Polaris Inc. Q2 FY2025 Earnings Call

Good morning, and welcome to the Polaris Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to J.C. Weigelt, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Gary, and good morning or afternoon, everyone. I'm J.C. Weigelt, Vice President of Investor Relations at Polaris. Thank you for joining us for our 2025 second quarter earnings call. We will reference a slide presentation today which is accessible on our website at ir.polaris.com. Joining me on the call today are Mike Speetzen, our Chief Executive Officer; and Bob Mack, our Chief Financial Officer. Both have prepared remarks summarizing our 2025 second quarter as well as our expectations for 2025. Then we'll take your questions. During the call, we will be discussing various topics, which should be considered forward-looking for the purpose of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those projections in the forward-looking statements. You can refer to our 2024 10-K and our other filings with the SEC for additional details regarding risks and uncertainties. All references to 2025 second quarter actual results and future period guidance are for our continuing operations and are reported on an adjusted non-GAAP basis, unless otherwise noted. Please refer to our Reg G reconciliation schedules at the end of the presentation for the GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments. Now I will turn it over to Mike Speetzen. Go ahead, Mike.

Thanks, J.C. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Before we walk through our second quarter results, I would like to begin by acknowledging the outstanding work of our team. While there is plenty of external noise, tariffs, interest rates, a dynamic and often unpredictable macro environment, I'm proud to say Polaris is winning where it counts. We've exceeded expectations for the quarter, gained share across our business, mitigated a portion of the tariff impacts, generated strong free cash flow and have dealer inventory at healthier levels across most product categories. Our plants are running leaner and more efficient than ever, surpassing even pre-pandemic benchmarks, all while maintaining the highest levels of quality that our customers and dealers come to expect, and we are bringing industry-leading products to the market. I'm more confident than ever that we will emerge from the cycle stronger because the Polaris team is focused and executing on what we can control. Today, Bob and I will walk you through our Q2 performance and an update on our tariff mitigation strategy and how we are positioning Polaris for long-term growth, stronger earnings and higher returns. In Q2, sales were down 6%, reflecting the ongoing powersports industry downturn and increased promotions. For the quarter, shipments were down just 4%, which was better than our expectations in April. Additionally, retail was flat, and we had share gains across every segment. Dealer inventory has continued to be a focus for us, and we remain in a much better place compared to last year. Year-over-year, inventory is down 17%, excluding snowmobiles. You will recall, we planned for fewer shipments of snowmobiles later in the year to help address elevated inventory in the channel due to two bad snowfall seasons. Margins were pressured by negative mix, incentive compensation and elevated promotions. However, we're seeing real progress from our lean and quality initiatives. The team is building on the incredible efforts that started last year. And for 2025, we are on track to deliver an incremental $40 million in operational efficiencies. Additionally, the continued focus on quality has led to lower warranty costs in the quarter, and we expect these efforts to provide a benefit for the full year. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.40, which was down year-over-year but well ahead of last year's latest consensus expectations. Our decision today to not reinstate full-year guidance stems from the fact that there remains an abundance of uncertainty around tariffs and the potential impact on consumer spending. We continue to actively monitor developments, and we'll reevaluate our decision on providing full-year guidance once we have greater clarity. Like last quarter, we've decided to provide more assumptions for the business in the third quarter, which Bob will walk through shortly. That said, our commitment to navigating these challenges and positioning Polaris for long-term success remains unchanged. Retail was flat year-over-year in Q2, driven by growth in RANGER, Crossover and Indian Motorcycle. In Utility, ATV was flat, while RANGER saw mid-single-digit growth. In Recreation, crossover vehicles grew mid-single digits, although RZR was down mid-single digits. In the crossover segment, the Polaris expedition has been a standout story since it launched a little over two years ago. It has helped us grow our crossover market share from under 35% pre-pandemic to about 55% today. That's one of the biggest share shifts in ORV in over five years and it underscores the power of innovation. We gained share across all segments during the quarter, including ORV, despite aggressive promotions from other OEMs. We always said these aggressive promotions would likely be a short-term issue, and we believe we remain well positioned to gain back share with our innovative product line across ORV once industry levels normalize and industry retail stabilizes. In On Road, Indian Motorcycles gained multiple market share points, especially in the heavyweight category aided by the launch of our PowerPlus lineup earlier this year. Marine also gained share driven by our new entry-level Bennington pontoon, which has resonated well with non-cash buyers as well as our all-new M-Series Bennington, which has performed well with more luxury-oriented buyers. We also wrapped up our annual dealer survey with over 800 participants. The key takeaways are dealers are largely comfortable with their Polaris inventory. They want us to stay focused on innovation as it drives traffic and share, and uncertainty remains high, which is impacting their willingness to order more inventory. We're listening or staying close to our dealers, supporting them through the downturn and preparing for an eventual market rebound. Turning to tariffs. The landscape continues to change at a rapid pace. Consistent with our April call, we want to provide you with a snapshot of the impact given current tariffs in effect. The biggest change from what we spoke about in April would be the tariff on our China spend. This all-in rate is currently at approximately 55%, which is lower than the 170% that was in place in April. That alone reduces our expected 2025 tariff impact by over $150 million. While this reduction was welcome, we still believe the current tariff structure puts us at a competitive disadvantage given our heavier U.S. manufacturing footprint versus competitors that also source from China but manufacture in countries like Mexico or Japan. For tariffs that have been enacted, we now expect full-year gross tariff costs of $180 million to $200 million with less than $100 million in incremental tariffs hitting the P&L this year after mitigation and inventory deferrals. That's $125 million lower than our April estimate. These amounts exclude potential impacts from tariffs that have not yet been enacted. This remains a fluid situation, and we are already implementing actions that can reduce our tariff exposure over the short and long term through our four-pronged mitigation strategy as we continue to reevaluate our supply chain, manufacturing footprint, pricing and market priorities. These are tough decisions, but we're taking a data-driven approach to protect our long-term competitiveness and profitability. Our proactive approach is already proving successful as we expect to have relief from most of these new tariffs over the next couple of years. We're targeting to reduce sourced parts from China to the U.S. by 35% by year-end which is slightly higher than what we had initially thought as the teams have identified even more opportunities to reduce exposure. Of this amount, almost half is already complete with parts sourced from different regions being received at our plants. Further, the team expects to have a transition plan for 80% of our China source parts by the end of the year. The timing of the actual moves is still being determined, but the progress here is real with the goal of creating a supply chain with minimal tariff exposure relative today. We have also negotiated with suppliers to mitigate pass-through costs, saving over $10 million to date through our efforts. I'm confident in our tariff mitigation strategy and execution to date. I also remain confident that we're taking the appropriate actions to drive our long-term strategy to increase shareholder value. Over the short term, we will continue to take a prudent approach to our cost structure as we position Polaris for a market recovery. Given our cash preservation playbook, we will be thoughtful about evaluating discretionary spending and CapEx over the near term, and we'll focus on maximizing our cash generation. Our approach is proving to be successful as we cut inventory and generated approximately $290 million in free cash flow in the second quarter. Share gains and innovation are helping drive sales performance above industry results. Our focus on lean is driving tangible results within our plants, which should translate into greater earnings power. When the powersports cycle begins to improve, we believe Polaris will be in an even stronger position at the dealership with higher margins and greater earnings power. Ultimately, the goal remains to generate above-average returns for shareholders, and we believe we are taking the appropriate steps to meet this goal. I'm now going to turn it over to Bob to provide you with more details on the financials. Bob?

