Clarus (CLAR) 2026年第3季財報電話會議：利潤率擴張，調升 EBITDA 財測指引

Clarus Corporation (NASDAQ: CLAR) 公布 2026 年第三季銷售額成長、毛利率大幅擴增，且調整後 EBITDA 表現改善。Black Diamond 帶動營運成長，而 Adventure 則持續受到澳洲需求疲軟的壓力。

重點摘要

• 2026 年第三季銷售額為 7,120 萬美元，去年同期為 6,930 萬美元。Outdoor 營收成長 12.4%，Adventure 營收則下滑 20.2%。
• 財報公布之毛利率由 35.1% 擴增至 41.0%。業績包含約 60 萬美元的關稅追回款項。
• 若排除關稅追回款項，Outdoor 毛利率上升 440 個基點至 40.4%，Adventure 毛利率則增加 640 個基點至 39.6%。
• 合併調整後 EBITDA 為 680 萬美元，利潤率達 9.6%。Outdoor 貢獻 800 萬美元，Adventure 貢獻 80 萬美元，調整後企業總部成本為 200 萬美元。
• 管理層將全年調整後 EBITDA 財測從原先的 1,200 萬至 1,300 萬美元上調至 1,500 萬至 1,700 萬美元，並藉由調升低標，將全年營收預估區間收窄至 2.51 億至 2.55 億美元。
• 截至本季末，Clarus 無任何負債，持有 2,080 萬美元的現金及約當現金。隨著庫存與應收帳款趨於正常化，管理層預期第四季自由現金流將轉正。

關鍵財務數據

業務與營運表現

Outdoor

Black Diamond 第三季營收成長 12.4%，主要產品類別與各地區市場均見成長。登山 (Mountain) 與攀岩 (Climb) 營收分別成長 15.2% 與 15.1%，服飾營收則增加 3.3%，寫下連續第六季成長紀錄。

登山、攀岩與服飾類別貢獻了該部門 92% 的營收，合計成長 13.1%。管理層將利潤率的改善歸功於更健康的庫存狀況、更加集中於高獲利類別、減少促銷折扣，以及更強固的正價高階銷售模式。

北美批發業務營收成長 10.7%。北美數位直營 (DTC) 銷售額增加 15.7%，毛利率提升 350 個基點；同店零售銷售額則成長 23.6%，毛利率提高 580 個基點。

歐洲批發營收依財報美元計算成長 13.1%，按固定匯率計算成長 10.3%。因 Black Diamond 減少促銷活動及低利潤交易，歐洲數位直營銷售額按固定匯率計算增加 0.7%。國際經銷商營收則成長 31.9%。

隨著公司投資核心產品以支援成長與即時現貨訂單 (at-once orders)，Outdoor 庫存由 6,280 萬美元增至 7,380 萬美元。管理層預期 Outdoor 庫存將在年底前降至約 6,700 萬美元。

Adventure

Adventure 營收下滑 20.2%，主要受澳洲消費環境疲軟與需求走弱影響。儘管銷售下滑，管理層表示定價策略、產品與客戶組合、減少促銷以及成本控制措施支撐了獲利能力。

美洲市場在第三季呈現銷售改善趨勢。Clarus 在 2026 年新增了超過 120 家經銷商，今年以來帶來約 100 萬美元的增量營收。在拓展新客戶關係及荷蘭物流配送中心的支援下，EMEA (歐洲、中東及非洲) 營收今年以來成長了 27%。

管理層亦特別提到在日本的擴張，以及與賓利 (Bentley)、捷豹路虎 (Jaguar Land Rover) 和賓士 (Mercedes) 等歐洲車廠建立的新合作關係。公司計劃於 2027 年推出更多 Adventure 新產品，包含 P7 平台車頂架、更多車型適配件，以及 DMK3 MAXTRAX 脫困板。

策略評估

Clarus 持續在財務顧問傑富瑞 (Jefferies) 的協助下評估各項策略替代方案。潛在行動可能包括出售全部或部分業務，或其他策略性或財務性交易。管理層表示，在適當或有必要進行進一步揭露之前，將不再發表任何評論。

