Latham Group, Inc. is the largest designer, manufacturer, and marketer of in ground residential swimming pools in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, offering a broad portfolio that includes pools, covers, and liners. The company has operated for over 70 years, building a heritage of innovation in the pool industry. Its mission centers on designing and manufacturing high quality pool products with the homeowner in mind while serving as a value added partner to its…
Latham Group, Inc. is the largest designer, manufacturer, and marketer of in ground residential swimming pools in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, offering a broad portfolio that includes pools, covers, and liners. The company has operated for over 70 years, building a heritage of innovation in the pool industry. Its mission centers on designing and manufacturing high quality pool products with the homeowner in mind while serving as a value added partner to its dealer network. Latham Group, Inc. maintains approximately 1,850 employees on average across roughly 30 locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
The company generates revenue primarily through the sale of its in ground swimming pools, pool covers, and pool liners to a network of independent dealers and distributors, who then sell to residential homeowners. Latham Group, Inc. employs a direct to homeowner digital and social marketing strategy that creates demand and supplies high quality purchase ready leads to its dealer partners. The company also derives revenue from the sale of aftermarket products such as replacement liners and covers, which benefit from recurring replacement cycles. Latham Group, Inc. provides delivery service for its dealers using its own fleet of trucks and third party common carriers to transport finished products from factories to customer sites.
The company operates through the following segments:
• In ground swimming pools, pool covers, and pool liners: This segment designs, manufactures, and markets a full range of in ground swimming pools including fiberglass and vinyl models, pool covers such as automatic safety and all season covers, and pool liners for vinyl pools. The segment operates manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, utilizing specialized equipment and a skilled workforce to produce products that meet strict quality standards. The segment supports its dealer network with business development tools, co branded marketing programs, and in house training through initiatives such as Latham University.
Latham Group, Inc. holds the leading position in North America in every product category in which it competes, benefiting from a strong brand, extensive product breadth, nationwide manufacturing footprint, and a large dealer network that together create a competitive advantage over regional and local manufacturers. The company’s direct to homeowner marketing approach differentiates it from traditional business to business competitors by generating consumer demand and feeding qualified leads to dealers. Latham Group, Inc. invests continuously in research and development to introduce new pool designs, features, and technologies that enhance product appeal and performance. The firm’s long standing relationships with dealers, averaging over 15 years, further strengthen its market position and support collaborative growth initiatives.
The company serves a diverse customer base consisting of independent pool dealers and distributors across North America, Australia, and New Zealand, ultimately providing products to residential homeowners seeking in ground swimming pools, covers, and liners. Through its Latham Grand dealer program, Latham Group, Inc. offers exclusivity, early access to leads, co branded marketing, and specialized training to over 375 of its largest dealers in North America. The firm’s largest distributor, which operates more than 300 locations, accounted for 22.6% of net sales in 2025, 21.0% in 2024, and 20.3% in 2023. Additionally, the top ten dealer and distributor relationships together represented 49.0% of net sales in 2025, 42.8% in 2024, and 40.4% in 2023.
Sector:IndustrialsSector rationaleLatham Group designs and manufactures capital goods—specifically in-ground swimming pools, covers, and liners—which are sold to a network of independent dealers and distributors. According to the sector definitions, companies that manufacture building products and components belong in Industrials, and the company's revenue model is based on the production and B2B sale of these physical products.Industry:Building ProductsIndustrialsPrimaryLatham designs and manufactures finished building products installed in residential structures, specifically in-ground swimming pools, pool covers, and pool liners. These products are sold through a network of independent dealers and distributors for installation at residential homeowner sites.Classified using BQ-MICSCIK: 0001833197
Investment Thesis
▲ Bull case
SWIM's Sand States strategy is poised to capture significant untapped market share as fiberglass pool penetration remains low in high-growth Sunbelt regions like Florida despite strong underlying demand for durable, low-maintenance pools. The company is actively expanding its commercial organization with dedicated sales strategy, operations, and execution teams to target high-potential neighborhoods based on home values, lot sizes, and household incomes, while increasing field sales resources to support dealers in converting leads. Early neighborhood-level segmentation testing is showing promise, and combined with targeted marketing campaigns featuring Bode Miller and localized activations, this approach is building consumer awareness and attachment rates for fiberglass pools and auto covers, positioning SWIM to gain share in a structurally growing category where it is already the U.S. market leader.
The Freedom Pools acquisition, closed February 26, 2026, is delivering immediate accretive value and expanding SWIM's geographic footprint into Australia, New Zealand, and Western Australia—including Perth, the fastest-growing city in Australia—where fiberglass pool adoption is already strong. Management confirmed the integration is proceeding as planned, with teams from Narellan and Freedom recently collaborating in Australia to unlock revenue synergies from combining Narellan's brand strength with Freedom's direct-to-consumer model and local manufacturing presence. This acquisition not only expands SWIM's global footprint but also provides firsthand experience in a mature fiberglass market, offering transferable insights for accelerating fiberglass adoption in North America and enhancing long-term international growth prospects.
SWIM's lean manufacturing and value engineering initiatives delivered a $2.0 million P&L benefit in Q1 2026, driving a 220 basis point gross margin expansion to 32% despite inflationary pressures, with these initiatives continuing to generate ongoing efficiencies. Combined with temporary fuel surcharges mitigating approximately 60 basis points of transportation cost pressure from high oil prices, the company has effectively mitigated near-term input cost headwinds while maintaining its full-year 2026 guidance of 9% revenue growth and 13% adjusted EBITDA growth at the midpoint. Early seasonal order trends in April and May are strong and in line with historical seasonal ramps, supporting management's confidence in guidance amid flat U.S. pool starts, as improved order trends and seasonal ramp visibility support confidence in achieving full-year targets despite a soft Q1 impacted by adverse weather.
SWIM's Sand States strategy is poised to capture significant untapped market share as fiberglass pool penetration remains low in high-growth Sunbelt regions like Florida despite strong underlying demand for durable, low-maintenance pools. The company is actively expanding its commercial organization with dedicated sales strategy, operations, and execution teams to target high-potential neighborhoods based on home values, lot sizes, and household incomes, while increasing field sales resources to support dealers in converting leads. Early neighborhood-level segmentation testing is showing promise, and combined with targeted marketing campaigns featuring Bode Miller and localized activations, this approach is building consumer awareness and attachment rates for fiberglass pools and auto covers, positioning SWIM to gain share in a structurally growing category where it is already the U.S. market leader.
The Freedom Pools acquisition, closed February 26, 2026, is delivering immediate accretive value and expanding SWIM's geographic footprint into Australia, New Zealand, and Western Australia—including Perth, the fastest-growing city in Australia—where fiberglass pool adoption is already strong. Management confirmed the integration is proceeding as planned, with teams from Narellan and Freedom recently collaborating in Australia to unlock revenue synergies from combining Narellan's brand strength with Freedom's direct-to-consumer model and local manufacturing presence. This acquisition not only expands SWIM's global footprint but also provides firsthand experience in a mature fiberglass market, offering transferable insights for accelerating fiberglass adoption in North America and enhancing long-term international growth prospects.
SWIM's lean manufacturing and value engineering initiatives delivered a $2.0 million P&L benefit in Q1 2026, driving a 220 basis point gross margin expansion to 32% despite inflationary pressures, with these initiatives continuing to generate ongoing efficiencies. Combined with temporary fuel surcharges mitigating approximately 60 basis points of transportation cost pressure from high oil prices, the company has effectively mitigated near-term input cost headwinds while maintaining its full-year 2026 guidance of 9% revenue growth and 13% adjusted EBITDA growth at the midpoint. Early seasonal order trends in April and May are strong and in line with historical seasonal ramps, supporting management's confidence in guidance amid flat U.S. pool starts, as improved order trends and seasonal ramp visibility support confidence in achieving full-year targets despite a soft Q1 impacted by adverse weather.