Thanks, Mike, and good morning or afternoon to everyone on the call today. Second quarter adjusted sales declined 6%, primarily due to planned shipment reductions and elevated promotional activity. However, results exceeded our expectations driven by higher-than-anticipated shipments in Off-Road. International sales were down 5%, reflecting similar dynamics. PG&A sales declined 1%, impacted by lower whole good shipments, partially offset by strength in parts and oil. Gross margin was pressured across all segments due to unfavorable mix and heightened promotions, particularly in Off-Road, so we saw some benefit from ongoing manufacturing efficiencies. We also had incremental tariff costs of $10 million hit the P&L in the quarter, which was within our anticipated range. Adjusted EBITDA margin also faced headwinds from incentive compensation. As you saw in our press release this morning, we recognized a noncash goodwill impairment charge during the quarter associated with our On Road segment due to the continued decline in financial performance and prolonged deterioration of industry conditions. We also had an impairment related to a strategic investment recorded in other expense. Within the quarter, we generated $320 million in operating cash flow supported by continued focus on reducing net working capital, especially inventory. This marks the highest second quarter of operating cash flow since the height of the pandemic in 2020. This translated into approximately $290 million in free cash flow for the quarter, a testament to the strength of our recessionary playbook. Off-Road sales declined 8%, driven by lower whole goods volume and increased promotions. Industry-wide dealer inventory levels improved during the quarter, suggesting a potential return to healthier inventory positions. Our data shows all OEMs, except one, now have DSOs below 140 days compared to three OEMs above that threshold last quarter. Polaris DSOs remain around 110 days well below historical norms, reinforcing our confidence in our positioning. Gross margin declined 55 basis points due to mix and promotions with the lower year-over-year mix within the side-by-side shipments. Operational efficiencies and lean initiatives continue to support margins and warranty expenses remained a tailwind, where we continue to see an improvement in model year 2025 claims as a result of our commitment to quality. Moving to On Road. Sales during the quarter were down 1%, driven by ongoing softness within our Slingshot business. This was partially offset by mid-single-digit sales growth in Indian Motorcycle. Adjusted gross profit margin was down 83 basis points, driven by a year-over-year mix headwind within our European ex-im business. In marine, sales were up 16%, driven by positive shipments of new boats, including the new entry-level Bennington pontoon. Recent SSI data reflects share gains for our pontoon brands in the second quarter supported by our competitive positioning in the entry level of the premium segment. However, the broader marine industry continues to face pressure from elevated interest rates and macroeconomic uncertainty. Gross profit margin declined due to unfavorable operational expenses and negative mix in the quarter. Moving to our financial position, we generated approximately $320 million in operating cash flow this quarter translating into $289 million of free cash flow. Much of this was derived from a focused effort to reduce working capital, including an initiative to lower inventory at our plants given our ability to operate more efficiently today versus a year ago. We remain committed to our recessionary strategy until economic policy and demand stabilizes. In June, we proactively amended our existing credit facility and prepaid senior notes via revolving loans. The amendment extends the maturity of our $400 million, 364-day term loan and provides a covenant release period to allow incremental flexibility in this dynamic environment. We intend to be prudent with capital and so we return to a more predictable environment. This approach includes the ability to continue the normal payout of our dividend, which the Board will review later this week. We also have approximately $1 billion of liquidity available through our revolver. Our net leverage ratio ended the quarter at 3.1x EBITDA, and we believe the additional flexibility allowed under our amended credit facility mitigates downside risk. With the strong free cash flow generation year-to-date, and enhanced financial flexibility, we are well positioned to emerge stronger from this prolonged downturn. As with our April call, we are not providing formal guidance, but we'll share key planning assumptions. First, we expect third quarter sales to be between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion. We are planning on fewer shipments and net pricing to be neutral year-over-year with price offsetting promotions. Retail is expected to be flattish year-over-year. We estimate the P&L impact of incremental new tariffs to be between $30 million to $40 million net of inventory deferrals. We estimate this level of tariffs to be a fairly accurate run rate going forward from enacted tariffs and deferrals from the first half of this year. Again, this assumes no change in current enacted tariff policy or mitigation efforts as of today. Due to tariff impacts and the incentive compensation headwind, we do expect adjusted EPS for the third quarter will be negative. We continue to believe the ultimate impact on the consumer from these tariffs is not known, and thus, we remain hesitant to provide longer-term guidance until we have a clearer picture. In closing, while the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, our disciplined execution, strong cash flow generation and proactive financial management position us well to navigate the current challenges. We remain focused on operational efficiency, maintaining a healthy balance sheet, customer-driven innovation and supporting our dealer network as we prepare for a return to more stable market conditions. Our long-term strategy remains intact, and we are confident in our ability to emerge stronger and deliver value for our shareholders over time. With that, I'll turn it back over to Mike to talk about a new product launch and wrap up the call. Go ahead, Mike.