管理層財測

修正後的調整後 EBITDA 預估區間中位數，比公司原先預估的 1,200 萬至 1,300 萬美元中位數高出約 28%。管理層表示，調升財測主要是由於第三季調整後 EBITDA 表現強勁，但部分被預期較高的總部成本所抵消。

管理層預期，隨著 Outdoor 庫存減少及應收帳款正常化，第四季自由現金流將轉為正值。

風險與關注事項

• Adventure 在其本土市場澳洲持續面臨疲弱的消費需求。
• 管理層對消費者信心及整體總體經濟情勢仍抱持謹慎態度。
• 美國東北部與中西部偏暖的聖嬰現象冬季，可能會降低手套、保暖外套及其他防寒產品的銷售率 (sell-through)。管理層表示，目前尚未見到在手訂單被取消或即時下單趨勢出現改變。
• Outdoor 正面臨石油相關原料、聚酯纖維、貨運與金屬等通膨壓力。管理層預期基礎產品利潤率的改善以及更有利的關稅影響將在 2027 年抵消這些壓力，但前景仍部分取決於油價及中東局勢的發展。
• 第三季自由現金流為負值，主因是 Outdoor 庫存與應收帳款增加，包括催收速度放緩以及 9 月銷售額攀升所致。

分析師問答重點

管理層表示，Outdoor 在攀岩、登山、服飾與鞋類領域的新產品線依舊強勁。Magnetron 鉤環重新上市後迅速售罄，部分熱門服飾系列亦屢次賣到缺貨。公司已制定延伸至 2028 年的三年產品發展藍圖。

國際經銷商需求維持強勁，截至 9 月初的即時現貨訂單創下歷史新高。管理層看好中國與日本的額外成長潛力，而韓國仍是 Black Diamond 最大的國際市場之一。

針對 2027 年的獲利能力，管理層表示原料與運費通膨應可由基礎產品利潤率的提升及關稅執行方式的改變所抵消。目前預期這些成本不會在 2027 年壓縮利潤率，且認為存在溫和上升空間的可能。

在 Adventure 方面，受惠於新產品、車型適配範圍擴大、經銷商增加，以及計劃於下半年推出的 P7 平台車頂架，管理層預期該業務營收將於 2027 年恢復成長。不過，這仍屬管理層的內部預期，而非正式的 2027 年財測指引。

完整電話會議逐字稿

完整財報電話會議逐字稿

管理層陳述

Operator

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for participating in today's conference call to discuss Clarus Corporation's financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026. Joining us today are Clarus Corporation's Executive Chairman, Warren Kanders; CFO, Mike Yates, President of Black Diamond Equipment, Neil Fis, and the company's external Director of Investor Relations, Mac Berketz.

Following the remarks, we'll open the call for your questions. Before we go further, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Berkowitz, as he reads the company's safe harbor statement within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and that provides important cautions regarding forward-looking statements. Matt, please go ahead.

Mathew Hayward

Thank you. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that during today's call, we will be making several forward-looking statements, and we will make these statements under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements reflect our best estimates and assumptions based on our understanding of information known to us today. These forward-looking statements are subject to potential risks and uncertainties and that could cause the actual results of operations or financial condition of Claris Corporation to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

More information on potential factors that could affect the company's operating and financial results is included from time to time in the company's public reports filed with the SEC. During today's call, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures, which should be considered in addition to and not as a substitute for our results reported in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are included in our earnings press release issued earlier today, which was furnished as an exhibit to our current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC and is also available on the SEC Filings section of our website at www.clariscorp.com.

I would like to remind everyone this call will be available for replay starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time tonight. A webcast replay will also be available via the link provided in today's press release as well as on the company's website.

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Clarus' Executive Chairman, Warren Kanders.

Warren Kanders

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining Clarus' earnings call to review our results for the third quarter. I am joined today by our Chief Financial Officer, Mike Yates, who will provide a financial update, including Adventure segment performance as well as Neil Fiske, who will discuss our Outdoor segment. .

We delivered strong third quarter results, reflecting the continued progress we are making to strengthen our businesses and drive sustainable, profitable growth. Our efforts to simplify operations sharpen our product focus and improve cost efficiency are translating into meaningful financial improvements, including consolidated gross margin of 41%, up from 35.1% a year ago. And significant year-over-year growth in net income and adjusted EBITDA.

Mike will discuss IPA tariff recovery we recognized during the quarter. Excluding that benefit, we believe that the underlying improvement across both segments remain substantial.

Building on the momentum we saw in the first half of the year, Black Diamond generated double-digit revenue growth in Q3 with strength across major product categories and geographic markets. Importantly, this growth was accompanied by substantial margin expansion reflecting our ongoing focus on higher volume, higher margin products, healthier inventory and a more disciplined approach to promotional activity. These results underscore the strength of the Black Diamond brand and the effectiveness of our strategy.

In Adventure, third quarter sales declined primarily reflecting a challenging consumer environment in Australia. However, we continue to make meaningful progress repositioning the business. And excluding the tariff refund, gross margin improved 640 basis points year-over-year. Overall, we believe the Adventure business is in a fundamentally stronger position than it was 18 months ago. We have simplified our operating footprint, improved our cost structure, strengthened key customer relationships and expanded our international distribution capabilities.

With signs of momentum in the Americas and continued growth opportunities internationally, our focus remains on maintaining our margin improvements, exercising cost discipline and positioning the business to capitalize on our recovery in demand.

Turning to the guidance, supported by our strong performance through the first 9 months of the year, and constructive outlook for Q4, we are raising the low end of our full year revenue guidance and raising our adjusted EBITDA outlook. We now expect 2026 adjusted EBITDA to range between approximately $15 million and $17 million. At the midpoint, this represents an increase of approximately 28% versus our prior adjusted EBITDA forecast of $12 million to $13 million.

Before passing it over to Neil, I will briefly touch on the review of strategic alternatives we announced in May. We continue to explore a range of potential actions aimed at unlocking value more effectively than the market is recognizing today. We have retained Jefferies as our financial adviser to assist in this process. Potential alternatives could include the sale of all or part of the business or other strategic or financial transactions involving the company.

Please note that we will not be answering any questions or commenting further on our strategic review process until additional disclosure is appropriate or required.

With that, thank you for being with us today, and I will call -- I will turn the call over to Neil Fiske.

McNeil Fiske

Thanks, Warren. Turning to Slide 6. I will review the Outdoor segment's third quarter performance and our expectations heading into the remainder of 2026. Overall, Black Diamond had a great Q3 with revenue, margin and EBITDA all well ahead of prior year as our strategy of simplification, focus and business reshaping continues to pay off and build momentum. Total revenues for the quarter were up 12.4%, reflecting accelerating growth in all of our regions and across our major categories.

Our business categories of mountain climb and apparel drove 92% of total revenues and grew 13.1%. As I said on the last call, the core of the business is healthy and growing. It's great to see the momentum from a strong Q2 build into an even better Q3. For the quarter, Mountain was ahead 15.2% versus prior year and saw a nice lift from our collaboration with Nordic footwear, which launched at the UTMB event in Semanie in August.

The client category posted another strong quarter, growing 15.1%. Apparel was up 3.3% for the quarter, the sixth consecutive quarter of growth. Gross margin is also a very positive story for the quarter. Excluding the small amount of tariff refunds, about $70,000 in the quarter, we received in Q3, gross margin came in at 40.4%, up 440 basis points over the prior year period. The strong year-over-year improvement reflects the progress we've made and the quality of our inventory, our focus on our most profitable categories, less discounting and a more full price premium business model.

Operating expenses, including restructuring, transaction costs and legal and regulatory matter expenses were up 9.6% for the quarter, reflecting the cost of the Salt Lake distribution center move along with other factors. Restructuring expenses were $200,000. Outdoor adjusted EBITDA for the quarter came in at $8 million, up 8.7% versus prior period. Inventory ended the quarter at $73.8 million versus $62.8 million in the prior period. This was a deliberate effort to invest in growth and identify the potential upside in our key categories and style franchises.