SWIM's Sand States strategy, while strategically sound, faces significant execution risk due to intense local competition in Florida and other Sunbelt markets, where dealers report receiving four or five quotes per job—a sign of severe market saturation and intense price competition that could erode margins despite the company's segmentation and sales resource investments. Management acknowledges the uncertainty in consumer financing and market saturation as headwinds, and while they are adding sales resources and refining neighborhood-level targeting, there is no evidence yet that these initiatives are improving conversion rates or dealer win rates in a highly fragmented and competitive landscape, raising doubts about the strategy's ability to drive meaningful share gains in the near term.
The Freedom Pools acquisition, while immediately accretive and expanding SWIM's footprint into Australia, New Zealand, and Western Australia, carries integration and synergy realization risks that management may be underestimating, particularly given the cultural and operational differences between integrating Narellan's established dealer network and Freedom's direct-to-consumer model in Australia. Management acknowledged spending only one week in Australia to bring teams together, suggesting limited depth in integration planning, and while they anticipate revenue synergies over time, there is no concrete timeline or measurable milestones provided, increasing the risk that synergies are delayed or fall short of expectations, especially if direct-to-consumer models face resistance in established dealer-centric markets.
SWIM's reliance on temporary fuel surcharges to offset approximately 60 basis points of annual transportation cost pressure from high oil prices introduces earnings volatility and consumer resistance risk, particularly if surcharges are perceived as temporary fixes that erode value perception or if oil prices remain volatile beyond the current guidance period. Additionally, the company remains exposed to unresolved commodity cost risks—particularly in resins and HDPE—with CFO Oliver Gloe explicitly stating it is 'too early to tell' on impacts and that they are 'just about to start ordering materials,' leaving margin vulnerability unaddressed in current guidance despite last year's mid-season June price increase serving as a precedent for potential margin pressure if cost inflation persists and passthrough becomes necessary mid-season.
SWIM's Sand States strategy, while strategically sound, faces significant execution risk due to intense local competition in Florida and other Sunbelt markets, where dealers report receiving four or five quotes per job—a sign of severe market saturation and intense price competition that could erode margins despite the company's segmentation and sales resource investments. Management acknowledges the uncertainty in consumer financing and market saturation as headwinds, and while they are adding sales resources and refining neighborhood-level targeting, there is no evidence yet that these initiatives are improving conversion rates or dealer win rates in a highly fragmented and competitive landscape, raising doubts about the strategy's ability to drive meaningful share gains in the near term.
The Freedom Pools acquisition, while immediately accretive and expanding SWIM's footprint into Australia, New Zealand, and Western Australia, carries integration and synergy realization risks that management may be underestimating, particularly given the cultural and operational differences between integrating Narellan's established dealer network and Freedom's direct-to-consumer model in Australia. Management acknowledged spending only one week in Australia to bring teams together, suggesting limited depth in integration planning, and while they anticipate revenue synergies over time, there is no concrete timeline or measurable milestones provided, increasing the risk that synergies are delayed or fall short of expectations, especially if direct-to-consumer models face resistance in established dealer-centric markets.
SWIM's reliance on temporary fuel surcharges to offset approximately 60 basis points of annual transportation cost pressure from high oil prices introduces earnings volatility and consumer resistance risk, particularly if surcharges are perceived as temporary fixes that erode value perception or if oil prices remain volatile beyond the current guidance period. Additionally, the company remains exposed to unresolved commodity cost risks—particularly in resins and HDPE—with CFO Oliver Gloe explicitly stating it is 'too early to tell' on impacts and that they are 'just about to start ordering materials,' leaving margin vulnerability unaddressed in current guidance despite last year's mid-season June price increase serving as a precedent for potential margin pressure if cost inflation persists and passthrough becomes necessary mid-season.