POOL CORP (POOL) Business

Item 1. Business

General

Pool Corporation (the Company, which may also be referred to as we, us or our), a member of the S&P 500 Index, is the world’s largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products and is one of the leading distributors of irrigation and landscape maintenance products in the United States.

As of December 31, 2025, we operated 456 sales centers strategically located in North America, Europe and Australia, from which we sell swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products, irrigation and landscape maintenance products and hardscapes, tile and stone products. Our customer base generally includes pool builders, pool service companies, retail stores, commercial pool operators and landscape contractors. We distribute products through our five distribution networks listed below:

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SCP Distributors (SCP);

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Superior Pool Products (Superior);

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Horizon Distributors (Horizon);

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National Pool Trends (NPT), formerly National Pool Tile prior to November 2025; and

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Sun Wholesale Supply (Sun Wholesale).

Operating in a fragmented industry, we add considerable value by purchasing products from a large number of manufacturers and then efficiently distributing the products with high levels of customer service on conditions that are generally more favorable than our customers could obtain on their own.

Our Industry

We operate in the outdoor living industry, which services more than 14.0 million swimming pools and hot tubs in the United States alone, including approximately 5.5 million in-ground swimming pools. We anticipate that the outdoor living industry will continue to grow with the increased penetration of new pools at households with the discretionary income and yard capacity to install a swimming pool. These pools present significant growth opportunities requiring continuous maintenance throughout their lifetime and periodic remodeling, equipment replacement and upgrade activities as the installed base of swimming pools ages. The desire for consumers to enhance their outdoor living spaces with water-sensing and battery-powered alternatives, hardscapes, lighting and other outdoor living-related products provides us with additional future growth opportunities, and we continually add products to take advantage of technological advancements and the development of sustainable, energy-efficient and more aesthetically attractive products.

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The following table reflects growth in the domestic installed base of in-ground swimming pools over the past 10 years (based on Company estimates for 2025 and information from 2024 P.K. Data, Inc. reports):

We believe that the following favorable demographic and socioeconomic trends have positively impacted our industry over the past several years and will continue over the long term:

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long-term growth in housing in warmer climate markets due to the population migration toward the southern United States, where outdoor home entertainment is more prevalent and extends longer throughout the year;

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increased homeowner spending on outdoor living spaces for relaxation and entertainment;

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healthy home equity levels providing consumers additional capacity to renovate their existing homes;

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increased customer bundling of the purchase of a new or remodeled swimming pool with new irrigation systems, landscaping, outdoor kitchens and overall improvements to outdoor living spaces, viewing these elements as key components to both pool installations and remodels;

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increased demand for automation and control products, higher quality materials and other pool features that add to our sales opportunities over time; and

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increased customer focus on sustainable, energy-efficient products.

We believe our swimming pool business mix underscores the power of the installed base to generate recurring revenue. In 2025, approximately:

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64% of sales were from recurring maintenance and minor repair of existing pool installations;

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22% of sales were generated from pool remodeling, renovations and upgrades; and

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14% of sales stemmed from new pool construction.

Maintaining a safe and consistent water chemistry as well as necessary upkeep and repair of swimming pool equipment, such as pumps, heaters, filters, lights and safety equipment, creates non-discretionary demand for pool chemicals, equipment and other related parts and supplies. The recurring nature of the maintenance and repair market has helped maintain a relatively consistent rate of industry contribution to revenue over time. This characteristic helps support our performance when unfavorable economic conditions, such as higher interest rates and softness in the housing market, adversely impact consumer discretionary spending, including pool construction and major replacement, renovation and upgrade activities. As the installed base of in-ground swimming pools ages, we also believe cosmetic considerations such as a pool’s appearance and the overall look of backyard environments create ongoing demand for our other discretionary and non-discretionary products.

The activity in the remodel, renovation and upgrade market is driven by the aging of the installed base of pools and availability of enhanced feature products such as automated controls, variable speed pumps, robotic cleaners and LED pool and hot tub lighting. Many

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new homeowners with existing pools transform older pools into a modern backyard oasis through upgraded pool finishes, tile, decking, equipment and enhanced features. The timing of these types of expenditures is more sensitive to economic factors including home values, existing single-family home sales and consumer confidence as compared to the non-discretionary demand of the maintenance and minor repair market.

The demand for new pools is generally driven by the perceived benefits of pool ownership including increased use of outdoor space, enhanced property value, relaxation, entertainment, family activity, health and wellness and convenience. The industry competes for new pool sales against other discretionary consumer purchases such as kitchen and bathroom remodeling, boats, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and vacations.

The irrigation and landscape maintenance industry shares many characteristics with the pool industry, and we believe that it exhibits similar long-term growth potential. Irrigation system installations often occur in tandem with new single-family home construction making demand for them more susceptible to the economic variables that drive new home sales. Sales of landscape power equipment and related landscape maintenance services offer recurring revenue streams in an industry otherwise closely tied to the new housing market. The irrigation and landscape maintenance distribution business serves both residential and commercial markets, with the majority of sales related to the residential market. In the United States, we provide residential and commercial irrigation systems, landscape maintenance products, power equipment, hardscapes and specialty outdoor products and accessories within the overall addressable market, primarily focused in the Sunbelt.

Economic Environment

Certain trends in the housing market, the cost and availability of consumer credit and general economic conditions (as commonly measured by Gross Domestic Product or GDP) affect our industry, particularly the installation of new pools and irrigation systems, as well as the timing and extent of pool remodels, equipment replacements and upgrades, landscaping projects and outdoor living space renovations. Consumers typically spend more on new pools, new irrigation systems, renovations, replacements and upgrades when general economic conditions are strong.

We believe that over the long term, higher rates of home appreciation and turnover have a positive impact on new pool installations. While most new swimming pools are installed in existing homes, there has also been a correlation of new pool construction activity to new home construction activities over time. We also believe that homeowners’ discretionary spending capacity, availability of consumer credit and favorable borrowing rates are critical factors enabling the purchase of new swimming pools and irrigation systems. Similar to other discretionary purchases, replacement, upgrade and renovation activities are more heavily impacted by economic factors such as consumer confidence, GDP and employment levels.

In recent years, steady increases in home values, lack of affordable new homes and increased mortgage rates have positioned homeowners to stay in their homes longer and upgrade their home environments, including their backyards. Although homeowners’ investment in their houses has moderated from the pandemic heightened levels of 2020 to 2022, homeowners continue to invest in their homes. Based on industry data, we estimate that new in-ground pool construction units decreased 3% to 5% from 62,000 units in 2024 to just below 60,000 units in 2025, primarily due to cautious consumer discretionary spending and elevated financing costs.

We generally pass industry price increases through our supply chain and from time to time may make strategic volume inventory purchases ahead of vendor price increases in order to obtain favorable pricing. Inflationary product cost increases moderated from heightened pandemic levels in 2023, which saw levels at approximately 3% to 4%. In 2024, inflationary product cost increases returned to our historical average of approximately 1% to 2%. Inflationary product cost increases were approximately 2% to 3% in 2025, including a 1% impact from U.S. tariffs enacted during the year. We expect inflationary product cost increases to be approximately 1% to 2% in 2026.

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Business Strategy and Growth Strategy

Our mission is to provide exceptional value to our customers and suppliers, creating exceptional return to our shareholders, while providing exceptional opportunities to our employees. Our core strategies are as follows:

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to promote the growth of our industry;

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to promote the growth of our customers’ businesses; and

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to continuously strive to operate more effectively.

We promote the growth of our industry through various advertising and promotional programs intended to raise consumer awareness of new and existing product offerings by our vendors, the benefits and affordability of pool ownership, the ease of pool maintenance and the many ways in which a pool and the surrounding spaces may be enjoyed beyond swimming. These programs include digital and media advertising, industry-oriented website development such as www.swimmingpool.com®, www.hottubs.com® and www.nptpool.com®, social media platforms and other digital marketing initiatives, including our all-inclusive Regal and E-Z Clor Pool Care mobile apps that enable at-home water testing. We use these programs and tools to educate consumers and lead prospective pool owners to our customers. We also promote the growth of our industry by offering a growing selection of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly products, which support sustainability and help pool owners save energy, water, time and money. Our environmentally friendly technology products include variable speed pumps, LED pool and hot tub lights and high-efficiency heat pumps. Our Horizon sales centers offer organic fertilizers, organic pesticides, and irrigation and drainage products that reduce water usage and soil erosion, allowing our customers and homeowners to have less of an impact on freshwater reserves.

We promote the growth of our customers’ businesses by offering the broadest product assortment through the largest number of conveniently located market-based sales centers and through comprehensive support programs that include promotional tools and marketing support to help our customers generate increased sales. We provide in-depth training that allows our customers to expand the scope of their product offerings. We also provide uniquely tailored advertising programs through our EDGE Marketing Portal that include features such as digital marketing, customer lead generation, personalized websites, brochures, direct mailers, marketing campaigns and business development training. We assist certain customers with aspects of their businesses, including site selection, store layout and design, product merchandising, comprehensive product offering selections and efficient ordering and inventory management processes. In addition to these programs, we feature consumer showrooms in many of our sales centers and host our annual Retail Summit. We also function as a day-to-day resource by offering product and market expertise to serve our customers’ unique needs.

In addition to our efforts aimed at promoting industry and customer growth, we strive to operate more effectively by continuously focusing on improvements in our operations, which we define as capacity creation. We create capacity with business-to-business (B2B) development tools and execution aimed at developing best-in-class service and value creation for our customers and suppliers. In particular, our POOL360 and Horizon 24/7 B2B internet and mobile platforms help our customers be more productive by allowing them access to our full inventory network to digitally review and order our products, while leveraging our customer service staff resources, particularly during peak business periods. These tools offer real-time integration into our enterprise resource planning system, creating efficiencies in our business processes and provide our customers graphical catalog presentation in the same platform. Our BlueStreak mobile ordering platform enables our sales associates to process orders faster, often eliminating the need for customers to get out of their vehicles. Similarly, we employ various processes and technologies to enhance the operational efficiencies of our sales centers and warehouses.

We believe that ongoing investments in digital transformation and technology help us provide best-in-class service to our customers by improving the customer experience, enhancing our existing customer relationships and expanding our customer base. Our POOL360 digital ecosystem is a suite of products transforming the way pool professionals do business. POOL360 WaterTest and POOL360 PoolService are tools designed to unlock capacity for our customers and our sales center network. By integrating e-commerce, software applications and data-driven insights, POOL360 enhances both customer experience and operational efficiency. POOL360 WaterTest is a professional water testing software available to our retail customers that incorporates our complete line of proprietary-branded pool and hot tub chemicals into pool owners’ water chemistry maintenance requirements. Our POOL360 PoolService mobile application allows pool professionals to better manage their service business through providing a complete Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, routing, billing and other day-to-day management capabilities, while improving their customers’ experiences. Each of

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these tools links directly into our POOL360 B2B platform, creating efficiencies for both us and our customers. We plan to continue expanding our POOL360 technologies to provide additional resources for our customers.

We have grown our distribution networks through new sales center openings, acquisitions and the expansion of existing sales centers based on our market presence, existing market capacity and local population trends. For additional information regarding our new sales center openings, acquisitions and closures/consolidations, see Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and Item 8, Note 2 of “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” included in this Form 10-K.

We plan to continue to make strategic acquisitions and open new sales centers to further penetrate existing markets and expand into both new geographic markets and new product categories. We believe that our high customer service levels and expanded product offerings have enabled us to gain market share historically. Going forward, we expect to continue to realize sales growth through market share gains and continued expansion of our product offerings with a focus on our proprietary and exclusive brands, such as our recently expanded Regal, E-Z Clor, SuperPro and PoolStyle lines.

Customers and Products

We proudly serve approximately 125,000 customers, the majority of whom are small, entrepreneurial, family-owned businesses. These customers provide specialized labor and technical services directly to end customers and typically operate as independent contractors, professional pool servicers or specialty retailers. Their modest size and capital base typically make them highly reliant on our broad product selection, competitive pricing and value-added support. While these businesses may also purchase products and services from manufacturers, regional distributors, mass merchants and online retailers, we believe our scale and service excellence set us apart as their preferred partner. Our customer base is well-diversified, with no single customer representing 10% or more of our 2025 sales.

We provide extended payment terms to qualified customers for sales under pre-season early buy programs, which typically occur during the fourth and first quarters. The extended terms usually require payments in equal installments during the second quarter of each year. See Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Critical Accounting Estimates - Allowance for Doubtful Accounts” for additional information.

We sell our products primarily to the following types of customers:

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swimming pool remodelers and builders;

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specialty retailers that sell swimming pool supplies, including independently owned and operated Pinch A Penny franchise stores;

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swimming pool repair and service businesses;

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irrigation construction and landscape maintenance contractors; and

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commercial pool operators and pool contractors who build, remodel or service large commercial installations such as hotels, universities and community recreational facilities.

We conduct our operations through 456 sales centers in North America, Europe and Australia. Our primary markets with the highest concentration of swimming pools are California, Florida, Texas and Arizona, collectively representing approximately 53% of our 2025 net sales. In 2025, we generated approximately 95% of our sales in North America (including Canada and Mexico), 4% in Europe and less than 1% in Australia. While we continue to expand both domestically and internationally, we expect this geographic mix to be similar over the next few years. References to product line and product category data throughout this Form 10-K generally reflect data related to our North America swimming pool market, as it is more readily available for analysis and represents the largest component of our operations.

Our goal is to be a trusted resource for industry professionals, retailers and consumers in the outdoor living industry. Our sales and marketing personnel focus on developing customer training programs and promotional activities, creating and enhancing sales management tools and providing product and market expertise. Our local sales personnel work from our sales centers as trusted resources for our customers and are charged with understanding and meeting our customers’ specific needs. Our sales center personnel help educate our customers on a variety of topics including the newest, most innovative products and solutions that can elevate their businesses.

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We offer our customers more than 200,000 manufacturer, proprietary and exclusive brand products. We sell the following types of products:

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pool maintenance products, such as chemicals, supplies and pool accessories;

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repair and replacement parts for pool equipment, such as cleaners, filters, heaters, pumps and lights;

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building materials, such as concrete, plumbing and electrical components, both functional and decorative pool surfaces, decking materials, tile, hardscapes and natural stone, used for pool installations and remodeling;

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pool equipment and components for new pool construction and the remodeling, replacement and upgrade of existing pools;

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irrigation and related products, including irrigation system components and professional turf care equipment and supplies;

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commercial pool products, including American Society of Material Engineers-certified heaters, safety equipment, commercial decking equipment and commercial pumps and filters;

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fiberglass pools and hot tubs and packaged pool kits including walls, liners, braces and coping for in-ground and above-ground pools; and

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other pool construction and recreational products, which consist of a number of product categories and include discretionary recreational and related outdoor living products, such as grills and components for outdoor kitchens.

We believe that our selection of pool building materials, equipment, supplies, chemicals, replacement parts, irrigation and related products and other pool construction and recreational products is the most comprehensive in the industry. We currently have over 700 product lines and approximately 40 product categories. Based on our 2025 product classifications, sales for our pool and hot tub chemicals product category represented approximately 14% of total net sales in 2025, 15% in 2024 and 14% in 2023. No other product categories accounted for 10% or more of total net sales in any of the last three fiscal years.

We continue to identify new related product categories, and we typically introduce new categories each year in select markets. We then evaluate the performance in these markets and focus on those product categories that we believe exhibit the best long-term growth potential. We expect to achieve continued sales growth for these types of product offerings by expanding the number of locations that offer these products, increasing the number of products offered at certain locations and continuing a modest broadening of these product offerings on a company-wide basis.

Innovative product technologies unlock new opportunities for enhanced energy efficiency, expanded control and greater convenience in leisure activities. We have broadened our selection of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly products, empowering pool owners to save energy, water, time and money while supporting sustainability initiatives. Leading equipment manufacturers consistently develop retrofit kits that allow homeowners to control their pools and hot tubs directly from their smartphones. We pursue these advancements viewing them as strategic growth drivers that strengthen our market position and create value for our shareholders.

Over the last several years, we have increased our product offerings and service abilities related to commercial swimming pools. We consider the commercial market to be a key growth opportunity as we focus more attention on providing products to customers who operate or provide services to large commercial installations such as hotels, condominiums, apartment complexes, universities and community recreational facilities. Additionally, we assist with bid-to-spec design for new projects. In 2025, we designated four commercial warehouses throughout the country to serve these customers more efficiently. We continue to leverage our existing sales center networks and customer and vendor relationships to drive growth for this market.

Operating Strategy

We distribute swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products domestically through our SCP and Superior sales center networks and internationally through our SCP network. We adopted the strategy of operating two distinct distribution networks within the U.S. swimming pool market primarily to offer our customers a choice of distinctive product selections, locations and service personnel. We distribute irrigation, landscape maintenance and related products through our Horizon network.

Swimming pool tile, decking materials and interior pool surfacing products are distributed through our NPT network, as well as through SCP and Superior networks. Our NPT network primarily serves the swimming pool market with our market-leading brand of pool tile and composite pool finish products and also serves the irrigation and landscape industry through NPT hardscapes and other outdoor living products. As consumers create and enhance outdoor living areas and invest more in their outdoor environment, we believe we can capture this demand by leveraging our existing pool and irrigation and landscape maintenance customer base. The ongoing

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development of our NPT network serves as a natural extension of our distribution model, strengthening our market reach. In addition to our 19 dedicated NPT sales centers, we operate 124 SCP and Superior sales centers featuring consumer showrooms. These showrooms enable swimming pool and landscape contractors, as well as homeowners, to view and select pool components, including tile, decking and surfacing, in a wide range of styles and grades. Our innovative virtual tools, such as the tools found on www.nptpool.com®, empower homeowners to design, customize, and visualize their pool and outdoor environments alongside their chosen contractors. By combining showroom experiences, local product stocking, specialized delivery equipment and virtual support, we differentiate ourselves in these categories and maintain a distinct competitive advantage. Given the more discretionary nature of these products, this business tends to be more sensitive to external market factors compared to our business overall.

Sun Wholesale Supply distributes swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products, primarily servicing independently owned and operated Pinch A Penny franchise locations. Since our acquisition of this business in December 2021, we have expanded Pinch A Penny franchise operations through additional locations of Pinch A Penny franchised stores and plan to continue these expansion initiatives. Sun Wholesale Supply also owns and operates a specialty chemical re-packaging plant that sells proprietary pool chemical products principally to the Pinch A Penny franchised store network. Sun Wholesale Supply also provides chemical products to our SCP and Superior networks.

We evaluate our sales centers based on their performance relative to predetermined standards that include both financial and operational measures. Our corporate support groups provide our field operations with various services, such as developing and coordinating customer and vendor related programs, real estate support services to find appropriate locations for our sales centers, human resources support, information systems support, support from our logistics and fleet teams, accounting and financial analysis support and expert resources to help them achieve their goals. We believe our incentive programs and feedback tools, along with the competitive nature of our sales center network, stimulate and enhance the performance of our employees.

Distribution

Our sales centers are located within population centers near customer concentrations, typically in industrial, commercial or mixed-use zones. Customers may pick up products at any sales center location, or we may deliver products to their premises or job sites via our trucks or third-party carriers. For additional information on our sales centers, see Item 2, “Properties,” of this Form 10-K.

Our sales centers generally maintain well-stocked inventories to meet our customers’ immediate needs. We utilize warehouse management technology to optimize receiving, inventory control, picking, packing and shipping functions. For additional information regarding our inventory management, see Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Critical Accounting Estimates - Inventory Obsolescence,” of this Form 10-K.

We also operate four centralized shipping locations (CSLs) in the United States and one CSL in Europe that redistribute products we purchase in bulk quantities to our sales centers or, in some cases, directly to customers. Our CSLs are regional locations that carry a wide range of outdoor living products.

Purchasing and Suppliers

We believe we enjoy good relationships with our suppliers, who generally offer competitive pricing, return policies and promotional allowances. It is customary in our industry for certain manufacturers to manage their shipments by offering seasonal terms to qualifying purchasers such as Pool Corporation, which are referred to as early buy purchases. These early buy purchases typically allow us to place orders in the fall at a modest discount, take delivery of product during the off-season months and pay for these purchases in the spring or early summer.

Our preferred vendor program encourages our distribution networks to stock and sell products from a smaller number of vendors offering better overall terms and service to optimize profitability and shareholder return. We also work closely with our vendors to develop programs and services to better meet the needs of our customers and to concentrate our inventory investments. These practices, together with a more comprehensive service offering, have positively impacted our selling margins and our returns on inventory investments. See Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Critical Accounting Estimates - Vendor Programs,” for additional information.

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We regularly evaluate supplier relationships and consider alternate sourcing to ensure competitive cost, service and quality standards. Our largest suppliers include Pentair plc, Zodiac Pool Systems, Inc. and Hayward Holdings, Inc., which accounted for approximately 20%, 12% and 11%, respectively, of the cost of products we sold in 2025.

Competition

We are the largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool and related backyard products (based on industry knowledge and available data) and one of the only national wholesale distributors focused on the swimming pool industry in the United States. We are also one of the leading distributors of irrigation and landscape maintenance products in the United States. We face intense competition from many regional and local distributors in our markets and from a limited number of other national wholesale distributors. We also face competition, both directly and indirectly, from mass market retailers (both store-based and internet) and large pool supply retailers who primarily buy directly from manufacturers.

Some geographic markets we serve, particularly the four largest and higher pool density markets of California, Florida, Texas and Arizona have a greater concentration of competition than others. Barriers to entry in our industry are relatively low. We believe that the principal competitive factors in swimming pool and irrigation and landscape supply distribution are:

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the breadth and availability of products offered;

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the quality and level of customer service, including online communications and access, ease of ordering and speed of product delivery;

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the availability of sales and marketing programs;

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consistency and stability of business relationships with customers and suppliers;

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competitive product pricing; and

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geographic proximity to the customer.

Human Capital Management

We strive to be an Employer of Choice by focusing on the engagement, development, retention, and health and well‑being of our employees. We believe that our success is a direct result of the contributions and commitment of our employees. We provide competitive pay and benefits, training and continuing education, and professional development and promotional opportunities to engage and reward our team. We have established a set of standard operating procedures to optimize our human capital management function, including recruitment and employee relations policies, training practices and operational instructions. We focus on the following factors in implementing and developing our human capital strategy:

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employee health, safety and wellness;

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talent empowerment;

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employee development; and

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employee compensation and benefits.

We employed approximately 6,000 people at December 31, 2025 and approximately 90% of our employees were located in the U.S. Given the seasonal nature of our business, our peak employment period is the summer season and, depending on expected sales levels, we add 100 to 200 employees to our work force to meet seasonal demand. We believe that we have good relations with our employees and none of our employees are currently covered under any collective bargaining agreements.

Employee Health, Safety and Wellness

Our commitment to the health, safety and wellness of our employees ranks at the top of our core operating priorities. We are committed to supporting our employees’ overall well-being and offer a wide range of wellness resources. We aim to achieve zero serious injuries through continued investment in, and focus on, our core safety programs and injury-reduction initiatives. This effort begins at the moment of hire with new employees and is reinforced regularly through online and in-person safety awareness training, frequent communication about risk identification and other essential safety protocols, including regular audits and investigations as needed. We also continue to modernize our fleet with advanced safety features and closely monitor overall workers’ compensation and auto claims, Occupational Safety and Health Administration recordable incidents, Department of Transportation compliance and other internally established safety prevention elements in an effort to make every workday safe.

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Talent Empowerment

We value the differences in perspective and lived experience that our thousands of employees bring to work. We strive to attract and retain the best talent by building a culture where people want to work and fostering an environment where everyone feels that their voice is heard and valued.

We demonstrate this by:

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recruiting, developing and retaining a dynamic workforce and providing developmental opportunities for career advancement for all employees;

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ensuring that our policies, practices and procedures are fair and provide equal employment opportunity for a wide range of prospective candidates and employees; and

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communicating that we, as an Employer of Choice, are committed to creating a culture with action-oriented programs that produce results and employee engagement.

We also support our employees with training and development opportunities, which include content aimed at creating and sustaining an inclusive environment and have established a mentoring program to cultivate the growth and development of our high potential employees.

Employee Development

Investing in our employees helps us grow our business and become an Employer of Choice. Our goal is to attract, develop and retain a talented team inspired by our mission to maintain exceptional relationships with our customers and suppliers and create exceptional return to our shareholders, while providing exceptional opportunities for our employees. Our success depends on our employees understanding how their work contributes to the company’s overall strategy and how they have the opportunity to grow.

When our employees succeed, the company succeeds. To help our employees achieve success in their roles, we emphasize continuous training and career development opportunities. These opportunities include annual performance reviews, succession planning, promotion and advancement opportunities, ongoing training in safety and security protocols, updates on new products and service offerings and deployment of technologies. We also provide a series of managerial training to our field and departmental leaders. This coursework covers topics such as recruitment best practices, effective communications, leading and empowering others and managing employee performance.

We provide an entry level training program to prepare managers in training (MITs) for sales and operations management opportunities and build our pipeline for field leadership. Our MITs gain valuable experience during their training program through field-based interaction with customers and operating management. Our program includes interaction with subject matter experts, hands-on projects and role play to provide MITs with practical industry knowledge, leadership skills and the tools necessary to succeed within our organization.

Employees across our organization work together to contribute their time and talents to various outreach programs ranging from disaster relief to support for local food banks and other community initiatives. At the heart of these efforts is SWiMPACT!, a POOLCORP program that provides water safety lessons to underserved children through our partnership with YMCAs around the country.