We have seen the benefit of this investment in the strong growth for the quarter and historically high sales from at-once orders also known as ASAP orders. From here, we'll have a more accurate view of the sales potential and we'll begin bringing the inventory balance down. We expect to end the year around $67 million in inventory with less discounted merchandise and concentration in our proven styles.

Now turning to results by region and channel. North America wholesale grew 10.7%. North America digital D2C, which represents 14.3% of the region's revenue was up 15.7% on the top line, with much healthier margins and less discounting, resulting in a 350 basis point improvement in gross margin for the channel. North America retail comp store sales were up 23.6% with gross margins lifting 580 basis points. EU wholesale was up 13.1% in dollars and 10.3% in constant currency.

EU digital D2C which represents 5.1% of the region's revenue was up 0.7% in constant currency as we pulled back on both promotional activity and less profitable transactions. Our international distributor channel was up 31.9% for the quarter.

Looking ahead, we are in a good position heading into Q4 and on track to achieve or exceed our goals. We feel good about our progress, our momentum and our results. That said, we remain mindful of cautious consumer sentiment and potential adverse macro factors as well as the potential of a warmer El Nino winter on cold weather categories. Once again, I'd like to congratulate and thank our teams around the world for all their hard work, passion and skill in driving these results.

With that, I'll turn it over to our CFO, Mike Yates.

Michael J. Yates

Thank you, Neil, and good afternoon, everyone. On today's call, I'll provide an update on the Adventure segment and then conclude with a summary of our Q3 financial results followed by the Q&A session. Starting with Adventure on Slide 7. Third quarter results reflected continued pressure on the top line, particularly in our home market in Australia were challenging consumer conditions and softer demand across key product categories continue to weigh on the market. However, we are encouraged by the progress we are making to strengthen the underlying business with significant improvements in gross margin and cost discipline, enabling us to maintain profitability despite lower sales volumes.

Excluding the $0.5 million tariff refund at adventure, Q3 adjusted EBITDA was in line with Q3 2025 adjusted EBITDA on 20% less revenue. Gross margin improved 640 basis points year-over-year, excluding the tariff refund, reflecting the benefits of pricing actions and improved customer and product mix and reduced promotional activity. We are also navigating the impact of changes to our distribution network as we prioritize stronger, more profitable customer relationships. While these factors have weighed on sales, we continue to make progress strengthening our position with key retail partners, including Super Cheap Auto in Australia, where we were recently recognized as the most engaged trade partner.

In the Americas, we are beginning to see the benefits of our commercial initiatives with an improving sales trend during the third quarter growth in Rocky Mount, extracts and continued expansion of our dealer network are helping offset softness among certain larger accounts. We have added more than 120 dealers this year generating approximately $1 million in incremental year-to-date revenue. We are particularly encouraged by the performance of Rina Rack in the U.S., where we believe margins have improved significantly because of our pricing and channel initiatives.

Our international expansion efforts also continued to gain traction. EMEA revenue increased 27% year-to-date, supported by new customer and dealer relationships and improved distribution capabilities following the opening of our new facility in the Netherlands. In Japan, our decision to expand beyond an exclusive distribution arrangement has contributed to strong growth. We are also making encouraging progress with European automotive OEMs, including new relationships with Bentley Force, Jaguar, Land Rover and Mercedes, which we believe can support incremental growth in the years ahead.

At the same time, we continue to invest selectively in product innovation to position Adventure for the next cycle. The recently launched Max Trax recovery shovel has been well received, and our acquisition of ONWARD has expanded our portfolio of high-margin vehicle accessories. Looking ahead to 2027, we have an exciting pipeline of new products across our brands, including the next generation of our platform RAC, the P7, expanded vehicle fitments and a new MaxTrax recovery Board, DMK3.

With that, now let me turn to the consolidated and segment financial review on Slide 8. The Consolidated Claris third quarter sales were $71.2 million compared to $69.3 million in the third quarter of the prior year. On a reported basis, from a segment perspective, outdoor was up 12.4% and adventure was down 20.2%. Sales were up in nearly every market for outdoor, as Neil mentioned. And the weak business at Adventure was primarily in the Australian markets for Rhino Rec and MaxTrax.

