YETI Holdings, Inc. Q4 FY2024 Earnings Call

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the YETI Holdings Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. This call is being recorded on Thursday, February 13, 2025. I would now like to turn the conference over to Maria Lycouris, Investor Relations for YETI.

Good morning, and thank you for joining us to discuss YETI Holdings' Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2024 Results. Leading the call today will be Matt Reintjes, President and CEO; and Mike McMullen, CFO. Following our prepared remarks, we'll open the call for your questions. Before we begin, we'd like to remind you that some of the statements that we make today on this call may be considered forward-looking, and such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these statements. For more information, please refer to the risk factors detailed in our most recently filed Form 10-K. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements made today as a result of the new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Unless otherwise stated, our financial measures discussed on this call will be on a non-GAAP basis. We use non-GAAP measures as we believe they more accurately represent the true operational performance and underlying results of our business. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures are included in the press release or in the presentation posted this morning to the Investor Relations section of our website at yeti.com. I'd now like to turn the call over to Matt.

Thanks, Maria, and good morning. 2024 was an excellent year for YETI, with strong top and bottom line growth fueled by our brand strength, expanding product portfolio, and growing global presence. Over the past 12 months, our team has clearly executed against our strategic priorities. Starting with brand, YETI consumer and owner studies continue to show strong passion for the brand and support our product expansion strategy. In 2024, we participated in over 200 consumer events around the world, ended the year with roughly 200 global ambassadors, and secured meaningful partnerships, growing our addressable market across key consumer groups. In innovation, we delivered impactful additions in drinkware, food, coolers, and bags, plus expanded our color options. Within our omnichannel, we grew our DTC and wholesale across geographies, continuing to find meaningful ways to intersect with consumers where they shop. And finally, internationally, YETI's global brand resonance is unlocking tremendous white space in international markets. Additionally, YETI delivered excellent adjusted gross margin and adjusted operating margin expansion throughout the year despite a choppy macro and competitive domestic environment. We ended the year with a cash position of approximately $360 million, building on our strong balance sheet. Our momentum continued in the fourth quarter, even as we saw signs of discerning consumer buying, more promotional activity, and heightened competition, particularly in the U.S. market. Innovation and product diversification continued to drive demand across YETI in the quarter, with particular strength in the Coolers & Equipment category, specifically in hard coolers and bags, and with strong growth internationally. We delivered over $200 million in free cash flow for the second year in a row, and we expect another strong year in 2025. This robust cash generation gives us the flexibility to pursue a targeted capital allocation strategy, which is centered around driving long-term sustainable growth and delivering value to shareholders through three key levers: investment in the business, accelerating innovation, and building upon our share repurchase cadence started in 2024. In the year, we meaningfully delivered on these capital allocation priorities with $200 million in announced share buybacks, representing roughly 6% of outstanding shares and the acquisition of Mystery Ranch and Butter Pat. These deals enabled the accelerated launch of YETI cast iron cookware and the limited release of the Bozeman backpack in 2024. This is what we mean when we talk about our capital allocation strategy driving innovation. Notably, in the fourth quarter, we also acquired capabilities, technology, and IP that provides us with a foundation to engineer and develop a unique powered cooler system. We believe this technology is highly complementary to our existing hard cooler portfolio and is another example of the significant opportunity we see for future product innovation. Over the year, we also made great progress on our supply chain diversification. We achieved our target of 20% of our global Drinkware capacity shifted outside of China by the end of 2024. Importantly, we are firmly ahead of plan and now expect that by the end of 2025 to have 80% of U.S. Drinkware capacity located outside of China. Our team's strong operational execution across sourcing, process and automation improvements, as well as cost and service optimization, gives us tremendous confidence in our ability to cost-effectively support our growing global demand. Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, I am more excited than ever about the opportunities to drive our business and take advantage of our growing global brand. As we execute our plan, we expect to continue to deliver top line performance despite anticipated FX headwinds and market dynamics that Mike will discuss in more detail shortly while also expanding adjusted operating margins and strong earnings growth, all while maintaining a very healthy balance sheet. While we expect macro pressures to persist in 2025, our long-standing strategic growth priorities remain the same, which we believe will support our ability to deliver long-term sustainable growth. Turning to brand. Numerous enthusiast communities are at the core of what we do, supporting their activities and pursuits. The deep connectivity and trust we have fostered is evident in the testimonies of YETI owners and the strong engagement we've seen over the last year. Our most recent U.S. owner study completed in December underscores the strength of our brand. 