Pool Corp

Supply, Scale, and Sunbelt Demand: Decoding the Pool Corp Playbook

Few industries combine recurring demand, low disintermediation risk, and long-term demographic tailwinds quite like the U.S. pool industry. While most people associate pools with leisure, investors should view them as infrastructure: once installed, they require continuous maintenance, recurring chemical inputs, and reliable equipment replacement. That’s where Pool Corp comes in.

As the world’s largest distributor of pool equipment and supplies, Pool Corp sits at the center of a fragmented but essential ecosystem—connecting 2,200 suppliers to over 120,000 contractors, builders, and service companies. With more than 400 locations and a scale advantage that dwarfs the competition, the company has steadily transformed itself from a simple wholesaler into a one-stop logistics and support platform for the entire industry. The value proposition isn’t just about pricing—it's about availability, immediacy, and support that drive contractor productivity.

More than half of Pool’s revenue now comes from maintenance and repair, creating a recurring, predictable stream that cushions the impact of discretionary downturns in new construction. The fragmented nature of both supply and demand creates meaningful advantages for a dominant distributor that can aggregate scale, improve supply chain efficiency, and help its customer base grow more profitable. In this respect, Pool Corp is not merely a seller of pumps and filters, but a distribution business with embedded optionality.

In this analysis, we explore what makes Pool’s moat so defensible, the risks it must manage to preserve its position, and how demographic trends, product innovation, and network effects could continue driving shareholder value for years to come.