Employee Compensation and Benefits

We strive to provide market-driven compensation, benefits and services to our employees. Our performance-based compensation philosophy rewards our employees’ individual contributions to our success. Our total compensation package includes cash compensation (base salary and incentive or bonus payments), company contributions toward additional benefits (such as health and disability plans), retirement plans with a company match and paid time off. We also offer the opportunity to become a shareholder through equity grants for certain roles and our employee stock purchase plan. Our employees can take advantage of a range of benefits, including healthcare and wellness programs, tuition reimbursement for eligible employees and multi-year scholarship opportunities for

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dependents, and financial wellness programs to help provide education and tools to assist our employees in planning their financial future.

Seasonality and Weather

Our business is seasonal. In general, sales and operating income are highest during the second and third quarters, which represent the peak months of both swimming pool use and installation, as well as irrigation and landscape installations and maintenance. Sales are lower during the first and fourth quarters. In 2025, we generated approximately 61% of our net sales and 78% of our operating income in the second and third quarters of the year.

We typically experience a build-up of product inventories and accounts payable during the winter months in anticipation of the peak selling season. Excluding borrowings to finance acquisitions, dividend payments and share repurchases, our peak borrowing usually occurs during the second quarter, primarily because extended payment terms offered by certain of our suppliers are typically payable in April, May and June, while our peak accounts receivable collections typically occur in June, July and August.

We expect that our quarterly results of operations will continue to fluctuate depending on the timing and amount of revenue contributed by new and acquired sales centers. Based on our peak summer selling season, we generally open new sales centers and close or consolidate sales centers, either in the first quarter before the peak selling season begins or in the fourth quarter after the peak selling season ends.

Weather is one of the principal external factors affecting our business. The table below presents some of the possible effects resulting from various weather conditions.

For discussion regarding the effects seasonality and weather had on our results of operations in 2025 and 2024, see Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Seasonality and Quarterly Fluctuations,” of this Form 10-K.

Government Regulations

Our business is subject to a wide variety of regulations, principally under local fire codes and international, federal, state and local environmental and health and safety requirements, including regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Department of Transportation, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Fire Protection Agency and the International Maritime Organization. Most of these requirements govern the packaging, labeling, handling, transportation, storage and sale of chemicals and fertilizers. We store certain types of chemicals and/or fertilizers at each of our sales centers and the storage of these items is strictly regulated by local fire codes. In addition, we sell algaecides and pest control products that are regulated as pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and various state pesticide laws. These laws primarily relate to labeling, annual registration and licensing.

Intellectual Property

We maintain both domestic and foreign registered trademarks and patents, primarily for our proprietary and exclusive brand products that are important to our current and future business operations. We also own rights to numerous internet domain names.

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Geographic Areas

See Note 12 of “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” included in Item 8 of this Form 10-K for financial information about geographic areas for the past three years.

Website Access and Additional Information

Our website is www.poolcorp.com. Our website and other websites mentioned in this Form 10-K are for information only and the contents of such websites are not incorporated in, or otherwise to be regarded as part of, this Form 10-K.

Our periodic reports, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available free of charge on our website at www.poolcorp.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such reports with, or furnish them to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

We regularly evaluate the possibility of acquiring additional companies or assets, and at any given time may be engaged in discussions or negotiations regarding these transactions. We generally do not announce our acquisitions until they are completed unless it is required by regulatory or other rules to announce when a definitive agreement is reached.

Investors should also be aware that while we customarily provide high-level sales and earnings guidance and may answer questions raised by securities analysts, it is against our policy to disclose any material non-public information or other confidential information. Accordingly, investors should not assume that we agree with any statement or report issued by an analyst with respect to our past or projected performance. To the extent that reports issued by securities analysts contain any projections, forecasts or opinions, such reports are not our responsibility.

Unless otherwise indicated, information contained in this report and other documents filed by us under the federal securities laws concerning our views and expectations regarding the industries in which we operate are based on estimates made by us using data from industry sources and making assumptions based on our industry knowledge and experience. We have not independently verified data from industry or other third-party sources and cannot guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

In this annual report and other of our public disclosures, we may estimate the impact that favorable or unfavorable weather had on our operating results. In connection with these estimates, we make several assumptions and rely on various third-party sources. It is possible that others assessing the same data could reach conclusions that differ from ours.