Quality Investor

Escalade, Incorporated

Rank #238ValueWatchlistCompare with other stocks

ESCA · Nasdaq · Consumer Cyclical

Escalade, Incorporated (ESCA) — Rank #238 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.28) · ROE 7.5% · Piotroski F-Score 8 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0000033488 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Escalade, Incorporated manufactures, distributes, imports, and sells sporting goods in North America, Europe, and internationally.

Show more

The company provides various sporting goods brands in basketball goals, archery, indoor and outdoor game recreation, and fitness products. It offers archery products under the Bear Archery, Trophy Ridge, Cajun Bowfishing, SIK, and BearX brand names; table tennis products under the STIGA and Ping-Pong brands; basketball goals under the Goalrilla, Goaliath, Silverback, Hoopstar, and Goalsetter brand names; and pickleball under the Onix, and DURA brands. The company provides play systems under the Woodplay and Jack & June brands; fitness products under the STEP, Lifeline, Kettleworx, Natural Fitness, USW, adidas Fitness, and PER4M brand names; safety products under the US Weight brand; hockey and soccer game tables under the Triumph, Atomic, American Legend, Air Hockey, and HJ Scott brands; and billiard tables and accessories under the American Heritage Billiards, Brunswick Billiards, Cue&Case, Lucasi, Mizerak, PureX, Rage, Players, Minnesota Fats, and Mosconi brand names. In addition, it offers darting products under the Unicorn, DMI, Arachnid, and Accudart brands; water sports products under the RAVE Sports brand; and outdoor game products under the Victory Tailgate, Triumph, ACL, and Zume Games brand names. The company provides its products through sporting goods retailers, specialty dealers, online retailers, direct-to-consumer, e-commerce, traditional department stores, and mass merchants.

Escalade, Incorporated was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Evansville, Indiana.

Industry
Leisure
Sector
Consumer Cyclical
State
IN
Filer Category
Accelerated filerSmaller reporting company
Fiscal Year End
December 31

Company Snapshot

P/E and dividend yield are the primary valuation lenses for mature businesses.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

437

Industry

Leisure

Exchange

Nasdaq

10/12

Flags passed

ESCA fails 2 critical flags

Passes 10 of 12 quality flags

  • FAIL
    Revenue declining YoY

    Revenue contracted year over year

  • FAIL
    Operating margin declining

    Operating margin lower than prior year

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.28
Return on equity
7.5%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.28
Current ratio
3.21×
Net cash
-$9.80M

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.7%

Growth

1/2 pass
Revenue growth
-4.5%
Piotroski F-Score
8 / 9
Share dilution
-1.3%

Dividend yield and payout ratio are the primary reads at this stage (trailing P/E — see valuation above).

Profitability

Does it make money well?

Warning: Operating margin declining, Revenue declining YoY · GP/assets 0.28

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.28

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

6th of 6 SIC 39 peers

Return on equity

7.5%

Gross margin

26.9%

6th of 6 SIC 39 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

-4.5%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

-8.5%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

-2.6%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

-8.7%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

64.4%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 108% above net income

Free cash flow

$28.50M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

108.0%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.7%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net debt $9.80M, F-Score 8/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.28

1st of 5 SIC 39 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

3.21×

3rd of 6 SIC 39 peers

Quick ratio

1.36×

Net cash

-$9.80M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

8 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Dividend safety

Composite score

3.0 / 5

Good
Payout ratio
60.4%2/5 Fair
FCF coverage
3.44×5/5 Strong
Dividend growth streak
0 yr0/5 Weak
Balance-sheet health
D/E 0.28 · IC 22.40×5/5 Strong

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

2.7 / 5

Fair
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-1.3%3/5 Good
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency(non-payer or broken streak)
0 yr0/5 Weak
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
6.7%5/5 Strong

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Hypergrowth
Capital Return
Value
Decline

Price History

ESCA+13.4% · +2.5% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR