Camping World has released its third-quarter financial report. It’s the Camping World financial rollercoaster. While CEO Marcus Lemonis is justifiably happy to report same-store sales of RVs are out of the doldrums for the first time in 10 quarters, not all is well. While Camping World revenues have increased, the bottom line is dismal: Profits are down 73.9% for the nation’s big box RV stores.
Camping World financial rollercoaster
As all good stockholder cheerleaders do, Lemonis accentuated the positive in his financial report statement. “Our combined new and used same store unit sales returned to positive growth for the first time in 10 quarters, with our record new unit market share a direct result of our relentless focus on product development and affordability,” Lemonis touted. “I’m very encouraged by our October-to-date same-store volume trends, with used units tracking to flat year-over-year, and new units remaining solidly up by a double-digit percentage, providing significant momentum as we focus on an improved 2025.”
The financial report itself is thick, and replete with tons of numbers. You can read it for yourself here.
Of particular interest to RVers
We saw a couple of notes of particular interest to RVers. First, if Marcus Lemonis still envisions himself as some sort of General Sherman in a “march to the sea” effort, he may be regrouping his troops. Early in 2024, Lemonis made his goal of increasing the number of Camping World stores across the nation to 320 locations in five years. The third-quarter report shows store locations as of September 30, 2024, at 207. That’s two stores DOWN over the quarter, or a loss of 1.0 percent.
And if you’ve been tired out as a member of what some call “The Good Spam Club,” receiving endless come-ons to buy more goods and services, you may not be alone. Actual revenues from the Good Sam Club declined from $11.05 million to $10.89 million in the third quarter, or close to 1.5% down. The actual number of Good Sam memberships isn’t stated, but it could be headed down. Never fear, the company still saw increased profits from those who did stay with the club. Gross profits rose from $9.596 million in Q3 2023 to $9.826 million in the latest report—a jump of 2.4%.
As to the rest of the report, here are the boiled-down highlights.
In the third quarter, revenue totaled $1.7 billion, reflecting a decrease of $4.6 million, or 0.3%.
New vehicle revenue reached $824.9 million, up $145.7 million, or 21.5%, with unit sales rising to 19,943, an increase of 4,738 units, or 31.2%. Conversely, used vehicle revenue fell to $447.2 million, down $143.0 million, or 24.2%, while used vehicle unit sales dropped to 14,065 units, a decrease of 3,060 units, or 17.9%. Overall, combined unit sales for new and used vehicles were 34,008, marking an increase of 1,678 units, or 5.2%.
The average selling price of new vehicles fell by 7.4% in the third quarter, mainly due to the lower costs of 2024 model year travel trailers and discounts on pre-2024 models. Similarly, the average selling price of used vehicles decreased by 7.7% as a result of discounts prompted by the drop in new vehicle prices.
New vehicle sales, revenue, profit, and EBITDA
Reflecting the roller-coaster image of much of the report, same-store new vehicle unit sales rose by 28.8% in the third quarter, while same-store used vehicle unit sales fell by 20.5%. Overall, combined same-store unit sales for new and used vehicles saw a slight increase of 2.3%.
Revenue from products, services, and other sources totaled $224.8 million, down $10.8 million, or 4.6%. This decline was primarily due to the divestiture of the company’s RV furniture business in May 2024 and a decrease in used vehicle sales, which resulted in fewer retail product attachments to vehicle transactions.
Gross profit reached $498.5 million, down $24.6 million, or 4.7%, while total gross margin decreased to 28.9%, a drop of 134 basis points. This decline in gross profit and margin was primarily attributed to lower average selling prices for new and used vehicles, though it was partially mitigated by reduced average costs for those vehicles and a one-time $5.5 million exit arrangement with a service partner for Good Sam Services and Plans in 2023. “Additionally, improved gross margins for products, services, and other revenue,” says the Camping World report, were “—largely due to the divestiture of our RV furniture business in May 2024—helped offset some of these declines.”
Net income for the third quarter of 2024 was $8.1 million, down $22.8 million, or 73.9%. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) fell to $67.5 million, a decrease of $27.5 million, or 28.9%. These declines were primarily driven by the $24.6 million drop in gross profit.
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Thank you, Russ and Tina! The beneficial effect of divesting the furniture business reminds me of a Dilbert cartoon in which Dilbert’s company began selling off its assets and raised its profitability. Trouble was, if they continued they very quickly would have no assets with which to create products. Funny, huh? Have a great week and safe travels!