Malibu Boats Boosts Share Buyback to $70M Amid Market Headwinds

LOUDON, TN – December 19, 2025 – In a significant display of corporate confidence, Malibu Boats, Inc. (Nasdaq: MBUU) announced today that its board of directors has authorized a $20 million expansion of its share repurchase program, increasing the total authorization to $70 million. The move comes as the leading powerboat manufacturer navigates a challenging retail environment, signaling that management believes in the company's underlying financial strength and sees its own stock as a worthwhile investment.

This decision follows a period of active buybacks, with the company already having repurchased $20.7 million of its shares during the current quarter. The expanded program underscores a commitment to returning capital to shareholders while grappling with industry-wide headwinds that have dampened consumer demand for recreational products.

“The board’s decision regarding the share repurchase program reflects MBI’s sustained business as well as our continued confidence in the long-term prospects for the company,” said David Black, Chief Financial Officer of Malibu Boats, Inc., in the official announcement. “We remain focused on investing in our core businesses while returning excess capital to shareholders.”

A Signal of Strength in Choppy Waters

Share repurchase programs, often called buybacks, are a tool companies use to buy their own shares from the open market. This action reduces the number of outstanding shares, which can increase earnings per share (EPS) and often signals to investors that the company's leadership considers the stock undervalued. For Malibu Boats, this aggressive capital return strategy is built on a foundation of improving financial health.

Despite a difficult fiscal year 2024, which saw net sales decrease by over 40% and resulted in a net loss, the company has orchestrated a notable turnaround. Recent financial reports from fiscal 2025 and the first quarter of fiscal 2026 paint a picture of recovery. For the full fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, the company posted net income of $15.2 million, a stark reversal from the $56.4 million loss in the prior year. More recently, first-quarter results for fiscal 2026 showed a 13.5% year-over-year increase in net sales to $194.7 million and a significant narrowing of its net loss.

Crucially, Malibu Boats has shored up its balance sheet. The company successfully paid off all its remaining debt during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 and, according to recent analyses, now holds more cash than debt. This robust financial position provides the flexibility and resources necessary to fund a substantial buyback program without compromising operational needs.

Navigating a Challenging Retail Environment

The company’s confident maneuver is set against a backdrop of a “soft retail backdrop” for the entire recreational powerboat industry. Like its competitors, Malibu has been contending with elevated inventory levels at dealerships following the post-pandemic boom. In response, the company strategically reduced production and offered promotional support throughout fiscal 2024 and 2025 to help its dealer network align inventory with current retail demand.

This market softness, combined with company-specific challenges earlier in the year—including leadership changes and a widely publicized lawsuit from a major dealer—has weighed on its stock performance. As of the announcement, MBUU shares had declined nearly 22% year-to-date, a factor that likely contributed to the board's view of the stock as an attractive investment. By buying back shares at these lower prices, management can maximize the impact of the program on shareholder value.

Despite these market-wide pressures, Malibu has maintained its dominant position in several key categories. Its Malibu and Axis brands continue to hold the number one market share in the U.S. performance sport boat category, while its Cobalt brand leads the 24-to-29-foot sterndrive segment. This brand strength is a core component of the long-term value proposition that the board's decision aims to reinforce.

Balancing Shareholder Returns with Future Growth

A key question for investors is whether the expanded buyback signals a trade-off with investments in future growth and innovation. Malibu's management, however, presents the capital allocation strategy as a balanced approach. The company has emphasized its continued focus on product development, with plans to launch a record number of new models across its portfolio of brands, which also includes Pursuit, Cobia, Pathfinder, Maverick, and Hewes.

This dual strategy of returning capital while investing in the core business is often employed by mature, financially healthy companies navigating periods of slower market growth. With ample cash flow exceeding immediate needs for capital expenditures, returning excess funds to shareholders via buybacks can be a more efficient use of capital than letting it sit on the balance sheet, particularly when the stock appears undervalued.

Analysts have offered a mixed but cautiously optimistic view. Seaport Global Securities recently initiated coverage on Malibu Boats with a “Buy” rating and a $36 price target, citing long-term growth potential. Financial data points, such as the company’s high Piotroski Score of 9—a measure of strong financial health—further support the notion that the company is fundamentally sound. The repurchase program can therefore be interpreted not as a retreat from growth, but as a disciplined and opportunistic deployment of capital in a market that is slowly finding its equilibrium.

As the company executes this larger $70 million repurchase program, investors will be watching closely to see if the market rewards this vote of confidence. The move is a clear bet by Malibu's leadership on their own strategy, their market-leading brands, and an eventual rebound in the recreational boating industry.