2024 was the seventh consecutive year that 95% of YETI owners surveyed responded they have recommended YETI to peers, highlighting our incredible brand loyalty and a testament to our products. Moreover, the study shows that our consumers want us to be in the newer categories we're scaling, in particular, bags and travel. This, along with our key design attributes of durability, performance, and design, gives us confidence in our unique positioning and differentiation in the market. To that end, in the fourth quarter, we continue to expand our presence and awareness through events, strategic partnerships, and broadening ambassador engagement throughout our target communities. We made notable progress in the large, diverse, and global world of hospitality and sports, where we continue to drive significant traction for our brand. In hospitality, we secured partnerships with a number of premium, experiential, and excursion-focused travel lodges and resorts across the U.S. and globe. In Europe, YETI also had an unmistakable presence at two key film festivals in our largest European markets during the quarter. Most notably, the 2024 European Outdoor Film Tour kicked off in October, attracting over 190,000 spectators across 10 different countries. At each stop, YETI's branded products were prominently featured. In the sports front, our professional and collegiate sports partnerships accelerated in the fourth quarter, benefiting from events such as the NFL playoffs, Formula 1's championship finale, and the College Football Playoff featuring two of our partners in Notre Dame and Ohio State. In the quarter, custom YETI bottles and cups were gifted at Major League Baseball's 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards as well as the 2024 Heisman Trophy ceremony. These are just a few recent anecdotes that highlight the relevance and resonance of our brand across occasions and pursuits on the field, in the stands, and at home. YETI's expanding partnership with the Oracle Red Bull Racing team is another great testament to the quality of partners we have and the trust in our brand. Our successful and long-standing drinkware and cooler partnership, which not only supports driver hydration but also pit crew performance, was on full display at the Austin Grand Prix in October and the Las Vegas GP in November, where Max Verstappen secured his fourth straight Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship. Images of Max and the team sporting YETI products at the Austin GP race weekend earned our highest organic impressions in the fourth quarter. The strong collaboration has culminated in YETI also being named as the team's official bags and luggage partner as we head into the 2025 season, outfitting one of the most traveled sports organizations on the planet. As we look forward to 2025 and beyond, we see incredible runway to grow with new and existing partners and continue to extend our reach to new markets, communities, and consumers. Now turning to product innovation. 2024 was a landmark year for new innovation, with 24 new product launches and record color introductions, driving strong demand and adoption of categories and geographies. Drinkware led on the innovation front, from hydration to broadening the portfolio into new areas such as barware, tableware, and cookware. Overall, the breadth and depth of our Drinkware category offerings clearly differentiate YETI with products developed for frequency and consistency of use across consumers' daily lives, broadening consideration and ownership while balancing and diversifying our portfolio. The consumer demand we saw for these products across our channels gives us confidence that our diversification strategy is resonating, despite a more crowded and promotional hydration market focused on a very narrow set of solutions. On the Cooler & Equipment side, hard cooler saw excellent growth across both new innovation and legacy products throughout the year, with sustained performance in our Roadie and Tundra hard cooler families. Strong holiday demand supports the premium product and price point innovation strategy we discussed in previous quarters. In soft coolers, our backpacks and thermal lunch-style bags continued their positive momentum into the year-end. Turning to bags. Our portfolio had a fantastic quarter with great performance in our YETI Crossroads packs, Camino totes, and SideKick and Panga dry bags. We also launched our limited-run Bozeman pack, nodding to what's coming starting in the first half of 2025 in a new range of everyday and all-weather bags. This limited-run product, inspired by YETI and Mystery Ranch designs, drew significant excitement and sold out quickly. We have a big opportunity in front of us with a massive global addressable market across premium bags, packs, and luggage, and exciting launches that highlight our unique designs and capabilities, all leveraging our strong commercial engine and brand. After making major strides in new product innovation over the last two years, our focus on the first half of 2025 will center around new packs, lunch-style bags and boxes, insulated food transport, updates to our flagship Roadie 24 Cooler, and an exciting extension in our premium chairs to name a few, with more to come in the second half of 2025. Driving awareness and broadening consideration and ownership of our suite of products is a key priority while also continuing to address new areas for expansion with our innovation roadmap. In coolers, we see a strong growth path in both hard and soft cooler solutions as we address more areas across our consumers' day-to-day lives, from smaller-format thermal bags to powered cooler systems. This acquisition of the IP around powered coolers is one example of how we're leveraging our balance sheet much like Mystery Ranch and Butter Pat to support the strategic and globally relevant evolution of our business, further expanding our technology, capabilities, and market opportunity. As our innovation pipeline ramps and we extend further into emerging and legacy categories, we're giving consumers more reasons to choose YETI without compromising on the durability, performance, and design we're known for. Turning now to our omnichannel strategy. As our portfolio of products grows, we continue to benefit from our diverse footprint across wholesale and DTC. Our flexibility to shift dynamically between channels allows us to maximize buying opportunities and strategically position our products where our consumers want to shop. Starting with wholesale, our wholesale channel was strong throughout the year, with new innovation resonating well with our partners and their shoppers, allowing us to maintain a solid channel inventory position. In the fourth quarter, our hard coolers were a highlight, and we benefited from shelf space expansion at key retailers. Additionally, holiday merchandising around our giftable price points in Drinkware, particularly barware and tableware, and our Camo relaunch saw strong demand. Notably, 2024 was the first year wholesale actively participated in YETI's Gear Garage Event, which drove excellent demand and sell-through in the channel. We remain very pleased with our wholesale relationships and the interest in our innovation. We also continue to evaluate expansion opportunities that address new consumers during differentiated purchasing occasions but, importantly, complement our overall go-to-market. On the DTC side, while we saw a continuation of softer overall traffic trends, we were able to maximize our impact by staying nimble and strategically allocating marketing dollars to our various channels through major shopping periods. Gear Garage was a key moment for us during the quarter, with our Camo drops sparking huge demand, prompting high consumer engagement and purchase intent, which led to larger baskets and a continuation of the increased consumer value we saw in the third quarter. While we observed increased competition and promotional intensity in the market, YETI continued past practice of using targeted promotions in these high-noise periods. Additionally, following the launch of our YETI ID program last quarter, we observed a significant increase in account creation, enabling deeper engagement with our customers and a more unique and personalized experience with the brand. Amazon continues to perform very well as our team drives strong operational efficiencies across the marketplace, effectively reaching consumers who shop that channel. In corporate sales, we saw robust growth across all regions, with strong inbound sales performance domestically and great traction in international markets through our ongoing execution. On the retail front, we hit our plan of 24 stores by the end of 2024, adding six to the fleet over the course of the year. From a strategic perspective, our stores continue to play an important role in exposing consumers to our full portfolio of products and raising overall awareness of our brand. Importantly, lifting our omnichannel performance in markets where they're located. Over the next year, we plan to continue growing our presence on a similar cadence to 2024. The international front, 2024 was a terrific year, growing 30%, reaching 18% of our total business mix. We continue to see great traction across markets with our product resonating and our go-to-market strategy gaining significant momentum. In Europe, we saw remarkable growth in the fourth quarter and for the full year, led by strong performance in the U.K. and Germany and broad demand across channels and partners. While we are still relatively early in our expansion with our significant ground ahead, we continue to grow our presence at key events and across local retailers, ending the year with over 1,000 doors in the region. Over the next year, we will continue to focus on our omnichannel expansion by increasing our wholesale footprint, ramping up customization, and growing our brand. Australia continued its strong momentum into the year-end, capping off an exceptional year. In the fourth quarter, our national wholesale partners delivered strong performance, and our DTC channel benefited from robust drinkware demand, particularly in custom drinkware. The YETI brand has taken a strong root in this market, and we're energized about the opportunities we continue to see to grow our consumer base and broaden our omnichannel presence. In Canada, we saw steady growth for the quarter and full year. In wholesale, we saw healthy sell-through at our key retailers despite a more challenging consumer backdrop, and in DTC, strong performance in our custom drinkware business and corporate sales drove our performance in the quarter. Looking to the year ahead, we want to continue to double down on our customization and corporate sales efforts, expanding our offerings and growing our brand presence in the market. Over the next year, we will continue to drive forward our key international initiatives, growing brand awareness and building our successful omnichannel. In 2025, we will also expand our presence in the Asian market. In January, we held our first market introduction event in Tokyo, with our team, brand ambassadors, and partners all in attendance. We have already begun to lay the groundwork for the next step. In the coming months, we will begin executing our proven market expansion playbook by launching our go-to-market, building a localized wholesale footprint, and ramping up brand-building activities as we establish the YETI brand and prepare for future scale and growth. Before I turn the call over to Mike, I want to reiterate my excitement and optimism about the path ahead for YETI. Our compelling brand, diverse and growing product portfolio, and global market opportunity position us well to execute our long-term growth potential. To that end, we look forward to providing more detail about each of our strategic priorities and how they will translate into long-term growth and future shareholder value at an Investor Day later this year. Finally, none of what I discussed today would be possible without our outstanding team and all of our partners, whose tireless efforts and commitment to the YETI brand drive our vision forward and position us for continued growth, margin expansion, and profitability alongside our healthy balance sheet and strong cash generation. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Mike.

Thanks, Matt, and good morning, everyone. I'll start by highlighting a few items that impacted our fourth quarter GAAP results in the current and prior year periods. Then I'll provide a review of our fourth quarter and full year 2024 performance. I'll then discuss our full year 2025 outlook before opening it up to your questions. First, our GAAP results reported today include an unfavorable recall reserve adjustment of $9.9 million. This is related to the product recall that was first announced in early fiscal 2023. As we reviewed the trend of recall claims and costs in 2024 and projected out the reserve that we would need going forward, we made the determination that this reserve adjustment was necessary. In this adjustment, sales were unfavorably impacted by $8.8 million due to higher estimated consumer recall participation rates. Cost of goods benefited by $0.7 million due to lower recall-related costs, and SG&A was unfavorably impacted by $1.8 million, primarily due to higher recall claim volume. As a reminder, in the prior year period, we made a favorable recall reserve adjustment based on the trend of recall claims at that time. For our standard reporting practices, the impact of these and other non-operational or nonrecurring items are excluded from non-GAAP results. All results discussed on today's call will be adjusted non-GAAP metrics in order to better focus on the operating performance of the business during the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2024. YETI just completed an incredibly strong year in 2024. We grew sales 9% to $1.84 billion, with growth across all of our channels, categories, and geographies. We grew operating income 18% to $309 million while still investing in future growth opportunities and infrastructure. We grew our earnings per share by 21% to $2.73, which reflects the impact of $200 million in accelerated share repurchases executed during the year. We generated $220 million of free cash flow and maintained our incredibly strong balance sheet while also executing on three acquisitions, two of which contributed to growth in 2024. And we did all of that while continuing to expand the product portfolio and grow the brand in both the U.S. and around the world. Turning now to our fourth quarter results. Sales increased 7% to $555 million, which was above our expectations. We were very pleased with the execution of our teams during the quarter. Three growth highlights include strong performance in Coolers & Equipment, which grew 17%; 10% growth in our D2C channel; and continued strong momentum in our international business, which grew 27% in Q4. I'll discuss each of these in more detail as I review our performance in each of our categories, channels, and geographies. First, by category. In the fourth quarter, Coolers & Equipment sales increased 17% to $189 million. This was above our expectations, driven by excellent performance in hard coolers and in bags. Notably, this was our fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in C&E. In hard coolers, as anticipated, our Roadie 15 performed extremely well during the holidays following its launch in late Q2. In soft coolers, our backpack coolers and smaller-sized thermal lunch bags also continued to perform well. In equipment, bags had an outstanding quarter. We saw strong demand for our Crossroads, Camino, SideKick, and Panga families, and our Mystery Ranch-branded products performed in line with our expectations. As Matt said, we are incredibly excited about the upcoming launch of our new lineup of YETI-branded Mystery Ranch-inspired packs in the first half of 2025. Within cargo, our GoBox product family and accessories also contributed to our growth, and we believe there is tremendous opportunity to scale this category through both product innovation and higher overall consumer awareness in 2025 and beyond. For the full year, sales in Coolers & Equipment increased 14% to $707 million. For Drinkware, Q4 sales grew 3% to $358 million. As Matt said, the overall U.S. Drinkware market experienced higher levels of promotions and elevated competition during the quarter. Our overall Drinkware business in the U.S. was down slightly year-over-year in Q4, but we saw good performance within several areas of our portfolio, including our highly giftable barware, our stackable cups, and our bottle lineup. We believe this speaks to the importance of our efforts over the last few years to broaden and diversify our Drinkware portfolio to over 60 individual products. Outside the U.S., our Drinkware business grew over 20% with significant room for further growth in both existing and new markets. For the full year, Drinkware sales grew 7% to approximately $1.1 billion, with growth in every region around the globe including the U.S. Turning to our performance by channel. Direct-to-consumer sales were $377 million, growing 10% in the fourth quarter representing 68% of total sales. We saw growth across all of our D2C channels, with notable strength in corporate sales and our Amazon business. One of the key success stories within D2C during the quarter was our drinkware customization offers, which are now live globally for both e-commerce and corporate sales customers. For the full year, D2C sales increased 9% to $1.1 billion representing 60% of our overall sales mix, in line with full year 2023. The approximate mix within D2C remained relatively consistent year-over-year, with 51% from our global YETI websites and YETI stores, 25% from the Amazon marketplace, and 24% from corporate sales. In wholesale, sales increased 3% to $179 million compared to the prior year quarter. In the U.S., sell-through and sell-in grew at similar rates in Q4, both in Coolers & Equipment and in Drinkware, with particularly strong sell-through growth within C&E. For the full year, wholesale channel sales increased 10% to $743 million, driven by positive sell-in and sell-through growth in every market in which we operate, including the U.S. Shifting to our international business. We saw another quarter of excellent growth internationally, with our business outside the U.S. increasing 27% to $109 million in Q4. All of our regions grew, with Australia and Europe continuing their exceptional double-digit growth. Our efforts to drive brand awareness, grow our distribution network, and roll out our omnichannel model are working. And we see significant runway ahead of us as we continue to capitalize on the global opportunity for YETI. For the full year, international sales grew 30% to $339 million, representing 18% of total sales, up from 16% of sales last year. Before wrapping up on sales, note that the fourth quarter included $1.7 million of gift card redemptions related to remedies offered to customers impacted by the product recall, compared to $6.5 million in gift card redemptions during the same period last year. On margins, gross profit increased 8% to $335 million or 60.2% of sales, which is flat versus the prior year period. Drivers of gross margin included lower inbound freight costs and lower product costs, offset by higher customization costs and a number of other smaller items within our cost of goods sold. Full year gross profit increased 13% to $1.1 billion, expanding 170 basis points to 58.6% of sales. The full year gross profit expansion was led by lower inbound freight costs and lower product costs. Before moving on to our SG&A expenses for the quarter, we would like to note that our breakout of SG&A expenses will be shifting from variable and non-variable expenses to the following groupings: marketing costs, employee compensation and benefits costs, distribution and fulfillment costs, depreciation and amortization