A distributor's cash swings with its inventory — stock up before the season, draw down after. Profit is the steadier guide.
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✦ The bottom line
Pool Corp earned $410M on $5.3B of sales — a steady ~8% margin. Operating cash was lumpier at $370M, tied to inventory swings.
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Net income · fiscal year 2025
$410
M
Close to the prior year's $430M — durable profit even as sales stayed flat post-boom.
Source · 10-K · Consolidated Statements of Income · FY2025 · Filed Feb 26, 2026
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Working capital
The cash tied up running day-to-day — mostly inventory and receivables. Pool Corp loads up on stock before pool season, draining cash, then collects as it sells. So cash flow swings even when profit is steady.
Wall Street calls this
Working capital
Big inventory swings make cash flow lumpy — judge a distributor on profit across a full year.
Cash from operations · fiscal year 2025
$370
M
Down from $660M as inventory built back up — a working-capital swing, not a profit problem.
Source · 10-K · Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows · FY2025 · Filed Feb 26, 2026
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Steady earner
Durable ~8% margins; the softer cash year reflects inventory timing, not weakness.