Thanks, Bob. Before I wrap up our prepared remarks and move to Q&A, I'm excited to share details around a new product that is launching later today. You've heard me talk about the opportunity that exists for us in the entry and value segment for our products. We're incredibly proud of the home runs we've delivered in the premium space, vehicles like Polaris XPEDITION, the RANGER XD 1500 NorthStar Edition and RZR Pro R. However, we also recognize the opportunities that exist in the entry or value space and have been focused on expanding our vehicle portfolio to better meet the needs of customers we are not currently reaching. There's a segment of customers that want the quality, the dealership service, the brand leadership that Polaris offers, but we're not at the right price level for them. Later today, we're launching the Polaris RANGER 500. We believe this is the right product at the right price to address a customer base that makes up approximately 50% of all utility vehicle purchases. We expect the new RANGER 500 will allow Polaris to capture more volume and share, as there are many potential buyers of side-by-sides that are looking to unlock the value between fun and productivity at a lower price, and we believe we have the right product here. Starting at $9,999, the RANGER 500 is built for customers who are looking for a vehicle that has the features needed to get more done around their yard or property while being easy to use and easy to own as we expect these customers will be newer to the ORV ownership experience, and we are designing it all at a more accessible price point. It comes standard with 1,500 pounds of towing capacity, a 300-pound gas-assist dump box, a 2,500-pound winch and over 30 accessory options. Dealers who have previewed it are excited about the customer acquisition potential. We'll begin shipping in just a few weeks. This launch adds to the most innovative and updated product portfolio on dealer floors. We made this innovation leadership commitment to you in 2022 and have continued to deliver year after year. We plan to stay on the offense to deliver rider-driven innovation and the best customer experience in the industry. Now let me close with this. We're doing a great job controlling what we can control. Dealer inventory is largely within our control and the vast majority of our product lines are in a healthier place versus last year and aligned with demand. Innovation is alive and well as demonstrated by our share gains in the quarter. The RANGER 500 is an exciting new launch for us. And if dealer feedback on the vehicle is any sign, we believe the RANGER 500 will be a big success story for us. Plus there's more to come on the innovation front. We're on track to deliver $40 million in operational efficiencies this year. Approximately half of that has already been achieved through deeper penetration of lean at our factories as well as other initiatives. On tariffs, we are executing on our mitigation strategy and not only taking costs out this year but creating a transition plan for the majority of our China spend to further reduce our exposure to tariffs. When the powersports market recovers, and we believe it will, the work we've done will shine through. I've never seen our plans run this efficiently, and we know there's more improvements to be done. Our innovation calendar is packed, our dealer relationships are strong, and our culture is resilient. All together, we believe this is a recipe for unlocking long-term value for our shareholders through higher sales growth, greater earnings power and stronger returns. We appreciate your continued support and with that, I'll turn the call back over to Gary to open up the line for questions.

