We hear so many conflicting stories about the state of the golf industry as we steam towards the close of 2025.
No one is happy with the prices. We can agree on that. However, we hear from industry sources that year-over-year sales are up eight percent through the end of August. We also hear that these numbers reflect dollars, not actual volume.
Depending on who you talk to and what their angle is, they are either unicorns and show ponies or that impending doom is just around the corner.
Folks, neither is true.
As you know, we faithfully follow the quarterly reports from Acushnet and Topgolf Callaway, two of golf’s biggest publicly traded beasts. The most interesting thing about reading those reports is that the numbers don’t lie. Rosey scenarios aside, numbers are numbers.
With all that in mind, let’s dig into the third quarter financial reports from Acushnet and Topgolf Callaway and see what they can tell us.
Before we do that, though, it’s time for our quarterly CYA disclaimer:
We are not, nor do we claim to be, financial experts, investment advisors or Wall Street level business analysts. We’re just golf industry fanatics who love to read.
Fair enough? Good. Let’s go to her.
1: The post-COVID boom is LOOKING over … sort of
Those heady days of 2021 to 2023, when gamers new and old were buying gear like it was their job, are long gone. The huge quarterly sales jumps and huge net profits that make investors swoon and open their wallets are no more.
But, nevertheless, the numbers are very large.
Topgolf Callaway, for example, is reporting Third quarter sales of $934 million. That’s down nearly eight percent from last year, but there’s one named star Jack Wolfskin. Topgolf Callaway sold the European outdoor sports brand this year. When you subtract Jack Wolfskin’s sales from last year’s quarterly number, Topgolf Callaway’s sales are actually up three percent.
Acushnet is reporting sales of $657.7 million for the quarter. This is six percent more than last year.
Here’s the interesting thing. If you compare the two companies’ sales in the third quarter of this year to the sales of the third quarter from 2021 to 2023, they are about the same, if not a touch higher. The difference is that in 2021 to 2023, we would see device sales grow by double-digit percentages. We’re not seeing that now.
What we’re seeing is that sales numbers are holding steady and, in Acushnet’s case, growing steadily.
The doom and gloom can simply be soothed. The sky is not falling. Of course, we can conclude that some of these sales figures are due to higher prices, but there is not a company in the industry that would not be happy to receive these numbers.
2: But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows
Acushnet generally provides more detail than Topgolf Callaway about why a particular segment is up or down. For example, sales of Titleist golf equipment in the third quarter were up 5.7 percent from last year, to $427 million. Acushnet credits the growth to higher average selling prices across all golf club categories, as well as higher sales volumes of 2025 Pro V1 golf balls. It also credits higher volumes of new T-Series irons and second-year SM10 wedges, which were partially offset by lower volumes of second-year GT drivers and fairways.
Note that the first item: higher average selling prices.
Topgolf Callaway doesn’t break down its numbers to that degree, but it does add some context. Golf equipment sales for the quarter were up four percent from last year to $305.3 million. However, the report notes that operating income for the segment decreased due to $8 million in charges. Topgolf Callaway says the hit was partially offset by what it calls “gross margin and cost savings initiatives.”
If we pass it through Business-To-Plain-English translated, it means “higher sales prices and belt-tightening across corporations.”
The question, of course, is how much of the increase in sales was due to demand for new clubs and how much was due to higher selling prices. In theory, a company can compensate for stagnant volumes with higher prices almost indefinitely. Declining volume and higher prices may be sustainable for a while, but it will require some action, such as the aforementioned corporate wide belt-tightening or a must-have new product line.
What you don’t want is stagnant volume and falling prices or worse: growing volume at declining prices. They kill margins, profit and, ultimately, the business.
#3: Speaking of profits…
Quarter to quarter, Acushnet is one of those companies where its lows are rare (and never that low) and its highs are modest but relentlessly consistent. Third quarter net profit reached $48.5 million, about 14 percent less than last year. However, year-to-date profit stands at $223.4 million (on sales of $2.08 BILLION), up to nearly four percent during the first nine months of 2024.
While a 14 percent drop in quarterly earnings is surprising, remember that it’s still a profit. Acushnet cites an increase in tax expenses of nearly $15 million as a major factor.