The consolidated reported gross margin rate in the third quarter was 41.0% and compared to 35.1% in the prior year quarter. The gross profit includes a benefit of $600,000 from the recovery of EPA tariffs in the third quarter of 2026. The vast majority of these tariff refunds in the third quarter were at adventure, specifically venture received $495,000 and outdoor received approximately $70,000. Gross margins, excluding the tariff benefit for the 2 segments are as follows: Outdoor gross margins were 40.4%, up 440 basis points compared to the third quarter in the prior year and adventure gross margins were 39.6%, up 640 basis points compared to the third quarter in the prior year.

Gross margin growth has been realized through pricing, and our simplification strategy, along with better product and customer mix. Third quarter consolidated selling, general and administrative expenses were $25.3 million compared to $26.2 million in the same year ago quarter. Third quarter 2026 expenses reflect lower outside services and employee-related costs at the corporate level and other expense reduction initiatives at adventure to manage costs, offset by a slight increase at the Outdoor segment, primarily due to higher selling expenses.

Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter was $6.8 million on a consolidated basis or an adjusted EBITDA margin of 9.6%. The third quarter adjusted EBITDA by segment was $800,000 in adventure and $8 million at Outdoor. Adjusted corporate costs were $2 million in the third quarter.

Let me shift over to liquidity and the balance sheet. Free cash flow, defined as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures for the third quarter of 2026 was a $7.4 million for outflow compared to a $7 million outflow for the 3 months ended September 30, 2025. Despite the significant improvements in net income in the third quarter, the negative free cash flow in the quarter was due to increased working capital needs, specifically an increase in inventory at outdoor that Neil mentioned to fulfill ASAP orders.

And higher accounts receivable driven by slower collections and much higher sales at the Outdoor segment in the month of September 2026 compared to the month of September 2025. We do expect free cash flow to be positive in the fourth quarter as inventory and accounts receivable normalize. Neil mentioned, we expect inventory to reduce to $67 million at outdoor by the end of the fourth quarter. At September 30, 2026, total debt was 0. At September 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $20.8 million compared to $36.7 million at December 31, 2025.

Moving on to our 2026 outlook on Slide 9. We now expect fiscal year 2026 sales to range between $251 million and $255 million. And we now expect full year revenue and adventure to be approximately $65 million and full year outdoor revenue to be approximately $188 million. We have revised our full year 2026 adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $15 million to $17 million or an adjusted EBITDA margin of 6.3% at the midpoint of our revenue and adjusted EBITDA ranges.

The revision to our full year adjusted EBITDA guidance compared to our prior guidance of $12 million to $13 million is as follows: Assuming the midpoint of the 2 guides, the primary difference between the $12.5 million and $16 million in the third quarter beat in adjusted EBITDA compared to our prior guidance, partially offset by corporate cost now expected to be $9 million rather than $8 million a quarter ago.

Turning to the fourth quarter. Sales are expected to range between $62 million and $66 million and at the midpoint of our full year guidance of $16 million adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately $3 million for the fourth quarter of 2026. Let me give an update on legal. I'd like to provide an update on the company's Section 16B litigation with Half Trading LLC. In the company's action against HapTrading LLC and Mr. rich Padia for disgorgement of short-swing profits under Section 16B, the District Court granted summary judgment to the defendants on March 14, 2025, based on the market-making exemption under Section 16B. The company's timely appeal and appeal was argued before the Second Circuit court on February 12, 2026. The SEC has declined the court's invitation to sit an Amicus brief and the company is still waiting on the second court's decision.

In closing, we are focused on unlocking the trite value of our outdoor and adventure segment and maximizing long-term value for our shareholders. with more focused businesses, a simplified operating structure, a debt-free balance sheet, we believe we have the foundation in place to drive sustainable profitable growth.

At this point, operator, we're ready to take any questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Mark Smith of Lake Street.

分析師問答

Mark Smith

I wanted to ask just within outdoor first, I know that you guys have focused on simplification in the business. But I'm curious kind of how sales of new products have been trending any bump that you've gotten from new products and kind of how your pipeline and new products looks?