Our first question is from Craig Kennison with Baird.

A question on USMCA. It feels like you're aligning for a new world order for global supply chains that is less dependent on China and more optimized for USMCA. But USMCA is subject to renegotiation too, so I'm curious how you are preparing for those scenarios and what might be the optimal scenario for Polaris?

Yes. Thanks, Craig. Yes, look, there's still a lot of trade deals to be negotiated, and we are aware of USMCA potentially being one that could go through a phase that I think all parties have to align on what those changes could be. At the end of the day, the China tariff rate is likely to be the highest, at least based on the rhetoric we've heard from the administration. And so while we're still incurring tariffs from other countries that we may source from China is obviously the highest. And so we've ramped up our efforts to continue to pull that level of sourcing down. Sometimes, we're working with existing Chinese suppliers who are moving to different locations or just migrating to new suppliers. We do have a pretty heavy push to try and get sourcing back to either the U.S. or Mexico because we know that under a USMCA environment, that's probably going to be the most advantageous. And I would tell you that we are probably positioned better than any of our competitors with regards to that because we do have a nice manufacturing footprint in Mexico, but we also have a nice manufacturing footprint in the U.S. with Roseau, Huntsville and Spirit Lake. And so it gives us the ability to flex volume between the two depending on the tariff regime and if they end up aligning USMCA to have an inbound tariff against China or any of the other countries or any inbound materials that would go into, say, Mexico. I think the good news is we've got a team that's been going through and running the scenarios. We've got alignment, as I talked about in my prepared remarks, we've taken quite a bit of exposure out. We've also been working directly with our suppliers to get short-term relief on pass-through as well as with migration of their production out of places like China. And I think the real message is we're agile and we're prepared, and we can react. I think we've demonstrated that we've been able to pull our exposures down pretty quickly. Quite frankly, I'd rather have the teams focused on some of the other things that we're seeing value created from in the business. But the reality is we're able to do those and deal with these tariff exposures at the same time. So we think we're positioned well, and we're going to continue to stay close to it. We've got a great government relations team. We spend a lot of time interacting with the administration. And so as we see things developing, we can pivot pretty quickly.

Yes, Craig. As we look at these parts, as Mike said, we're obviously our first focus is on the parts that come from China into the U.S., but a lot of those same suppliers supply parts that go to Mexico for other types of vehicles. And so as we develop that supply base to take those Chinese parts that are coming to the U.S., we're developing that supply base for the future also, which I think positions us well if USMCA, the targets in USMCA change or as Mike says, there's some kind of tariff regime that gets applied on Chinese parts in Mexico. The other thing we're doing is, just given the posture of the administration, as we look at new products, we're pushing for a higher level of USMCA content than the current regulation just because if it's going to go in direction, it's likely to go up, not down. And so we're also making sure that we're planning for the future as we develop new products.

That's really helpful. If I could sneak in a follow-up. Just looking at the RANGER 500 you just announced. I'm curious, do you think you can win at lower price points, given the current trade policy and the impact on your cost structure relative to competitors at lower prices?

Yes. In fact, we are making a higher margin on this RANGER than the one that it essentially replaces the RANGER 570 just wasn't the vehicle that these customers wanted. It was too high priced. It didn't look good, didn't have the features. And so we put a small team together told them they had to innovate this quickly and they did an excellent job. And they used some technologies we've used in the past, and they found a way to get this vehicle at the price point that we think is going to be very successful at the dealership. We previewed this with our dealer council, which is essentially representatives from across the dealer network that Bob and I meet with every few months, and we brought the vehicle in, let them walk around it, and they basically said, "Look, you guys, this is going to be a home run." We've got a lot of customers that come in and buy cheap vehicles that really want a Polaris, but it's too high of a price point. We're making the vehicle down at our Monterrey facility. So at this point, it really isn't carrying the drag of tariffs. And obviously, we're working that supply chain hard in the event that USMCA regulations change so that we can make sure that we continue to qualify. So it's a big market. It's 50% of the utility market. And we know that not all these customers are going to migrate up, but a good portion of them are going to eventually start to move into the 1,000, the XP 1000 or NorthStar, and these are customers we want to bring into the family, so we're really excited about it. The PG&A offering of 30 accessories also provides margin uplift for us and for the dealers as customers get comfortable with the vehicle and start putting more accessories on it.

Yes. And Craig, if you think about it, a lot of these competitive products that fall in this category are made either in China or Vietnam. And so they're going to be subject to a fairly heavy tariff. So that's going to change the dynamic at the lower end of the market, at least for a while. And a lot of those companies don't have a lot of dealership service. And so I think we'll be the first OEM to deliver a really good product in this price range backed by accessories, service, dealer warranty, all those good things. So we're excited about the opportunity and look forward to how that rolls out.

The next question is from Noah Zatzkin with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

I guess first, maybe not to put too fine a point on it, but I think guidance implies roughly $50 million of tariff impact in the fourth quarter. So just trying to think through kind of the run rate as we look out to next year, is it as simple as kind of multiplying that by 4? Or I know there are some deferrals as well embedded in 3Q. So just trying to think through how you're thinking about the annualized tariff impact next year and understand that you're still doing work around the China piece of the supply chain.

Yes, I'll let Bob get into some of the details. We think inclusive of the 301 tariff, we think we're probably around $230 million on an annualized basis. Now I recognize that, that number would have been probably north of 300 without the mitigation efforts. And what I would tell you is that we're not done. We're still working on that $230 million to bring it down. And it's all the things that we put on the page, everything from the sourcing location to working with our suppliers. We are not giving up on our efforts with the administration, albeit we haven't made much progress, but we've met with everybody from the Department of Commerce to USTR to the economic adviser for President Trump. So we're going to continue to advocate for ourselves to see what we can do. But we're working that number hard and we're committed to getting it below that $230 million.

Yes. So Noah, the way I would think about it, we talked about a run rate of $30 million to $40 million in Q3, and that's relatively accurate as an ongoing run rate. Q3 is a little bit of a tougher calculation because you've got some stuff that's at the higher tariff rates that came in, in Q2 that will roll in, in Q3. And then obviously, the tariff rates moved in the quarter. So I think if you think about a run rate of $40 million, you're going to be pretty close and obviously, that's subject to new tariffs coming in. The new European tariff won't have any major impact, at least as we look at it right now. But obviously, we can't contemplate really what else is going to happen and it also doesn't include any further mitigations. The one thing I would caution you on, if you look at Slide 5, you can't just take the previous version of that slide and this version of that slide, and kind of backsolve the volume coming out of China because in the current slide, that $60 million to $70 million includes some carryover that's from the higher tariff that we had earlier in the quarter. So the math isn't exactly straightforward.

Got it. That's really helpful. Could you discuss how you plan to offset some of the pressure you mentioned, especially regarding tariffs? I'm curious about your thoughts on pricing or strategies to remain competitive, particularly with the RANGER 500 offering.

Yes. I mean I'd say, look, it's all the things we've talked about. I mean, we know we're not in a strong industry right now, so price is not a big lever. I will tell you, some of our competitors have done things like tariff surcharges, which we are not going to do. We're likely to see price increases that would be more typical as you see model year changeover, I think low single digits, very low single digits. And the reality is we've got the ability to flex production between the U.S. and Mexico where we need to. And we're not going to do anything significant long term at this point because there's too much trade policy up in the air. So we need a little bit more stability around exactly what the ground rules are before we start making any decisions. But we'll keep working with our suppliers. We'll obviously keep working the administration to see if we can get some relief for the largest and really only U.S. power sports player, and ultimately, at the end of the day, what's going to win is innovation. And that's what I think we're proving right now. We've got the most innovative product lineup in powersports across the board. And even the second largest competitor in the industry is working hard to try and catch up to us. And when you look at what we've done with the XD 1500, you look at what we've done with the Pro R, you look at what we've done with Polaris XPEDITION. We have products in categories that our competitors aren't even present. And so they've got to spend a lot of time catching up. And so we're going to press that advantage and continue to gain share. And work to make customers happy with the best product on the market.

Next question is from Joe Altobello with Raymond James.

I guess, first on retail, could you speak to what you saw in terms of the cadence throughout the quarter and what you're seeing here in July? We get the sense in talking to our dealer checks that it was fairly volatile from quarter-to-quarter. So I'm curious what you guys saw from month to month.

Yes. When we take youth and snow out of our ORV business, it was actually up all three months and granted it did move around and we've seen that performance continue into July. So the utility segment is obviously holding up the strongest. On the rec side, as I talked about in my prepared remarks, XPEDITION continues to perform really well. RZR has bounced around a little bit more. The good news is we continue to see the evidence that our customers are using those vehicles in terms of repair order activity, miles ridden, consumables like oil and tires and we know from the survey that I referenced in the last earnings call that while they are using the vehicles, they are just not ready to drop back into the market yet. I think if we were to see some broader economic stability, and I think as these trade policies get set, that's helping as well as we start to see interest rates move. I think you're going to see these customers start to move off the sidelines. They've had these vehicles for a long time. And that's why we're making sure that we're prepared with the right inventory at the right location at the right time. So at this point, we feel good. We feel like retail has started to stabilize, I guess, would be the way I would articulate it. But there's still a lot of uncertainty in terms of what the trade deals are going to ultimately do from an economic standpoint. It certainly feels like people are getting more optimistic than pessimistic. And it's also going to be dependent on what we see happen from an interest rate perspective. So as both Bob and I indicated, we're not prepared to go out and give guidance at this point because we still have those two variables moving around and they're obviously very closely linked. And as once we start to get a little bit more clarity, I think we can start to give a little bit more forward guidance around where we see retail going.

One thing to keep in mind, Joe, as you enter Q3, is that most manufacturers are changing their model year, which makes Q3 retail a bit unpredictable. It tends to fluctuate because some customers are waiting for new model year products that have been announced, while others are looking for deals on the previous year's models. So, Q3 is generally more volatile from a retail perspective. However, inventory is in good shape in the channel, which should help stabilize things a bit this year.

Well, that was my next question. So you've got a cleaner channel from a competitive standpoint. You've got the model year changeover, so are you starting to see some easing on the promo front or your competitors still pretty aggressive?

Consumers are still seeking deals, and high interest rates aren't helping. Although we expect some easing in promotions during the second half, it won't be significant. We have the best product on the market, and it's beneficial that many of our competitors are reducing their dealer inventory. However, there is still one competitor whose inventory remains high, even though they have made improvements. Their days sales outstanding are higher than what we or others experienced at our lowest point. They will need to address this issue with their dealerships. Fortunately, both we and another major player have managed to lower our dealer inventory to a respectable level, which is putting pressure on primarily the Japanese OEMs to reduce their inventory as well, allowing dealers some relief.

The next question is from James Hardiman with Citigroup.

This is Sean Wagner on for James. I guess can you help us bridge last year's 2Q with this year's retail was flat, but EPS down almost $1. How much of that was under shipping the channel which would in theory return next year if you guys are feeling good about where your inventory stands, which it seems like you do. And then how much is increased promo or pricing differences or other factors?

Certainly. I can provide some insight into the comparison between Q2 this year and Q2 last year from a profitability perspective. The product mix posed a challenge for us. Last year, we were still filling channels for XPEDITIONS, XPs, and NorthStar, which impacted our performance somewhat. Promotions, particularly elevated ones, really ramped up in the latter half of last year, so we experienced some promotional pressure in Q2. Additionally, there was $10 million in tariff costs this quarter, as previously mentioned. On a positive note, our operational performance has been improving, warranty rates are declining, and we're seeing significant benefits from that, along with much higher customer satisfaction due to our focus on quality over the past few years. We also experienced some advantages from flooring; dealer inventory levels were higher last year. While we did extend flooring in Q3 and Q4 last year, we are beginning to cycle through that now, and we benefited from reduced dealer inventory in Q2, which will continue to help us as the year goes on. Those were the key factors.

I guess to piggyback off that, how should we think about 3Q margins? You've given us a tariff headwind there, but I guess how should we think about the other moving parts?

Yes. I mean, obviously, we're not giving guidance, but I think the big things, I mean, tariff is a big driver relative to last year. Price promos relatively flat, a little bit, probably better warranty and better operations performance. So kind of a continuation of the story really from Q2.

It's important to remember that last year we reduced our bonus and profit share program that applies to the entire company. We began to see benefits from this in the third quarter of last year. This year, that program is being funded at full value due to the execution the team has been achieving. Consequently, this will create a bit of a headwind for our margins as well.

Okay. I think you mentioned that promotions should improve in the second half. At some point, does this level out year-over-year and ultimately become a tailwind? When do you expect that to happen?

Well, I mean it's tough to say. I mean, it really depends on what happens with interest rates. I mean we're spending a fair amount of money doing interest rate buydowns. The flooring costs are tied to interest rates. So the flooring period that we've got product out there, and then ultimately, consumer demand is obviously tracking with what's going on with trade policy and some of the broader economic stuff. And when you look at some of the stats that have been coming out lately relative to home sales as well as capital goods being purchased by businesses, they would indicate a little bit of a slowdown. And we know that if the economy starts to slow, people may start to back off. But at this point, it's tough to predict where all that's going to go. I'd like to be optimistic that as these trade deals get done and if the Fed were to make an interest rate move, I think that would bolster confidence in the broader economic, and I think that could bode well for us. But at this point, it's difficult to predict, which is why we're not guiding.

Yes. I think the thing that's changed and will continue to impact the industry last year and even earlier this year, a lot of the promo spend, particularly last year, was targeted at inventory clearance. And as we move into Q3, as we said earlier, most of the manufacturers have relatively cleaned up their inventory. And so there's less inventory clearing promo out there, and the promo spend that everyone has in the market is targeted more at moving retail. So if retail stays solid, interest rates come down, there could be an opportunity there, but I think it's way too early to call that ball because there's a lot of factors that are in our control and are really unknown at this point.

The next question is from Tristan-Thomas Martin with BMO Capital Markets.

Can you discuss how the RANGER 500's margin profile compares to some of your more premium products?

It's not going to be as high as our premium products. Consider the NorthStar Edition XD 1500, which has all the features. You won’t achieve that level of margin with a product in this category, but it does offer a respectable margin. We expect it won't make up a large portion of our product portfolio. Additionally, it's about customer acquisition; these customers will generate significant lifetime value over the product's lifespan. These are sales we likely weren't capturing before. We believe this will pose a significant competitive challenge for some of the lower-priced options from Asia.

Got it. And then just switching to Marine really quickly, pretty big kind of delta between kind of sales and shipment performance relative to retail. And we've kind of consistently heard that entry level is still weak. So if dealers are ordering some of your more entry-level product, are they seeing any signs of improvement at that price point? Or are the restocking had anticipated improvement at the entry level?