Topgolf Callaway, on the other hand, is reporting a net loss of $14.7 million for the quarter. The company says $12 million of that loss is attributable to increased fees on golf equipment and apparel, as well as the loss of operating profit due to the sale of Jack Wolfskin.
Year-to-date, Topgolf Callaway’s GAAP (General Accounting Principles) shows a profit of $7.7 million on $3.14 billion in sales. This profit is in a surprising decline 88 percent from last year.
To get a clearer picture of Topgolf Callaway’s relative health, one should consider EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). EBITDA reflects the relative effectiveness of the sales operation and shows the profits before the finance department starts doing Wharton Business School stuff.
Q3 EBITDA stands at $114.4 million (down slightly from 2024), while YTD EBITDA is $477.5 million, which is also down slightly from 2024. Considering fees, higher costs and market headwinds, that’s not bad.
#4: Topgolf returns, but FootJoy continues to stumble
For the first time in more than a year, Topgolf is reporting actual same-country sales growth. It’s not much, only one percent, but it’s an increase nonetheless.
Topgolf’s third-quarter revenue was up four percent (to $472 million) over last year. Much of this is due to the opening of six new locations between then and now. The good news, however, is that for the quarter, same-country sales were up a full one percent. That doesn’t sound like much, but Topgolf has experienced same-location sales declines in the high single digits to low double digits for six of the past eight quarters.
The company says value programs such as Sunday Funday and the Monday-Thursday Half-Off led to an increase in single- and double-breasted business.
As the corporate split approaches, a sigh of relief can be felt at Topgolf headquarters.
There’s a similar sigh of relief at FootJoy, somehow.
For the first time in nearly two years, FootJoy reported quarterly sales growth. Its sales of $136.5 million are up four percent from last year. However, the company says the increase is due to higher prices across the board. Higher clothing volumes were offset by lower footwear volumes.
Overall, however, FootJoy has posted quarterly discount in nine of the last 12 quarters.
Year-to-date figures reflect this trend. FootJoy’s total sales reach $468 million through the first nine months of 2025. That’s down nearly three percent from 2024, which was down slightly from 2023.
There is definitely a decline in volume, but it is being offset by higher average selling prices. Despite the decline, FootJoy still holds the top spot in the shoe and glove market share, but new competitors in both categories appear to be slowly losing volume.
#5: A positive outlook for both companies?
Both Acushnet and Topgolf Callaway revised their 2025 outlook upward after their third-quarter reports. Acushnet had projected 2025 revenue to reach $2.5 billion. It now expects sales to reach $2.52 billion to $2.54 billion. That might not sound like a lot, but it’s an increase of $20 million to $40 million. Some companies would kill for this.
The Topgolf Callaway review is even tougher. Previous guidance was $3.8 billion to $3.9 billion. It now projects a floor of $3.9 billion to $3.94 billion. That’s a possible $140 million floor-to-ceiling swing.
Such upward guidance tends to make investors wet with glee. Acushnet shares rose 3.2 percent in trading, while Topgolf Callaway rose over 4.6 percent.
Two separate opinions
With the upcoming Topgolf and Callaway split (which should happen by the second quarter of next year), it’s interesting to see how Callaway’s core business stacks up against Acushnet.
Year-to-date, combined sales of Callaway’s golf equipment and Active Lifestyle business unit total $1.785 billion. Acushnet’s sales, on the other hand, total $2.08 billion. Callaway sells more golf clubs than Titleist, but Titleist sells far more golf balls than Callaway. FootJoy, despite its problems, still outsells Callaway’s Active Lifestyle brand by a significant amount, as Callaway is not a shoe player.
Just for laughs and smiles, we decided to throw another player on the field for comparison. Mizuno is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a global player in baseball, volleyball, running and, of course, golf.
From what we could find (while converting yen to dollars), Mizuno’s total year-to-date global sales total $840 million. Golf sales are $125 million to $130 million of that total. Golf sales in the Americas division (US, Canada and Latin America) are approximately $67 million for the first nine months of 2025. This is 5.1 percent more than the first nine months of 2024.
By comparison, Titleist sold $202 million worth of golf balls in the third quarter of this year alone.
Now there’s perspective, friends.
Post Five Highlights from Acushnet and Topgolf Callaway Q3 Financials appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
