Company Highlights Resilient Performance Amid Challenging RV Market Conditions in Early 2026
Camping World Holdings, Inc.widely recognized as the largest recreational vehicle (RV) dealer in the United States, has released its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, offering a detailed view into its operational performance, financial health, and outlook for the remainder of the year. Despite a challenging start to the RV selling season, the company signaled cautious optimism, supported by improving trends toward the end of the quarter and into April.
Executive Commentary and Business Momentum
Matthew Wagner, Chief Executive Officer and President, expressed measured confidence in the company’s performance amid a complex industry environment. He noted that while used RV sales fell short of expectations during January and February, momentum began to build as the quarter progressed. By March and into late April, both new and used unit sales showed encouraging year-over-year improvement trends.
Wagner emphasized that the company has been successful in executing cost-control strategies, particularly in reducing selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses. Additionally, Camping World continued to expand its market share in exclusive brand units, reflecting the effectiveness of its strategic focus on proprietary offerings. These internal efficiencies and gradual demand recovery are seen as key drivers for stabilizing performance in the coming quarters.
Balance Sheet Strength and Cash Flow Focus
From a financial standpoint, the company made notable progress in strengthening its balance sheet. At the end of the first quarter, cash and cash equivalents stood at $200 million, providing a reasonable liquidity buffer. Total long-term debt was reported at $1.416 billion.
A significant improvement was observed in the company’s net debt leverage ratio, which decreased to 5.6x compared to 8.1x in the same period last year. This improvement reflects ongoing efforts to reduce financial risk and enhance capital efficiency.
Chief Financial Officer Tom Kirn highlighted the company’s disciplined capital allocation strategy, stating that generating strong free cash flow remains a priority for 2026. He reiterated that management is focused on strengthening the balance sheet while maintaining operational flexibility to support growth initiatives.
Full-Year 2026 Outlook
Looking ahead, Camping World reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance, projecting Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $275 million to $325 million. The company’s strategic priorities remain centered on three key objectives:
- Driving growth in both new and used vehicle unit sales
- Accelerating the expansion and profitability of its Good Sam segment
- Enhancing SG&A cost efficiency
Although the RV market experienced a slower-than-expected start to the selling season, management believes that improving trends observed in March and April, along with stabilizing margins in the Good Sam business, position the company for gradual recovery and long-term value creation.
Revenue and Sales Performance
For the first quarter, total revenue was reported at $1.4 billion, representing a decline of $58.9 million, or 4.2%, compared to the prior year. This decrease was largely driven by lower vehicle sales volumes.
New vehicle revenue totaled $587.7 million, down 5.4%, with unit sales falling 9.0% to 15,218 units. The decline reflects both softer consumer demand early in the quarter and broader industry headwinds.
Used vehicle revenue came in at $403.8 million, a decrease of 4.4%, with unit sales dropping 3.4% to 13,464 units. Combined new and used vehicle unit sales reached 28,682, down 6.5% year-over-year.
On pricing, the average selling price of new vehicles increased by 3.9%, partially offsetting volume declines. However, the average selling price for used vehicles decreased by 1.0%, contributing to margin pressure.
Same-store sales metrics also reflected softness, with new vehicle unit sales declining 8.7% and used vehicle unit sales decreasing 2.6%. Overall, combined same-store unit sales fell by 6.0%.
Margin Performance and Profitability
Gross margin trends showed some compression during the quarter. New vehicle gross margin declined to 12.2%, down 148 basis points, primarily due to a 5.7% increase in average cost per vehicle sold. While selling prices rose, they did not fully offset the higher costs.
Used vehicle gross margin decreased to 17.7%, down 91 basis points, largely due to lower selling prices.
The company’s products, service, and other revenue segment generated $158.4 million, a 4.0% decline, mainly attributed to reduced service and collision activity. Gross margin in this segment also declined to 47.8%, impacted by a lower mix of high-margin services and rising labor costs.
Overall gross profit for the quarter was $403.3 million, down 6.1%, with total gross margin slipping to 29.8%. The decline in gross profit was driven by lower contributions across all major segments, including new vehicles, used vehicles, services, and finance and insurance.
Cost Management and SG&A Efficiency
A notable bright spot in the quarter was the company’s ability to reduce operating expenses. SG&A expenses fell to $358.3 million, a 7.5% decrease year-over-year. This reduction was driven by lower employee compensation, reduced advertising spend, decreased commission expenses, and lower stock-based compensation.
These savings were partially offset by increased spending on software and maintenance, reflecting ongoing investments in digital infrastructure.
SG&A as a percentage of gross profit improved, indicating better cost discipline relative to revenue generation. This efficiency gain aligns with management’s stated goal of optimizing operational costs throughout 2026.
Interest Expense and Net Earnings
Interest expenses presented a mixed picture. Floor plan interest expense increased by 19.2% to $21.8 million, mainly due to higher average inventory financing balances. However, other interest expenses declined by 12.1% due to lower borrowing rates and reduced debt levels.
The company reported a net loss of $26.7 million for the quarter, representing a slight increase compared to the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $28.0 million, down 10.1%, reflecting lower profitability.
Diluted loss per share widened to $0.26, while adjusted diluted loss per share was $0.21, both indicating increased losses compared to the same period last year.
Store Footprint and Expansion Activity
As of March 31, 2026, Camping World operated 199 store locations, representing a net reduction of 10 stores compared to the previous year. This consolidation strategy was implemented to improve overall efficiency and profitability of remaining locations.
During the quarter, the company opened two new locations and acquired one dealership, demonstrating a balanced approach between optimization and selective expansion.
About Camping World Holdings, Inc.
Camping World Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Lincolnshire, IL, (together with its subsidiaries) is America’s largest retailer of RVs and related products and services. Through Camping World and Good Sam brands, our vision is to make it easy for everyone to enjoy RVing and empower our customers’ joy of travel. We strive to build long-term value for our customers, employees, and stockholders by combining a unique and comprehensive assortment of RV products and services with a national network of RV dealerships, service centers and customer support centers along with the industry’s most extensive online presence and a highly trained and knowledgeable team of associates serving our customers, the RV lifestyle, and the communities in which we operate. We also believe that our Good Sam organization and family of highly specialized services and plans, including roadside assistance, protection plans and insurance, uniquely enable us to connect with our customers as stewards of an outdoor and recreational lifestyle. With RV sales and service locations in 44 states, Camping World has grown to become the prime destination for everything RV.