Unknown Executive

I can take that. Thanks, Mark. I'd say, overall, we're quite pleased with our new product introductions and what we've got in the pipeline across all the categories. Klein, Mountain apparel. We've had some great successes in the quarter, the collaboration launch with Nora, where we had special tracking poles, special mountain running pack, terabit was far away above our expectations in Nordic. But just 1 example of very creative collaborations driving innovation. Another example, we brought back kind of by popular demand, our magnetron carabiner was a huge launch sold out immediately. We took back orders got we play in and sold out again. So that's a good example in climb.

And in apparel, we've got a number of our franchise styles like the dirt bag pant that have sold out multiple times, and we're investing in inventory really to find out how high is high on some of these key franchise styles. So I think we're hitting it. You never bat 1,000, as you know, on NPI. But across the major business units with a strong success. And even in footwear, where we've narrowed our focus to rock shoes, our momentum in Camso, which we introduced this year. is doing very well.

So I'm very happy with our new product introductions. We have an amazing design and engineering team, good merchants, and I'm really pleased with the progress. And I think that will sustain itself as we look into what we've got on deck for '27 and '28 we plan pretty far out, as you know, in this business, and we've got a really good 3-year product road map. And I think it's going to continue to look at the business and also hopefully, be accretive to our gross margin profile.

Mark Smith

And then sticking in outdoors, I wanted to ask just about kind of the international sales. I know that you guys called out Europe and quantified kind of some growth there. Here's kind of other regions that may be doing well or if there's anywhere that maybe is a drag? .

Unknown Executive

Yes -- is that for outdoor for adventure outdoor primarily yes. So as you know, we've basically have 3 regions: North America, Europe and then our international distributor group, which surfaces pretty much rest of world. And that division, IGD is having a great year. and we're seeing really strong growth and ahead of our expectations there. Importantly, 1 of the things I'd look at as kind of a immediate short-term leading indicator of the business, is how strong the at-once order businesses and it's strong across all regions, by the way, which is 1 of the things that gives us confidence going into Q4.

But if I look in particular at IGD, I think by the beginning of September, we had done more at once orders than we've ever done in any other year. And so that just tells you sort of the strength of the demand that we're seeing. And also, as Mike mentioned, the payback that we're getting from investing a little bit more inventory in our best styles so that we can fulfill that at once demand.

But I think as an indicator of strength in in the business and IGD in particular, that's a pretty good one. And also looking forward to the order book for '27 and the kind of response we've gotten to the product for those rest of world markets, we feel very good about that. There are some places that I think we need to accelerate a little bit more than we have where we have a great distributor in Korea, 1 of our biggest invested international markets. China is growing, but probably under -- its potential, just given what we've seen with the success of other outdoor brands and we'd like to accelerate even faster in China.

And in Japan, we have changed over our distributor really a succession plan from 1 -- the owner of the prior distributor to his management team as he retired. And I think Japan has a lot more upside for us than what we're seeing today. So business is strong. ASAP's best indicator of that. But I think we're just at the beginning of realizing a lot of growth in those markets.

Michael J. Yates

Mark, just to reiterate what Neil shared in the prepared remarks, North American wholesale is up over 10%. Our North American DTC was up over 15%. EU wholesale was up over 13% and in IGD, our international business was up over 31%. So it was -- as I summarized that nearly in every market, we were up across the BB business.

Matt Koranda

And then Mike, can you just clarify and maybe repeat, I apologize that I missed it. I think that you gave some of the sales guidance for outdoor and adventure ?

Michael J. Yates

Yes, I did. I did. For the full year, we raised the low end of our range to $251 into the high end of $255 million for the consolidated business. But for -- by segment, we said that kind of breaks down at the midpoint of $188 million for the outdoor business and $65 million for the Inventure business. The $188 million and the $55 million kind of hits you right in that midpoint of the $251 to $2.55 or at $188 million and $65 million is $253 million. .

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Laurent Vasilescu of BNP Paribas.