There are a few points to discuss. First, we have a price-protected lower-end boat that is performing well, allowing dealers to sell it at those lower price points. Additionally, we've introduced several new boats across our lineup, including the Bennington M-Series, the Hurricane 3200 deck boat, and the 24-foot Hurricane Center Console. Dealers have made orders for these because they believe they can sell them successfully. It's important to note that we spent two years ahead of others in the marine industry to ensure our dealer inventory was healthy. Therefore, the year-over-year comparisons you are seeing reflect our performance in relation to the broader industry.

The next question is from Alex Perry with Bank of America.

I guess first, just to start, can you talk to the share dynamics in On Road with Indian Motorcycles up low double-digit percent versus industry down low teens? What do you think is driving that? And any particular color on certain segments within the On Road business, if it's your more value or any units that are outperforming would be super helpful.

Yes. With Indian, it's quite straightforward. We have an outstanding product. The PowerPlus has been a huge success. The largest competitor in the industry lacks an entry-level bike like our Scout lineup. These factors together have really strengthened our competitive position. Additionally, they are currently dealing with other issues related to their business, which certainly complicates matters for them. I must credit our team for establishing the best distribution network both in North America and globally, along with offering the best product available. From the entry-level Scout series to our heavyweight bikes, I believe this is what is driving our success in the marketplace right now.

Really helpful. And then just a follow-up on the ORV retail trends. So pretty significant improvement there, up 1% versus down 11% last quarter and pretty significant improvement in utility. Is it fair to say we're moving off the bottom of the cycle, how much of it was sort of promo versus the easier comps versus organic? And then as we look at 2H retail, any color on sort of how you're thinking about that by segment? Is it fair to assume that sort of ORV and On Road are expected to outperform?

I don't want to make predictions about the future. While we have some internal assumptions, we are not providing forward guidance due to the uncertainty. It's hard to determine if things are stabilizing, but it's certainly less volatile than before. The Utility segment has performed well consistently through the second quarter and continues to do so in July, which we are pleased about. We are closely watching the recreational space, especially regarding the RZR business and the marine portfolio, as those items are higher priced, and consumers are hesitant to spend unless necessary or if they have the financial means. It may take some time to see changes, possibly in two to four quarters. The positive news is that the utility segment is strong. Additionally, we recently introduced the new RANGER 500, adding to our offerings in that category, which gives us confidence.

One dynamic to keep in mind is our youth business, which has been somewhat volatile. We previously produced youth products in high tariff markets and are currently in the process of relocating that production. This transition has affected supply, but we expect to resolve it before the holiday season. However, it has created a bit of noise in youth inventory positions, and this situation is likely to persist through Q3. While it's not a significant driver of profitability, it's part of our overall considerations.

The next question is from David MacGregor with Longbow Research.

You just talked about the share gains. Yes, you just talked about the share gains in On Road, but you also saw share gains in ORV despite the heavy promotional environment. Just was hoping you could talk about some of the factors driving those gains. And you also mentioned competitors implementing some tariff surcharges. Does that also play a factor in maybe expecting some expected share gains in the second half of the year as well?

Yes. Look, I think there were a few factors. I think, one, as I talked about in my prepared remarks, the competitive set has started to get inventory in a better spot, so that levels the playing field a little bit. But I think the reality is when you look at where we're seeing strength in our business, Polaris XPEDITION, RANGER 1500, nobody has a product to compete with that and they're great products and customers love them. And so as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, we've taken that crossover segment from just under 35% share up over 55% and so that certainly helps. But even in the RANGER core lineup where we have NorthStar, we're seeing strength there in that Utility segment and we've got a superior product customers want and so we continue to see success from a retail standpoint. I think on the tariff surcharge, that certainly isn't going to help some of our competitors who are doing that, but quite frankly, where they're doing it, I don't know that I would say they've got an overly competitive product to what we have anyway.

Yes, the situation is a bit complicated due to tariff surcharges being applied and then passed on, which makes it difficult to understand the actual impact or effectiveness of that strategy. However, as Mike mentioned, I don't believe it's affecting products that would significantly impact our operations. We're observing strong performance in the utility sector of our business. Hopefully, the recreational segment will start to stabilize. We've noticed some improvement in recreational performance, although it's too early to say we've hit the lowest point. It would be beneficial if that market could remain stable for a few quarters to see if we can regain momentum.

This concludes our question-and-answer session, and the conference has also now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.