expenses, and, finally, general and administrative costs. In the fourth quarter, SG&A expenses increased 7% to $224 million or 40.3% of sales, which is flat compared to the prior year period. Distribution and fulfillment expense leverage on higher sales was offset by higher employee compensation and benefits costs and higher general and administrative costs. Full year SG&A expenses increased 11% to $768 million, increasing 40 basis points to 41.7% of sales. Operating income increased 8% to $111 million or 19.9% of sales, a 10-basis-point increase over the fourth quarter last year. For the full year, operating income grew 18% to $309 million, a 120-basis-point increase year-over-year to 16.8% of sales. Net income increased 7% to $85 million or $1 per diluted share, representing growth of 11% versus the $0.90 per diluted share in the prior year period. On a full year basis, net income grew 19% to $234 million or $2.73 per diluted share, representing growth of 21% versus the $2.25 per diluted share during the same period last year. Now turning to our balance sheet. We ended 2024 with $359 million in cash as compared to $439 million at the end of 2023. We generated $220 million of free cash flow during the year, which helped enable the strategic deployment of capital that I mentioned earlier, including $200 million in share repurchases and the acquisitions of Mystery Ranch, Butter Pat, and the IP for a future powered cooler platform. Inventory decreased 8% year-over-year to $310 million. Total debt, excluding finance leases and unamortized deferred financing fees, was $78 million compared to $82 million at the end of the fourth quarter last year. Now turning to our outlook for fiscal 2025. We expect full year sales to increase between approximately 5% and 7% compared to fiscal 2024's adjusted net sales. With the growth of our international business and the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar, we expect an approximately 100-basis-point headwind from FX in 2025. From a phasing perspective, we expect total growth to be stronger in the second half of the year versus the first half of the year, specifically driven by Drinkware. Drivers of this dynamic include the pacing of our Drinkware innovation, which is much heavier weighted into the second half of the year, and a stronger Drinkware growth compare in the first half of the year versus the second half of the year. Specifically, we expect low to mid-single-digit growth in the first half, with growth in the high single to low double-digit range in the second half. From a channel perspective, we expect our wholesale and D2C businesses to grow relatively in line with each other in 2025. By category, we continue to expect Coolers & Equipment growth to outpace Drinkware growth in 2025. We have great momentum in several categories within C&E, and given our planned innovation, we believe that we are set up for another strong year. We expect Drinkware to grow in the mid-single-digit range in 2025. That includes first-half growth that is approximately flat and second-half growth that will approach double digits as our innovation engine resumes. By quarter, in the first half, we expect Drinkware to be down slightly year-over-year in Q1 but return to growth in Q2. I also want to call out that the Drinkware growth dynamics in the first half of the year are primarily within the U.S. market. We expect our Drinkware business outside the U.S. to grow consistently at a double-digit rate each quarter during 2025. From a geographic perspective, we expect total domestic growth in the mid-single-digit range and total international growth in the mid-teens, even with approximately 500 basis points of growth headwinds from FX. We expect international growth to be relatively consistent during the year while the U.S. will see stronger growth in the second half versus the first half. As Matt mentioned, we are also very excited about the launch of our Japanese commercial business during 2025. We see 2025 as a foundational year for YETI Japan, with 2026 serving as the first full year of operations. We expect gross margins to remain relatively flat for the year, with continued benefits from product costs offset by sales mix and FX headwinds. From a phasing perspective, we expect the impact from sales mix to be the largest in the first quarter, and therefore, we expect a roughly 50-basis-point decline in gross margins year-over-year in Q1. The rest of the year, we expect small year-over-year increases in gross margin each quarter as sales mix normalizes. One dynamic that we have not included in our outlook for the year is tariffs. As you all know, it remains a fluid situation, which we are monitoring closely. As Matt said, we are ahead of plan in our efforts to strategically shift our supply chain outside of China. This progress has been made possible through the extraordinary work of our team and our strong, long-standing relationships with our existing suppliers. As we progress through the year, we will continue to look at all mitigating actions available to us, including price. For SG&A, we expect year-over-year growth to be slightly below our sales growth in 2025. We will continue to invest behind our key initiatives, global expansion, supply chain diversification, continued D2C growth, and innovation acceleration. The timing of some of these discrete investments will drive roughly 250 basis points of SG&A deleverage in Q1, but we expect improvement as we go through the year, and we expect to end the year with roughly 10 basis points of leverage in SG&A. As a result, we expect adjusted operating income to increase between approximately 5.5% and 7.5% in 2025. We expect a year-over-year decline in operating income in Q1, but for the remaining three quarters, we expect operating income to grow in line to slightly above sales. We estimate that FX will have a roughly 350-basis-point impact on our operating income growth in 2025. Below the operating line, we expect an effective tax rate of approximately 24.5% for fiscal 2025, in line with the prior year. Based on full year diluted shares outstanding of approximately 84.3 million, we expect adjusted earnings per diluted share to increase between 6% and 8% to between $2.90 and $2.95, compared to $2.73 in fiscal 2024. We estimate that FX will be a headwind of approximately $0.10 per share in 2025. As it relates to our share repurchase program, our Board recently increased our share repurchase authorization by $350 million, bringing the total available under our authorization to $450 million as of today. While our outlook does not include any impact from future share repurchases during 2025, we do expect to leverage share repurchases as part of our capital allocation strategy this year. We expect capital expenditures of between $60 million and $70 million, which reflects continued investments in technology, new product innovation, and our supply chain. We expect free cash flow of approximately $200 million in 2025, representing another strong free cash flow year for the business. In summation, we are very proud of the results we delivered in 2024, even in the context of a challenging macro and consumer backdrop. While we anticipate headwinds from FX and continued inconsistency in the U.S. market, we believe we are well-positioned to deliver against our outlook. We will continue to execute on our strategic priorities, which we believe will support our ability to deliver long-term sustainable growth. 2025 is an exciting year for YETI, and we are eager to continue growing our brand, delivering innovation, and driving omnichannel growth on a global basis. Now I would like to turn the call back over to the operator to take your questions.

Your first question comes from Peter Benedict with Baird.

Mike, maybe on tariffs. So was wondering if you could maybe frame for us, it looks like the 10% China tariff, maybe the one that's most certain here. I know you talked about being ahead of plan in terms of diversifying Drinkware out of China. Maybe what would that level of tariff do to kind of the outlook, assuming no offsets? And curious if you could maybe frame your exposure to some other markets on imports, places like Mexico, that have been in the news of late. That's my first question.

Peter, I appreciate your question. Regarding the tariff announcement on February 1, which took effect on February 4, introducing a 10% tariff on goods from China, we estimate that this will result in less than a $10 million impact for the year in additional costs. This amount is not included in our outlook for a couple of reasons. First, the situation is very dynamic and subject to change. Second, we consider this impact to be manageable, and we plan to address it through further cost optimization. As we've mentioned previously, we will continue to assess pricing strategies as well. This gives you an idea of what the financial impact might look like if the tariff were to remain for an entire year. As for other regions, while Mexico is noteworthy, it represents a smaller portion of our business compared to China. We are applying the same strategy in Mexico, collaborating with our partners to mitigate any potential costs, but nothing has been officially announced there yet.

Understood. That's very helpful. My follow-up relates to the acquisition you completed in the fourth quarter. Do you expect that it will contribute to sales this year, even if only slightly? If you could provide some context around that, it would be appreciated. Or is this situation more focused on development? Matt, could you also share your thoughts on how you plan to maintain discipline in your mergers and acquisitions? You have significant cash flow, and I'm sure you receive various opportunities that are connected to your business. It would be great if you could discuss your approach to M&A, your thought process, and how you manage to stay disciplined in that area.

Thank you for your question, Peter. I'll begin with the powered cooler technology and intellectual property we acquired in the fourth quarter. We are very enthusiastic about how it integrates into our overall hard cooler architecture and its potential under the YETI brand on a global scale. We do not anticipate this contributing to our results in 2025, as it is still in development. However, we believe it will help us create a distinctive powered cooler solution that complements our Tundras, Roadies, and the rest of our product lineup. We are actively working on this program and will share more updates soon. Regarding our approach to mergers and acquisitions, I want to highlight examples from 2024 that illustrate our strategy. We focus on opportunities that enhance our product roadmap by adding valuable technologies or expertise that can accelerate development within the YETI brand. We're very discerning about our M&A activities. Although there are many opportunities, we consider carefully whether to pursue them and how any acquisition of technology, materials, or capabilities will advance our vision for expanding the YETI product lineup.

Your next question comes from Brooke Roach with Goldman Sachs.

I was hoping you could elaborate on your comments regarding U.S. growth in 2025 and the dynamics that you're seeing, specifically in the U.S. Drinkware business. What are you seeing in wholesale versus DTC growth for U.S. Drinkware as you enter 2025? And what gives you confidence in that second half inflection to a return to stabilized growth in the U.S?

Brooke, I believe the first part of your question was not captured. If we miss anything, please let me know. Regarding U.S. Drinkware in 2025, we anticipate mid-single-digit growth overall in the U.S. and expect global Drinkware to follow that trend. For the first time, we want to provide clarity on the U.S. Drinkware outlook. We expect Drinkware to remain flat in total during the first half of the year, with a decline in Q1. However, looking at the second half, there are a couple of key points to mention. Our innovation rollout is significantly weighted towards the second half this year, primarily due to efforts to enhance our supply chain and diversification, which affected the timing of our product roadmap. We are confident in the second half because of the strong lineup we have planned, which we believe will help us return to our growth targets. Additionally, we must consider that Drinkware had a strong first half last year, with a 12% growth in the first quarter of 2024. This presents a notable contrast in growth rates between the first and second halves for Drinkware, which is also a factor.

Yes, Brooke, this is Matt. The one thing I would add is early in January, I was visiting our factories, the Drinkware factories that we're transitioning out of China. And I would say that piece of a big focus at YETI in the first half of the year is the successful diversification of our supply chain, which allows us to have what we think is a really exciting innovation roadmap in the second half within Drinkware. And so when you think quarter-to-quarter, there's some movement there. Overall, we feel great about the potential expansion in Drinkware, the continued adoption of our new innovation in Drinkware, both in the U.S., and then obviously, we expect continued outsized growth outside of the U.S. with incredible runway in front of it.

And if I could just follow up. Can you discuss the outlook for DTC versus wholesale dynamics in the U.S. market going forward? It seems like you've got some great momentum with ongoing legacy consumers and lovers of the brand, some good innovation coming. How does that play out in DTC versus wholesale in your core market?

