, up 45.8 percent year over year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 25.4 percent for the second quarter versus 19.9 percent for the prior year period.

Second quarter gross margin was 54.4 percent, up 520 basis points, reflecting the portion of the net IEEPA tariff refund recognized in gross profit, as well as higher sales volumes and average selling prices in Titleist golf equipment, partially offset by approximately $11 million of incremental tariff expense in the quarter versus the prior year.

SG&A expense of $246 million in the quarter increased $24 million from 2025 as we continue to invest in our fitting network, IT systems, and A&P to support new product launches and future growth, as well as recognizing higher incentive compensation expense related to tariff refunds

SG&A expense of $246 million in the quarter increased $24 million from 2025 as we continue to invest in our fitting network, IT systems, and A&P to support new product launches and future growth, as well as recognizing higher incentive compensation expense related to tariff refunds. As a percent of sales, SG&A expense was reduced to 30.3 percent from 30.8 percent.

Sales and earnings were ahead of internal expectations as second quarter GTS metal shipments were greater than anticipated.

Summary of First Six Months 2026 Financial Results
Consolidated net sales for the first six months increased 10.5 percent, or 9.5 percent on a constant currency basis, driven by growth across all reportable segments largely as a result of higher net sales in Titleist golf equipment, primarily due to higher sales volumes in golf clubs and higher average selling prices in golf balls, as well as higher net sales in Golf gear, primarily due to higher average selling prices across all product categories.

On a geographic basis, higher net sales in the United States were largely driven by an increase in Titleist golf equipment of $76.9 million. The increase in Titleist golf equipment was primarily driven by higher sales volumes of our newly introduced GTS drivers and fairways, SM11 Vokey wedges and latest generation T-Series irons, and higher average selling prices of our Pro V1 golf ball models, partially offset by lower sales volumes of our second model year hybrids.

Net sales in regions outside the United States increased 11.4 percent, or 9.0 percent on a constant currency basis driven by increases in EMEA, Rest of World and Japan. In EMEA and Rest of World, the increases were primarily driven by higher net sales across all reportable segments. In Japan, the increase was driven by higher net sales in Titleist golf equipment, mainly golf clubs, partially offset by lower net sales in FootJoy golf wear. In Korea, net sales were up slightly on a constant currency basis, primarily due to an increase in Titleist golf equipment net sales, partially offset by a decrease in Golf gear net sales.


Segment Specifics

  • Golf equipment: 14.8 percent increase in net sales (14.1 percent on a constant currency basis) of Titleist golf equipment, primarily driven by higher sales volumes of our recently launched SM11 Vokey wedges, newly introduced GTS drivers and fairways and latest generation T-Series irons, higher average selling prices of our Pro V1 golf ball models, partially offset by lower sales volumes of our second model year hybrids.
  • Footjoy: 2.4 percent increase in net sales (0.7 percent on a constant currency basis) of FootJoy golf wear, primarily due to higher average selling prices across all product categories, partially offset by lower sales volumes in footwear and apparel.
  • Golf gear: 7.2 percent increase in net sales (6.0 percent on a constant currency basis) of Golf gear primarily driven by higher average selling prices across all product categories.

Net income attributable to Acushnet Holdings Corp. improved 17.9 percent to $206.2 million, year over year. Net income was favorably impacted by income related to tariffs previously paid under IEEPA. This favorable impact was offset in part due to the impact of the first quarter 2025 non-cash pre-tax gain of $20.9 million related to the deconsolidation of our FootJoy golf shoe joint venture (FootJoy JV”).

Adjusted EBITDA was $353.1 million, up 25.2 percent year over year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 22.5 percent for the first six months versus 19.8 percent for the prior year period.

Cash Dividend and Share Repurchase
Acushnet’s Board of Directors today declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.255 per share of common stock. The dividend will be payable on September 18, 2026 to shareholders of record on September 4, 2026. The number of shares outstanding as of July 31, 2026 was 58,405,044.

During the three months ended June 30, 2026, the company repurchased 182,231 shares of its common stock on the open market at an average price of $87.94 for an aggregate of $16.0 million. During the six months ended June 30, 2026, the company repurchased 288,239 shares of its common stock on the open market at an average price of $90.21 for an aggregate of $26.0 million. On June 8, 2026, the company entered into an agreement with Magnus Holdings Co., Ltd. (“Magnus”), to purchase from Magnus an equal amount of its common stock as it purchases on the open market over the period of time from June 10, 2026 through September 30, 2026, up to an aggregate of $52.5 million, at the same weighted average per share price.

2026 Outlook
The company is updating its full-year 2026 outlook and now expects consolidated net sales to be approximately $2,650 to $2,675 million ($2,625 million-$2,675 million previously). On a constant currency basis, consolidated net sales are expected to increase 3.4 percent to 4.3 percent. This outlook reflects continued strength in its Titleist Golf equipment segment, partially offset by softness in wearables, specifically in Asia

Adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $450 to $470 million ($2,625 million-$2,675 million previously). The updated outlook includes approximately $30 million of Net IEEPA Tariff Refunds expected to be recognized in 2026.

Maher noted that second half comps will be impacted by the timing shift associated with the GTS launch into the second quarter and the upcoming transition within golf balls as inventories are built ahead of the 2027 Pro V1 launch. He said, “This club timing makes for a meaningful change to our typical club cadence, while the Pro V1 transition is anticipated to unfold similar to prior every-other-year launches.”

As a result, second half net sales are projected to be down low single digits and adjusted EBITDA is projected to decline when compared to the second half of 2025, with the impact more pronounced in the fourth quarter.

Maher concluded, “In summary, golf industry fundamentals are in good shape, participation is durable and positive trending, and we are pleased with our momentum and new product pipelines as we look to the future.”

Image courtesy Titleist/Acushnet Holdings Corp.