Laurent Vasilescu

I wanted to follow up. I think, Neil, you made a point about El Nino. It's obviously a pressing concern out there for the overall industry. I'm curious to know like if you're seeing any order book cancellations or if you're seeing anything on that front with regards to variability for the fourth quarter? .

Unknown Executive

Don't change yet, Lauren, in order book or even the pace of at once. But -- but I think it's too early to tell. We'll know more in late November and December. The thing I think we're cautious about that El Nino could cut both ways, we could get better snow in the Rocky Mountain West and West Coast ski areas, that would be a benefit. But the thing to watch out for is just if it's a warmer winter in the Northeast and Midwest and areas of a lot of population density. Those are typically good markets for cold weather accessories like gloves and an outerwear insulation. And if it's a warm winter there, we could see some slower sell-through and less ASAP. And we could see some impact on our D2C way too early to tell. But we just -- we look at that weather effect is kind of having both a positive and a negative. And I just wanted to call that out for investors to be cognizant of.

Laurent Vasilescu

As we look out to '27, I know you're not prepared to comment about '27 guidance. But I think you talked about this last quarter about raw material inflation now that it's 90 days later. Just curious on updated thoughts there, like should we assume kind of like a mid-single-digit increase in cost of goods sold just from raw materials, particularly from oil-based derivatives. Any color there would be super helpful?

McNeil Fiske

Yes. There are 2 things that sort of work against each other and to some extent, offset each other. So there's no question we're seeing some inflationary pressure in material feedstocks, oil, polyester, turning into polyester cost and loan costs, higher freight costs and even impacting the metals market. So that's out there. That, of course, is very much linked to the price of oil and the outcome of the situation in the Middle East. So that's a bit of a headwind for us in '27.

On the flip side, we are we have some improvement in our underlying product margins from the work that we've done. And if you look on a like-for-like basis on tariffs, the tariffs at the beginning of the year and the tariffs now. We have some favorability from the way the latest tariffs have been implemented, that hopefully can offset those raw material costs. And so we don't think there will be a drag on margins in '27. If anything, there might be a little bit of upside as we look ahead.

Laurent Vasilescu

Very helpful. And then the last question here is a broader question on the venture side. I think venture was down about 20% this quarter. And I appreciate, Mike, that you gave us color on the segments for the full year. When do you expect a rebasing of that business so that you can return to growth? I understand Australia market is difficult, but I'm just curious to know face in the macro, when do you think the work that you've done leads to growth going forward for this segment?

Michael J. Yates

Lauren, great question. I appreciate that. Obviously, we are very happy with the work we've done on what we can control, specifically cost. You can see the improvement in gross margins during the quarter. We think that built into our business now, right? We have better terms, better pricing, better relationships with customers, et cetera. So that gross margin, we think, is real and that should carry forward into future years. Same with on our SG&A side, we've controlled our cost. Cost was down, as I mentioned, at adventure year-over-year.

So we've positioned the company, the Inventure business from a cost standpoint to really perform once growth comes back, right? And so what are we doing around growth? We talked about some of the new products. We have a litany of new products that we are teeing up to come out across 2027 that are actually being -- some of them were being introduced this week at the CEMA automotive Show out in Las Vegas. -- our teams out there sharing some of that. But I mentioned 1 of them on the call, the new MAX track Board that nets with a shovel, that's been tremendously successful.

So lots of efforts around NPI, lots of effort around fitments to make our own luck essentially on the sales side. Obviously, we are defending the core and the big product that we expect to introduce next year. And when I say to fund the core, that's the Australian business, the new P7 platform rack. That's expected to come out late in 2027, I think, in the third quarter. So if all that comes to -- if we can continue to drive the gross margin, continue to manage our SG&A costs with the NPI that is teed up, I would expect the business to grow in 2027.

Operator

Thank you, Laurent. Thank you. I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn it back to Mike Gates for closing remarks.

Michael J. Yates

Thank you. I want to thank everyone very much for their interest in attending the call this afternoon and your continued support and interest in Claris. We look forward to updating you on our results again next quarter. Thank you again, everyone. .

Operator

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.