Thor Industries reported a sharp drop in fiscal fourth-quarter profit as sales fell and margins compressed, even as the company ended the year with a slightly higher full-year revenue base and continued share repurchases.
For the three months ended July 31, net sales declined 8.4% to $2.31 billion from $2.52 billion a year earlier. Gross profit fell 23.0% to $285.6 million from $370.9 million, and gross margin slipped to 12.4% from 14.7%, a drop of 230 basis points. Net income attributable to Thor sank 67.5% to $40.8 million from $125.8 million, while diluted earnings per share fell to $0.78 from $2.36. EBITDA dropped 42.2% to $130.0 million from $224.8 million, and adjusted EBITDA declined 37.1% to $131.7 million from $209.5 million.
For fiscal 2026, net sales edged up 0.3% to $9.61 billion from $9.58 billion. But profitability weakened: gross profit fell 9.5% to $1.21 billion from $1.34 billion, gross margin narrowed to 12.6% from 14.0%, net income attributable to Thor dropped 31.3% to $177.5 million from $258.6 million, and diluted EPS fell 30.2% to $3.38 from $4.84. EBITDA decreased 12.0% to $541.9 million from $615.8 million, while adjusted EBITDA fell 17.4% to $544.4 million from $659.1 million.
Capital deployment remained active. Thor said it reduced debt by $59.7 million during the fiscal year and repurchased $115.1 million of stock, including $34.3 million in the fourth quarter.
Segment performance was mixed. In North American towable RVs, fourth-quarter net sales fell 22.7% to $687.3 million from $888.7 million, with unit shipments down 19.7% to 20,616 from 25,682. Gross profit dropped 38.9% to $72.4 million, and margin fell to 10.5% from 13.3%. For the full year, towable sales declined 16.1% to $3.18 billion, unit shipments fell 20.7% to 95,045, and gross profit decreased 28.3% to $356.6 million.
North American motorized RVs posted fourth-quarter net sales of $499.3 million, down 10.4% from $557.4 million, on unit shipments that fell 13.1% to 3,806. Gross profit tumbled 57.6% to $26.6 million, and margin dropped to 5.3% from 11.3%. For the full year, motorized sales rose 12.8% to $2.46 billion and unit shipments increased 12.4% to 19,288, while gross profit inched up 2.5% to $215.9 million.
European RVs were the strongest segment in the quarter. Net sales rose 5.0% to $969.2 million from $923.1 million, unit shipments increased 3.9% to 13,370, and gross profit climbed 3.3% to $148.7 million. Margin was nearly flat at 15.3% versus 15.6%. For the full year, European sales increased 9.0% to $3.30 billion and unit shipments rose 2.7% to 45,623, though gross profit fell 3.6% to $443.7 million.
Order backlog moved higher in two of the three segments. Towable backlog rose to $916.6 million from $525.0 million, up 74.6%. European backlog increased 8.4% to $1.65 billion from $1.53 billion. North American motorized backlog fell 27.5% to $728.2 million from $1.00 billion. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved 3.35% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $72.28. Check out the company's full 8-K submission here.