Yes. In the U.S., it's been interesting as we entered 2020 and shifted to direct-to-consumer. We've been pleased with our ability to retain customers acquired during that time and to establish a strong DTC business. Additionally, it's exciting to see wholesale recover over this period. We believe we have a well-balanced omnichannel strategy. The diversification within our DTC and the variety of wholesale partners provide us with significant opportunities to succeed and continue to grow. While we haven't provided a long-term outlook on DTC versus wholesale, they currently complement each other very well. We have excellent wholesale partners and robust DTC channels. Our main focus is on how to present YETI to consumers when and where they prefer to shop. We're adapting to the evolving consumer preferences regarding their shopping choices.

Your next question comes from Megan Clapp with Morgan Stanley.

Just first wanted to clarify one thing. I think you mentioned the 53rd week in the press release in 2025. I don't think that's something most in consensus were modeling. So I just wanted to clarify that the 53rd week is included in your top line. And how does that play into the first half-second half dynamics or top line growth? If I'm doing my math correctly, I think it could be kind of 4 points to the back half. So is that part of the expected acceleration in the back half as well?

Thank you for the question, Megan. The impact of the 53rd week for us is relatively minor, contributing less than one point to our total annual growth. In 2020, we noted a similar situation where it accounted for less than one point of growth, and at that time, we were not as large as we are now. This week historically has the lowest sales of the year, so it has minimal impact on our top line. In terms of operating income, it is slightly dilutive for the year. Overall, there isn’t a significant effect from this 53rd week that we would highlight.

Okay. That's very helpful. As a follow-up on Drinkware, I wanted to ask a bit more about the competitive landscape and the level of promotions you're observing. Did you notice anything in the fourth quarter or year-to-date that could be considered irrational from competitors? You mentioned in your prepared remarks that you've kept your approach of targeted promotions. However, if you're encountering increased promotional activity, how do you plan to adjust your promotional or pricing strategies in that category to ensure you maintain your market share?

Megan, while I won't comment on the rationality or irrationality of others in the market, I can say that we believe our diverse approach to Drinkware is effective and resonates with consumers. We are able to use promotions as a tool to transition in and out of products while driving innovation and increasing the pace of our new offerings. I don't think our response should focus solely on market conditions or consumer sentiments. As I mentioned earlier, our strategy to broaden and diversify the reasons for consumers to buy is somewhat contrary to the current focus in the Drinkware category, which tends to revolve around a limited range of products. Overall, I feel confident about our short-term strategy and very optimistic about our midterm strategy as we continue to grow YETI and enhance its relevance in Drinkware both in the U.S. and globally.

Your next question comes from Randy Konik with Jefferies.

I have a couple of questions. Matt, when you spoke about innovation and ramping up, could you share your thoughts on what that will look like over the next 12 to 24 months? How does that compare to the new developments we’ve seen in the past couple of years? Could you provide some context on this? Additionally, regarding the bag category, can you give us an idea of its current size and your thoughts on the long-term opportunities in this area as it relates to innovation?

Thank you, Randy. I believe we experienced a significant increase in innovation in 2024, which was largely due to catching up from the challenges of 2020 and 2021, as well as reconnecting with our partners and the outstanding efforts of our product development team. I expect this momentum to remain consistent moving forward. We have opportunities to enhance and expand our Drinkware offerings, as we've mentioned several times during this call. We have also successfully revitalized our hard coolers, and I highlighted that achievement. We anticipate similar success with our protective cases and GoBox products. Additionally, I referenced our expansion into the small chair segment, which is an exciting addition that aligns with the YETI brand. Regarding bags, earlier this year we announced two new families of bags, one of which directly stems from our strategic approach to mergers and acquisitions. This new line incorporates elements from our acquisition of Mystery Ranch, combined with our design capabilities at YETI, presenting a promising opportunity in the global bags and travel market. While we have not yet quantified the size of our bags business, we did point out the strong growth in 2024 and the expected acceleration of innovation in 2025. In this category, we plan to introduce even more initiatives that resonate with the YETI brand and cater to both our existing customers and those we've acquired. We are very enthusiastic about the potential of this expansion.

Great. Last question. Maybe it would be helpful to us if you dimensionalize international from a vantage point of, I think you said mid-teens growth. And maybe kind of talk about what countries that's primarily coming from. And then maybe kind of looking out a few more years from now, the country opportunities of focus that you may not be in yet or maybe starting just to go into part of that growth forecast for 2025, just to kind of give us some perspective on that growth opportunity in the international markets and where the markets are ahead.

In response to the first part of your question, I’ll address it. We have growth planned for 2025, as outlined in our outlook, in every region outside the U.S. We previously mentioned the strength we anticipate in 2024 from Europe and Australia. It's reasonable to expect this trend to continue in 2025, with Europe showing the fastest growth due to the size of our operations there. We haven't been operating in Europe as long as we have in Canada or Australia, and there is a considerable market opportunity available in Europe. Therefore, we expect Europe to be our quickest-growing region in 2025. We also discussed Japan, where we will initiate commercial sales; however, the impact on 2025 will be relatively minor. We anticipate that 2026 will be the first full year when we expect to see a significant contribution from that market.

