Leslie's

LESL

Specialty Retail · Consumer Cyclical

Winston Score

Winston is worried

Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak pillars.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jul 4, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Good

Growth

Weak

Cash Flow

Weak

Stability

Data not available

Valuation

Data not available

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Winston Score History

The full picture

Leslie's sells supplies and equipment for swimming pools and spas. Its products include chemicals, cleaning tools, pumps, filters, and repair parts. The company sells to everyday pool owners as well as pool service professionals, and it operates the largest specialty pool supply retail chain in the United States.

Leslie's makes money by selling products both in its physical stores and through its website. It has roughly 1,000 locations across the U.S., giving it a wide distribution footprint that smaller competitors struggle to match. The company also offers in-store water testing and repair services, which help bring customers back regularly. However, Leslie's carries a heavy debt load from a leveraged buyout, and its thin operating margins leave little room for error — a key risk if consumer spending on home maintenance softens or if pool construction slows down.

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-8.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

+117.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

Insider Activity

2.5%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$46M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Revenue declining

Leslie's's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

36.5%

Modest — 36.5% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

13.4%

Healthy — 13.4% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

17.1%

Strong — 17.1% return on capital

ROIC between 15% and 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns 15 to 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

-5.7%

Shrinking sales (-5.7% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

N/A

Data not available

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

1/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

N/A

Data not available

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

-0.5%

Burning cash (-0.5%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

N/A

—

Data not available

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

N/A

Data not available

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

N/M

no trend

Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

N/A

not available

Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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