Academy Sports & Outdoors Inc.

06/10/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/10/2026 14:04

Quarterly Report for Quarter Ending May 2, 2026 (Form 10-Q)

MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this "Quarterly Report") includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "Securities Act") and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), which are subject to the "safe harbor" created by those sections. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts, including statements reflecting our current views with respect to, among other things, our operations and financial performance. These forward-looking statements are included throughout this Quarterly Report, including in the section entitled "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and in the section entitled Part II, Item 1A. "Risk Factors," and relate to matters such as our industry, business strategy, goals and expectations concerning our market position, future operations, margins, profitability, capital expenditures, liquidity and capital resources and other financial and operating information. We have used the words "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "future," "will," "seek," "foreseeable," the negative version of these words or similar terms and phrases to identify forward-looking statements in this Quarterly Report.
The forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report are based on management's current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance. The forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties, assumptions or changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict or quantify. Our expectations, beliefs, and projections are expressed in good faith and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them. However, there can be no assurance that management's expectations, beliefs and projections will result or be achieved. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global, regional or local economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. We believe that these factors include but are not limited to those described under the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report, as such risk factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
Any forward-looking statement made by us in this Quarterly Report speaks only as of the date of this Quarterly Report and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this Quarterly Report. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures, investments or other strategic transactions we may make. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.
The following is a summary of the principal factors that make an investment in our securities speculative or risky (all of which are more fully described in the section entitled Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" in the Annual Report, as the same may be updated by subsequent Forms 10-Q):
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
•overall decline in the health of the economy and consumer discretionary spending;
•risks associated with our reliance on internationally manufactured merchandise which exposes us to various international risks, including additional tariffs;
•our ability to operate, update or implement our information systems;
•our ability to manage our use of machine learning and other types of artificial intelligence in our business;
•our ability to manage our inventory balances;
• our ability to predict or effectively react to changes in consumer tastes and preferences, and/or to acquire and sell brand name merchandise at competitive prices;
•risks associated with our e-commerce business;
• our ability to safeguard sensitive or confidential data relating to us and our customers, team members and vendors;
• intense competition in the sporting goods and outdoor recreation retail industries;
• risks associated with disruptions in our supply chain;
•our ability to successfully continue our store growth plans or manage our growth effectively, or any failure of our new stores to generate sales and/or achieve profitability;
•the effectiveness of our marketing and advertising programs;
•our ability to attract, train and retain quality team members in sufficient numbers, increases in wage and labor costs, and changes in laws and other labor issues;
•our ability to protect against inventory shrink;
•payment-related risks;
•the occurrence of severe weather events, catastrophic health events, natural or man-made disasters, social and political conditions or civil unrest;
•the geographic concentration of our stores;
• fluctuations in merchandise (including raw materials) costs and availability;
• any disruption in the operation of our distribution centers;
•our reliance on key personnel (including our executive officers) to support our existing business and future initiatives;
•our reliance on suppliers to supply us with merchandise that we purchase for resale;
• risks related to our private label brand merchandise;
• any failure of our third-party vendors of outsourced business services and solutions;
• harm to our reputation;
• quarterly and seasonal fluctuations in our operating results; and
• our ability to successfully pursue strategic acquisitions and integrate acquired businesses.
Legal and Regulatory Risks
•our ability to comply with laws and regulations affecting our business, including those relating to the sale, manufacture and import of consumer products;
• claims, demands and lawsuits to which we are, and may in the future, be subject;
• our insurance or indemnities coverage may be insufficient;
• risks related to product safety; and
• our ability to protect our intellectual property and avoid the infringement of third-party intellectual property rights.
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness
•our level of indebtedness and related debt service payments and our ability to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy all of our obligations under our indebtedness;
• our ability to incur substantially more debt;
• our ability to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness;
• restrictions on our current and future operations imposed by the terms of our indebtedness;
• our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk;
• our ability to borrow under the ABL Facility (as defined above); and
• our level of indebtedness may hinder our ability to negotiate favorable terms with our vendors.
Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Common Stock
•our stock price is volatile or may decline;
• our ability or decision to pay dividends on our common stock or conduct stock repurchases;
• anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents could delay or prevent a change of control;
• our exclusive forum provision; and
• you may be diluted by any future issuances of shares by us.
These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this Quarterly Report. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our unaudited financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report for the thirteen weeks ended May 2, 2026 and our audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026 and the section entitled "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" included in the Annual Report.
All references to "Academy," "Academy Sports + Outdoors," "ASO, Inc.," "we," "us," "our" or the "Company" in this Quarterly Report refer to Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., a Delaware corporation and the current parent holding company of our operations, and its consolidated subsidiaries. We conduct our operations primarily through our indirect subsidiary, Academy, Ltd., a Texas limited partnership doing business as "Academy Sports + Outdoors", or Academy, Ltd. All of the Company's sales and business operations occur at Academy, Ltd., and Academy, Ltd., is also the borrower and/or issuer of the Company's long-term debt and lessee of facilities.
We operate on a retail fiscal calendar pursuant to which our fiscal year consists of 52 or 53 weeks, ending on the Saturday closest to January 31 (which such Saturday may occur on a date following January 31) each year. References to any year, quarter, or month mean our fiscal year, fiscal quarter, and fiscal month, respectively, unless the context requires otherwise. References to the "current quarter," "2026 first quarter," or similar reference refers to the thirteen week period ended May 2, 2026, and any reference to the "prior year quarter," "2025 first quarter" or similar reference refers to the thirteen week period ended May 3, 2025. Unless otherwise specified, all comparisons regarding the current period of 2026 are made to the corresponding period of 2025.
Overview
We are a leading full-line sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer in the United States. Our mission is to provide "Fun for All", and we fulfill this mission with a localized merchandising strategy and value proposition that deeply connect with a broad range of consumers. Our product assortment focuses on key categories of outdoor, sports and recreation, apparel, and footwear (representing 30%, 25%, 24%, and 21% of our 2026 first quarter net sales, respectively) through both leading national brands and a portfolio of private label brands, which go well beyond traditional sporting goods and apparel offerings.
We sell a range of sporting and outdoor recreation products, including sporting equipment, apparel, footwear, camping gear, patio furniture, outdoor cooking equipment, and hunting and fishing gear, among many others. Our strong merchandise assortment is anchored by our broad offering of year-round items, such as fitness equipment and apparel, work and casual wear, folding chairs, wagons and tents, training and running shoes, and coolers. We also carry a deep selection of seasonal items, such as sports equipment and apparel, seasonal wear and accessories, hunting and fishing equipment and apparel, patio furniture, trampolines, play sets, bicycles, and severe weather supplies. We provide locally relevant offerings, such as crawfish boilers in Louisiana, licensed apparel for area sports fans, baits and lures for area fishing spots, and beach towels in coastal markets.
As of May 2, 2026, we operated 324 stores that range in size from approximately 40,000 to 130,000 gross square feet, with an average size of approximately 70,000 gross square feet, throughout 21 contiguous states located primarily in the southern United States. Our stores are supported by approximately 22,000 team members, three distribution centers, and our e-commerce platform, which includes our website at www.academy.com and our mobile app. Additionally, we are deepening our customer relationships, further integrating our e-commerce platform with our stores and driving operating efficiencies by developing our omnichannel capabilities such as our mobile app, optimizing the website experience and upgrading our fulfillment capabilities.
The following table summarizes store activity for the periods indicated:
Thirteen Weeks Ended
May 2, 2026 May 3, 2025
Beginning stores 322 298
Q1 new stores 2 5
Closed - -
Ending stores 324 303
Relocated stores - -
Tariffs and Other Macroeconomic Trends
We continue to monitor global macroeconomic trends and uncertainties such as inflation, existing and potential tariffs, and other shifting trade policies, which have impacted consumer spending and could adversely affect our ability to grow sales and merchandise margin. The impact of the evolving macroeconomic environment on our financial results is uncertain. We have worked diligently to mitigate the impact of tariffs on our business. We are closely monitoring the evolving environment with respect to tariffs and other trade policy developments and will continue to adjust plans as needed, including, but not limited to, inventory purchase quantities and timing, strategic pricing and promotional adjustments to maintain value for our customers, diversifying sourcing to shift country of origin, and vendor negotiations.
How We Assess the Performance of Our Business
Our management considers a number of financial and operating metrics, including the following key metrics, to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, determine the allocation of resources, make decisions regarding corporate strategies and evaluate projections. These metrics include operational measures and non-GAAP metrics supplemental to our GAAP results.
Comparable Sales. Comparable sales include stores open after thirteen full fiscal months as well as all e-commerce sales. There may be variations in the way in which some of our competitors and other retailers calculate comparable sales. As a result, data in this Quarterly Report regarding our comparable sales may not be comparable to similar data made available by other retailers. Stores which have been closed for an extended period of time are removed from the calculation. E-commerce sales include omni-channel sales fulfilled by our stores. For example, all buy-online-pickup-in-store ("BOPIS") transactions are allocated to e-commerce sales for the purpose of comparable sales, despite the fact that our customers pick-up these purchases from a specific store.
Increases or decreases in e-commerce between periods being compared directly impact the comparable sales results. Various factors affect comparable sales, including consumer preferences; buying trends and overall economic trends; our ability to identify and respond effectively to customer preferences and local and regional trends; our ability to provide an assortment of high quality/value oriented product offerings that generate new and repeat visits to our stores and our website; the customer experience and unique services we provide in our stores; our ability to execute our omnichannel strategy, including the growth of our e-commerce business; changes in product mix and pricing, including promotional activities; the number of items purchased per visit and average order value; unseasonal or extreme weather; a shift in the timing of a holiday between comparable periods; and the number of stores that have been in operation for more than thirteen fiscal months.
Transactions and average ticket. We define transactions as the number of customer transactions for stores and e-commerce during a given period on a comparable sales basis. Transactions are influenced by customer traffic, the amount of customers that visited our stores or website, and sales conversion, the percent of those customers that made a purchase. We define average ticket as total sales divided by the number of transactions during a given period, which tells us the average amount the customer is spending on a purchase.
Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Share and Adjusted Free Cash Flow. Management uses Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Share and Adjusted Free Cash Flow to supplement GAAP measures of performance in the evaluation of the effectiveness of our business strategies, to make budgeting decisions, and to compare our performance against that of other peer companies using similar measures. Management also uses Adjusted EBIT as a performance target to establish and award discretionary annual incentive compensation. See "Non-GAAP Measures" below.
Components of Our Results of Operations. Our profitability is primarily influenced by fluctuations in net sales, gross margin and our ability to leverage selling, general and administrative expenses.
Net Sales. Net sales are derived from in-store and e-commerce merchandise sales, net of sales tax and an allowance for merchandise returns.
Net sales fluctuations can be driven by new store openings, comparable sales increases or decreases including e-commerce sales, our ability to adjust inventory based on sales fluctuations, our management of vendor relations and meeting customer demand, allowances and logistics, seasonality, unseasonal or extreme weather, changes in consumer shopping preferences, consumer discretionary spending, and changes in product mix and pricing, including promotional activities.
We must maintain sufficient inventory levels of merchandise that our customers desire to successfully operate our business. A shortage of popular merchandise could reduce our net sales. Conversely, we also must seek to avoid accumulating excess inventory to avoid markdowns and clearance which negatively impact sales and gross margin. We have deployed several tools to improve inventory handling and vendor management, including third-party programs to analyze our inventory stock, execute a disciplined markdown strategy and improve our inventory management throughout the year at every location. We have coupled these tools with the data we collect from our myAcademy Rewards program, our customer database and targeted customer surveys, so that we can better estimate future inventory requirements. It is imperative that we continue to find innovative ways to strengthen our inventory management if we are to remain competitive and expand our margins on a go-forward basis.
Our broad assortment gives us an advantage over mass general merchants who typically do not carry the full assortment of leading national brands sold at Academy. We have also continued to add private label brands to our assortment of products, which we generally price lower than the national brand products of comparable quality that we also offer. A shift in our sales mix in which we sell more units of our private label brand products and fewer units of the national brand products would generally have a positive impact on our gross margin rate but an adverse impact on our total net sales. Furthermore, our softgoods merchandise divisions, which consist of apparel and footwear, have higher margins than our hardgoods merchandise divisions, which consist of outdoors and sports and recreation. A shift in sales mix toward softgoods would generally have a positive impact on gross margin and a shift in sales mix towards hardgoods would generally have a negative impact on gross margin rate.
The expansion and enhancement of our omnichannel capabilities have contributed to increased sales in recent years. We continue to invest in initiatives designed to drive traffic to our stores and e-commerce platforms, including our website and mobile application, improve conversion, and support our long-term objective of continuing to increase our e-commerce penetration of sales. These initiatives include investments in our customer data ecosystem (data lake and Customer Data Platform), enabling customer-level attributes and models that power personalization and deepen engagement.
We are implementing enhancements to the online shopping experience, including a redesigned homepage, expanded BOPIS functionality, enhanced shipping notifications, and ongoing improvements in product discovery and site experience. Our e-commerce platform supports store operations by driving customer demand, providing real-time product discovery and inventory visibility, and enabling store-fulfilled transactions such as BOPIS, ship-to-store, and ship-from-store. During the 2026 first quarter, stores facilitated approximately 95% of our total sales, including ship-from-store, BOPIS and in-store retail sales. We expect to continue investing in the expansion and enhancement of our omnichannel capabilities, including our mobile application, website experience optimization, fulfillment improvements, and emerging digital commerce capabilities such as artificial intelligence-enabled shopping experiences and social and marketplace commerce integrations. These initiatives are intended to support long-term growth and improve customer experience, and will require ongoing investment.
We expect that new stores will be a key driver of growth in our net sales and gross margin in the future as we execute our new store opening growth plans. Our growth strategy encompasses both deepening our presence in legacy and existing markets as well as entering new markets, leveraging enhanced brand awareness and operational efficiencies. Our new store model favors off-mall locations within power centers or stand-alone buildings. We utilize comprehensive demographic and trade data to guide our real estate site selection. During the 2026 first quarter, we opened two new stores. Our strategic real estate approach, including the 65 stores opened since fiscal year 2021, has positioned us effectively for continued expansion.
Gross Margin. Gross margin is our net sales less cost of goods sold. Cost of goods sold includes the direct cost of merchandise and costs related to procurement, warehousing and distribution. These costs consist primarily of tariffs, payroll and benefits, distribution center occupancy costs and freight, and are generally variable in nature relative to our inventory receipts and sales volume.
Our gross margin depends on a number of factors, such as net sales increases or decreases, our promotional activities, product mix including private label brand merchandise sales, and our ability to control cost of goods sold, such as inventory and logistics cost management. Our gross margin is also impacted by variables including tariffs, commodity costs, freight costs, shrinkage (discussed below), inventory processing costs and e-commerce shipping costs. We track and measure gross margin as a percentage of net sales in order to evaluate our performance against profitability targets.
We refer to loss or theft of inventory as "shrinkage" or "shrink". A prolonged period of significant increased shrink could have a material negative impact on our gross margin and results of operations.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses include store and corporate administrative payroll and payroll benefits, store and corporate headquarters occupancy costs, advertising, credit card processing, information technology, pre-opening costs and other store and administrative expenses. These expenses are both variable and fixed in nature. SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales decreased from 28.8% in the 2025 first quarter to 28.1% in the 2026 first quarter. This decrease was a result of increased sales and ongoing expense discipline across the organization in addition to lapping the Jordan Brand launch in the 2025 first quarter. We track and measure operating expenses as a percentage of net sales in order to evaluate our performance against profitability targets. Management of SG&A expenses depends on our ability to balance operating costs, such as store and corporate headcount, information technology infrastructure and marketing and advertising expenses, while efficiently and effectively servicing our customers.
Pre-opening expenses represent non-capital expenditures associated with the opening of new stores and distribution centers prior to sales generation or start of operations, which consist primarily of occupancy costs, marketing, payroll and recruiting costs, and are expensed as incurred. As we execute our new store opening growth plans, we expect our pre-opening expenses to result in a negative impact to SG&A as a percentage of sales. The following table summarizes our pre-opening expense activity for the periods presented:
Thirteen Weeks Ended
May 2, 2026 May 3, 2025
Number of new stores opened 2 5
Pre-opening expenses (in millions) $ 2.5 $ 3.3
Interest Expense. Interest expense includes regular interest payable related to our Term Loan, Notes and ABL Facility (see Note 4 to the accompanying financial statements) and the amortization of our deferred loan costs and original issuance discounts associated with the acquisition of the debt.
Income Tax Expense. ASO, Inc. is treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal, state, and local income tax purposes and accordingly, a provision for income taxes has been recorded for the anticipated tax consequences of our reported results of operations for federal, state and local income taxes. Recent fluctuations in income tax expense have been primarily as a result of changes in income before income taxes and the effect of cross border tax laws.
Results of Operations
Thirteen Weeks Ended May 2, 2026 Compared to Thirteen Weeks Ended May 3, 2025
The following table sets forth amounts and information derived from our unaudited statements of income for the periods indicated as follows (dollar amounts in thousands):
Thirteen Weeks Ended Change
May 2, 2026 May 3, 2025 Dollars Percent
Net sales $ 1,442,003 100.0 % $ 1,351,409 100.0 % $ 90,594 6.7 %
Cost of goods sold 962,655 66.8 % 892,540 66.0 % 70,115 7.9 %
Gross margin 479,348 33.2 % 458,869 34.0 % 20,479 4.5 %
Selling, general and administrative expenses 404,693 28.1 % 389,604 28.8 % 15,089 3.9 %
Operating income 74,655 5.2 % 69,265 5.1 % 5,390 7.8 %
Interest expense, net 8,988 0.6 % 9,044 0.7 % (56) (0.6) %
Other income, net 3,222 0.2 % 2,807 0.2 % 415 14.8 %
Income before income taxes 68,889 4.8 % 63,028 4.7 % 5,861 9.3 %
Income tax expense 16,186 1.1 % 16,944 1.3 % (758) (4.5) %
Net income $ 52,703 3.7 % $ 46,084 3.4 % $ 6,619 14.4 %
*Percentages in table may not sum properly due to rounding.
Net Sales. Net sales increased $90.6 million, or 6.7%, in the 2026 first quarter compared to the prior year first quarter, which was driven by increased sales of 11.7% in the outdoor merchandise division, 6.2% in the sports and recreation merchandise division, 4.7% in the apparel merchandise division and 2.8% in the footwear merchandise division.
We opened 21 new stores since the end of the 2025 first quarter, two of which opened during the 2026 first quarter. During the 2026 first quarter, these 21 stores generated $54.5 million of net sales, including e-commerce. Since re-launching our new store program in 2022, we have opened 65 new stores, 44 of which have been open for at least twelve months. Over the last twelve months, those 44 stores have averaged approximately $13 million in net sales per store, including e-commerce. We believe that performance of new stores in year one is partially affected by the season in which the new store opens and the brand awareness in the region the new store opens.
Comparable sales increased 2.9% driven by higher comparable sales across all merchandise divisions, except the footwear merchandise division which remained relatively constant. The increase in comparable sales was a result of a 4.5% increase in average ticket, partially offset by a decrease in comparable transactions of 1.5%.
E-commerce net sales represented 11.0% of merchandise sales for the 2026 first quarter compared to 10.0% for the prior year first quarter. E-commerce net sales increased 17.4% in the 2026 first quarter over the prior year first quarter.
Gross Margin. Gross margin increased $20.5 million, or 4.5%, to $479.3 million in the 2026 first quarter from $458.9 million in the 2025 first quarter. As a percentage of net sales, gross margin decreased 80 basis points from 34.0% in the 2025 first quarter to 33.2% in the 2026 first quarter. The decrease of 80 basis points in gross margin was primarily attributable to 110 basis points of unfavorability as a result of tariffs, partially offset by 20 basis points of favorability related to shrink and 10 basis points of favorability related to freight and e-commerce shipping.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. SG&A expenses increased $15.1 million, or 3.9%, to $404.7 million in the 2026 first quarter as compared to $389.6 million in the 2025 first quarter, primarily as a result of our increased strategic investments of $19.0 million in new stores and technology, partially offset by $7.5 million due to lapping the Jordan Brand launch in the 2025 first quarter.
Interest Expense. Interest expense remained relatively constant in the 2026 first quarter when compared with the 2025 first quarter.
Other Income, net. Other income, net, increased $0.4 million in the 2026 first quarter when compared with the 2025 first quarter, primarily driven by higher money market investments in the 2026 first quarter when compared with the 2025 first quarter.
Income Tax Expense. Income tax expense decreased $0.8 million to $16.2 million for the 2026 first quarter as compared to $16.9 million in the 2025 first quarter, resulting primarily from fluctuations in share-based compensation deductions. ASO, Inc.'s effective tax rate was 23.5% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to 26.9% in the first quarter of 2025. The decrease in the effective tax rate compared to the prior year quarter is primarily due to fluctuations in share-based compensation deductions.
Non-GAAP Measures
Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Share and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, as shown below, have been presented in this Quarterly Report as supplemental measures of financial performance that are not required by, or presented in accordance with, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). We define Adjusted EBIT as net income (loss) before interest expense, net, income tax expense and other adjustments included in the table below. We describe these adjustments reconciling net income (loss) to Adjusted EBIT in the applicable table below. We define Adjusted Net Income as net income (loss) plus other adjustments included in the table below, less the tax effect of these adjustments. We define basic Adjusted Earnings per Share as Adjusted Net Income divided by the basic weighted average common shares outstanding during the period and diluted Adjusted Earnings per Share as Adjusted Net Income divided by the diluted weighted average common shares outstanding during the period. We describe these adjustments by reconciling net income (loss) to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per Share in the applicable table below. We describe Adjusted Free Cash Flow as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less net cash used in investing activities. We describe this adjustment by reconciling net cash provided by (used in) operating activities to Adjusted Free Cash Flow in the applicable table below.
We believe Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Earnings per Share assist investors and analysts in comparing our operating performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance. Management believes Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Earnings per Share are useful to investors in highlighting trends in our operating performance, while other measures can differ significantly depending on long-term strategic decisions regarding capital structure, the tax jurisdictions in which we operate and capital investments. Management believes Adjusted Free Cash Flow is a useful measure of liquidity and an additional basis for assessing our ability to generate cash. Management uses Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Share and Adjusted Free Cash Flow to supplement GAAP measures of performance in the evaluation of the effectiveness of our business strategies, to make budgeting decisions and to compare our performance against that of other peer companies using similar measures. Management has also historically used Adjusted EBIT as a performance target to establish and award discretionary annual incentive compensation.
Management supplements GAAP results with non-GAAP financial measures to provide a more complete understanding of the factors and trends affecting the business than GAAP results alone. Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Share and Adjusted Free Cash Flow are not recognized terms under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) as a measure of financial performance or net cash provided by (used in) operating activities as a measure of liquidity, or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP. Additionally, these measures are not intended to be a measure of free cash flow available for management's discretionary use as they do not consider certain cash requirements such as interest payments, tax payments and debt service requirements. Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Earnings per Share should not be construed to imply that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. In evaluating Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Share and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, you should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments in this presentation. Our presentation of Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Share and Adjusted Free Cash Flow should not be construed to imply that our future results will be unaffected by any such adjustments.
Our Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Share and Adjusted Free Cash Flow measures have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:
•Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Earnings per Share do not reflect costs or cash outlays for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;
•Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Earnings per Share do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;
•Adjusted EBIT does not reflect the interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on our debt, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow does not reflect the cash requirements necessary to service principal payments on our debt;
•Adjusted EBIT does not reflect period to period changes in taxes, income tax expense or the cash necessary to pay income taxes;
•Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Earnings per Share do not reflect the impact of earnings or charges resulting from matters we consider not to be indicative of our ongoing operations;
•although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow does not reflect cash requirements for such replacements; and
•other companies in our industry may calculate these measures differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.
Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Share and Adjusted Free Cash Flow should not be considered as measures of discretionary cash available to invest in business growth or to reduce indebtedness. Management compensates for these limitations by primarily relying on our GAAP results in addition to using Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Share and Adjusted Free Cash Flow supplementally.
Adjusted EBIT
The following table provides reconciliations of net income to Adjusted EBIT for the periods presented (amounts in thousands):
Thirteen Weeks Ended
May 2, 2026 May 3, 2025
Net income $ 52,703 $ 46,084
Interest expense, net 8,988 9,044
Income tax expense 16,186 16,944
Equity compensation (a) 11,100 7,542
Adjusted EBIT $ 88,977 $ 79,614
(a)
Represents non-cash charges related to equity-based compensation, which vary from period to period depending on certain factors such as timing and valuation of awards, achievement of performance targets and equity award forfeitures.
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per Share
The following table provides a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per Share for the periods presented (amounts in thousands, except per share data):
Thirteen Weeks Ended
May 2, 2026 May 3, 2025
Net income $ 52,703 $ 46,084
Equity compensation (a) 11,100 7,542
Tax effects of these adjustments (b) (2,584) (2,029)
Adjusted Net Income $ 61,219 $ 51,597
Earnings per common share:
Basic $ 0.82 $ 0.69
Diluted $ 0.80 $ 0.68
Adjusted Earnings per Share:
Basic $ 0.95 $ 0.77
Diluted $ 0.93 $ 0.76
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Basic
64,432 67,122
Diluted
65,945 68,170
(a)
Represents non-cash charges related to equity-based compensation, which vary from period to period depending on certain factors such as timing and valuation of awards, achievement of performance targets and equity award forfeitures.
(b)
Represents the estimated tax effect of the total adjustments made to arrive at Adjusted Net Income.
Adjusted Free Cash Flow
The following table provides a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to Adjusted Free Cash Flow for the periods presented (amounts in thousands):
Thirteen Weeks Ended
May 2, 2026 May 3, 2025
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 160,606 $ 157,472
Net cash used in investing activities (38,997) (50,988)
Adjusted Free Cash Flow $ 121,609 $ 106,484
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources and Uses of Liquidity
Our principal liquidity requirements are for working capital, capital expenditures and cash used to pay our debt obligations and related interest expense. We also use cash to pay dividends and to repurchase common stock. We fund these liquidity requirements through cash and cash equivalents, cash generated from operating activities, issuances of debt (such as the Notes) and borrowings under our ABL Facility. On May 2, 2026, our cash and cash equivalents totaled $337.8 million. We believe our cash and cash equivalents, as well as our availability under the ABL Facility, will be sufficient to fund our cash requirements for the next 12 months and the longer term foreseeable future.
Long-Term Debt
As of May 2, 2026, the Company's long-term debt and interest rates consist of:
•Notes - 6.00% fixed rate senior secured notes with $400 million in principal outstanding and full principal maturing November 15, 2027;
•Term Loan - 7.53% variable rate term-loan with $85.0 million in principal outstanding maturing November 6, 2027 and requiring quarterly principal payments of $750 thousand through September 30, 2027; and
•ABL Facility - $1.0 billion commitment on a variable rate secured asset-based revolving credit facility with no principal outstanding maturing March 8, 2029.
On May 14, 2026, Academy, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company entered into an amendment to the ABL Facility which, among other things, extended the maturity of the ABL Facility to May 14, 2031, and Academy, Ltd., as issuer, issued $500 million in aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes, all of which remains outstanding and matures on May 15, 2031. The Company used the net proceeds from the senior secured notes to fully redeem the Notes, repay the Term Loan in full, pay related fees and expenses, and for general corporate purposes.
See Notes 4 and 12 to the accompanying financial statements for further disclosure regarding our debt agreements. The following table summarizes our debt obligations by fiscal year as of May 2, 2026 (amounts in thousands):
2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Total
Term Loan and related interest (1)
$ 6,848 $ 87,725 $ - $ - $ - $ 94,573
Notes and related interest (2)
24,000 424,000 - - - 448,000
ABL Facility and related interest (3)
1,863 2,500 2,500 268 - 7,131
(1) Interest payments do not include amortization of discount and debt issuance costs and are approximated based on projected interest rates and assume no unscheduled principal payments.
(2) Interest payments do not include amortization of debt issuance costs and assumes Notes are paid in full at maturity date.
(3) Assumes a minimum revolving credit commitment of $1.0 billion and assumes no balances drawn on our ABL Facility.
Liquidity information related to the ABL Facility is as follows for the periods shown (dollar amounts in thousands):
Thirteen Weeks Ended
May 2, 2026 May 3, 2025
Average funds drawn $ - $ -
Number of days with outstanding balance - -
Maximum daily amount outstanding $ - $ -
Minimum available borrowing capacity $ 992,370 $ 953,921
Liquidity information related to the ABL Facility (amounts in thousands) as of:
May 2, 2026 January 31, 2026 May 3, 2025
Outstanding borrowings $ - $ - $ -
Issued letters of credit 7,630 7,630 10,832
Available borrowing capacity 992,370 992,370 989,168
Leases
We predominantly lease store locations, distribution centers, office space and certain equipment under operating leases expiring between fiscal years 2026 and 2045. Operating lease obligations include future minimum lease payments under all of our non-cancelable operating leases at May 2, 2026. The following table summarizes our remaining operating lease obligations by fiscal year:
2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 After 2030 Total
Operating lease payments (1) (2)
$ 179,252 $ 276,997 $ 261,755 $ 244,688 $ 226,432 $ 1,235,531 $ 2,424,655
(1) Minimum lease payments have not been reduced by sublease rentals of $1.3 million due in the future under non-cancelable sub-leases.
(2) These balances include stores where we have an executed contract but have not taken possession of the location as of May 2, 2026.
Share Repurchases
On December 4, 2024, the Company's Board of Directors approved a new share repurchase program under which the Company is authorized to purchase up to $700 million of its outstanding shares during the three-year period ending December 4, 2027 (the "2024 Share Repurchase Program"), and which replaced the previously approved share repurchase program. Under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program, repurchases can be made using a variety of methods, which may include open market purchases, block trades, accelerated share repurchase programs, privately negotiated transactions and/or Rule 10b5-1 or other non-discretionary trading plans, all in compliance with the rules of the SEC and other applicable legal requirements. The timing, manner, price and amount of any common share repurchases under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program will be determined by the Company in its discretion and will depend on a variety of factors, including legal requirements, price and economic and market conditions. The 2024 Share Repurchase Program does not obligate the Company to acquire any particular number of common shares, and the program may be suspended, extended, modified or discontinued at any time. As of May 2, 2026, the Company had $338.2 million remaining for share repurchases under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program. See Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements.
The following table summarizes our share repurchases for the 2026 first quarter (dollar amounts in thousands, except per share amounts):
Total Number of Shares Purchased
Average Price Paid per Share (1)
Total Amount Repurchased (1)
First Quarter (February 1, 2026 to May 2, 2026)(2)
1,703,031 $ 57.79 $ 98,412
Total Shares Repurchased 1,703,031 $ 57.79 $ 98,412
(1) Excludes the impact of unpaid excise taxes.
(2) See Part II, Item 2 - Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds for further detail on the 2026 first quarter share repurchases.
Dividends
The following table summarizes our quarterly dividend payments for the 2026 first quarter (amounts in thousands, except per share amounts):
Dividend per Share Total Dividends Paid Stockholder Date of Record
First Quarter (February 1, 2026 to May 2, 2026) $ 0.15 $ 9,646 March 20, 2026
Total Dividends Paid $ 9,646
On June 4, 2026, the Company's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend with respect to the fiscal quarter ended May 2, 2026, of $0.15 per share of the Company's common stock, payable on July 16, 2026, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 18, 2026.
Capital Expenditures
The following table summarizes our capital expenditures for the thirteen weeks ended May 2, 2026 and May 3, 2025 (amounts in thousands):
Thirteen Weeks Ended
May 2, 2026 May 3, 2025
New stores $ 18,402 $ 25,970
Corporate, e-commerce and information technology programs 12,784 22,953
Existing stores, distribution centers and other 7,717 1,907
Total capital expenditures $ 38,903 $ 50,830
We expect capital expenditures for fiscal year 2026 to be between $200 million and $240 million. The following table summarizes our forecasted allocation of capital expenditures for fiscal year 2026:
2026
New stores 60 %
Corporate, e-commerce and information technology programs 20 %
Existing stores, distribution centers and other 20 %
We review forecasted capital expenditures throughout the year and will adjust our capital expenditures based on business conditions at that time.
Cash Flows for the Thirteen Weeks Ended May 2, 2026 and May 3, 2025
Our unaudited statements of cash flows are summarized as follows (in thousands):
Thirteen Weeks Ended
May 2, 2026 May 3, 2025
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 160,606 $ 157,472
Net cash used in investing activities (38,997) (50,988)
Net cash used in financing activities (114,119) (110,309)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents $ 7,490 $ (3,825)
Operating Activities. Cash flows from operating activities are seasonal in our business. Typically, cash flows from operations are used to build inventory in advance of peak selling seasons, with the fourth quarter pre-holiday season inventory increase being the most significant.
Cash provided by operating activities in the 2026 first quarter increased $3.1 million, compared to 2025 first quarter. This increase is attributable to:
•$6.6 million increase in net income; and
•$2.4 million net increase in cash flows provided by operating assets and liabilities; offset by
•$5.9 million net decrease in non-cash charges.
The increase in cash flows from operating assets and liabilities was primarily attributable to:
•$46.7 million increase in cash flows from working capital due to the pull-forward of inventory purchases in the prior year period at pre-tariff rates; and
•$17.2 million increase in accounts receivable due to timing of payments received; offset by
•$46.7 million decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets largely driven by litigation settlements received in the prior year period and timing of construction reimbursement payments received;
•$12.1 million decrease in accrued expenses and other current liabilities primarily due to an increase in accrued sales and use tax as a result of increased sales; and
•$7.9 million decrease in other long-term liabilities primarily due to payments for deferred contract proceeds received in the 2025 first quarter.
Investing Activities. Cash used in investing activities decreased $12.0 million in the 2026 first quarter compared to the 2025 first quarter. This decrease is primarily due to decreased capital expenditures for new stores as well as corporate, e-commerce, and information technology programs in the 2026 first quarter compared to the 2025 first quarter.
Financing Activities. Cash used in financing activities increased $3.8 million in the 2026 first quarter, compared to the 2025 first quarter, primarily due to a $2.7 million increase in cash payments for minimum tax withholding requirements as a result of the vesting of employee equity awards compared to the prior year period.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
This management's discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our unaudited financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires our management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Our management bases its estimates on historical experience and other assumptions it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Management evaluated the development and selection of our critical accounting policies and estimates used in the preparation of the Company's unaudited financial statements and related notes and believes these policies to be reasonable and appropriate. Certain of these policies involve a higher degree of judgment or complexity and are most significant to reporting our results of operations and financial position, and are, therefore, discussed as critical. Our most significant estimates and assumptions that materially affect the financial statements involve difficult, subjective or complex judgments by management, including the valuation of merchandise inventories and performing goodwill, intangible and long-lived asset impairment analyses. More information on all of our significant accounting policies can be found in the "Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates" section of the Annual Report entitled "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." There have been no material changes to our critical accounting policies as compared to the critical accounting policies described in the Annual Report.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The information set forth in Note 2 to our unaudited consolidated financial statements under Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report is incorporated herein by reference.
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