Aug. 21 at 8:51 PM
S&P Global Ratings downgraded Leslie’s Poolmart Inc. to ’CCC-’ from ’CCC’ on Friday, citing increased risk of a distressed debt restructuring before its
$756M term loan matures in March 2027. The outlook remains negative. S&P expects a potential downgrade to ’SD’ and the term loan to ’D’ within six months if a distressed transaction occurs, as Leslie’s discusses debt-structure changes with stakeholders. The loan trades at roughly 20 cents on the dollar.
Leslie’s withdrew its FY2026 guidance after weaker-than-expected Q3 results, with revenue down 8.4% YoY and comparable-store sales falling 6.2% due to lower traffic, transactions and unfavorable weather. S&P expects FY2026 revenue to decline about 7% and free operating cash flow to be negative by roughly
$19M after
$18M in capex. The company ended Q3 with
$207M of liquidity and has closed about 80 underperforming stores over the past year, reducing its footprint to 943 locations.
$LESL