Yes, Randy, I want to elaborate on that. When we consider the U.K. and Europe, we see that we are in the early stages of a significant opportunity there. We have a fantastic team working on building momentum in that market, and I believe the U.K. and Europe will be recognized as a growth driver for YETI for many years. The potential is substantial due to product relevance, market size, and the trends we are observing across various countries, both English-speaking and non-English-speaking. In early January, I was in Tokyo for our brand launch, where potential partners from across the region attended a mini trade fair we organized. The atmosphere reminded me of the energy we experienced in the initial days in Australia, the U.K., and Germany. I left with a strong sense of enthusiasm for the opportunities Asia has to offer.

Your next question comes from Peter Keith with Piper Sandler.

I know you talked about having a very diverse DTC customer base as well as a diverse group of wholesalers. Could you talk about some of the things you're doing just to raise customer awareness around product launches? And as you have this higher tempo of launches, does that also require maybe spending a little bit more on advertising?

Yes, Peter, on that topic, I believe the diversity of our channels, which includes everything from our flagship e-commerce sites to Amazon and corporate sales, provides us with efficient ways to reach consumers. This approach is cost-effective in terms of marketing. We're particularly focused on our corporate sales and partnerships, especially Amazon. We're planning to shift some of our marketing efforts to the mid-funnel to balance brand awareness with product marketing, rather than solely focusing on lower-funnel transactions, which are currently more competitive. We're continuously evaluating our spending between broad brand awareness and performance marketing, allowing for flexibility in our strategy. We maintain our brand presence through familiar initiatives like ambassadors, partnerships, and sponsorships. In terms of product launch awareness, we adjust our focus between brand and product. Overall, I wouldn't anticipate a significant increase in our marketing budget; it's more about making smaller adjustments within our thoughtfully planned marketing budget.

Okay. Helpful. As you explore categories like bags, cookware, and chairs, are you considering expanding wholesale relationships with niche players, or are you looking to utilize your current wholesale relationships?

I'll start by saying that we have a diverse set of wholesalers that we believe can effectively represent our product portfolio. As our portfolio evolves, not all wholesalers may be suitable for every product due to the different types of customers they attract. One of our priorities is collaborating closely with our existing partners on merchandising and determining what works best in their stores. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, we are always exploring new partnerships that could enhance our wholesale channels and overall omnichannel strategy. This might include targeting homewares retailers for some of our new launches in 2024 or expanding our offerings, which could create new opportunities for YETI in wholesale. There hasn't been a dramatic shift in our approach compared to the past decade; we remain focused on building a robust and complementary wholesale network to support our product roadmap and future developments.

Your next question comes from Sabrina Baxamusa with William Blair.

This is Sabrina on for Phillip Blee. Could you provide some insight into how demand trends have been tracking quarter-to-date and then any insight into sell-through or sell-in trends?

We typically don't comment on the current quarter when releasing earnings. However, I can share that we experienced overall sell-through growth across all regions for the previous year. Specifically for Q4, both sell-in and sell-through were consistent across categories. We observed significant growth in C&E for both metrics, and Drinkware's sell-through aligned well with its sell-in. This positions us positively, as channel inventories appear healthy heading into the new year, and we will continue to manage this as we progress through 2025.

Great. And then going back to kind of the promotional environment, you kind of competitive and promotional pressures during the fourth quarter. Do you expect those to remain elevated headwinds going forward? Does your guide embed some of that normalizing throughout the year?

Yes, we expect that Drinkware faces challenges, particularly due to a highly consolidated assortment competing for a limited market share. There is significant competition in terms of value, so we don't anticipate this situation changing soon. We have taken all of this into account in our projections. More importantly, our expansion strategy, which has been in place for several years, is seen as our best defense against the competitive landscape we currently face and expect to continue into 2025.

Your next question comes from Joe Altobello with Raymond James.

This is Martin on for Joe. Where do you see wholesale growth coming from? Is it new doors? Or is it expanded shelf space? And additionally, you did mention wholesale expansion opportunities that address new consumers. What might that look like?

In response to the first part of your question, as Matt mentioned, we are always exploring new opportunities within wholesale. Currently, we do not have significant door expansion planned in our outlook. I would describe our approach as a combination of increasing sell-through and expanding our assortment as our product portfolio develops. We are engaging with our existing wholesale partners to find ways to support that expansion, and we have experienced good success as our product range grows. Overall, it’s a mix of increased consumer demand and our ongoing efforts to refine and optimize our wholesale presence.

Yes. Martin, I would add to the question about expansion opportunities. Our focus is on understanding where people shop for different products. As our portfolio evolves, we continuously analyze our wholesale presence to ensure it aligns with consumer shopping habits. There are opportunities across a wide range of retailers, from small independents to larger companies. I wouldn't say the overall opportunity has fundamentally changed; we simply keep reassessing them. There’s nothing specific to mention, but we've been committed for years to building strong wholesale partnerships that foster growth and innovate to attract new customers. These have been the most successful relationships we've maintained over the years.

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call over to Matt for closing remarks.

Thanks, everyone, for joining us. We look forward to speaking with you on our Q1 call.

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines.