How boat industry stocks fared in 2024

We all know 2024 was a tough year. But exactly how tough was it?

IBI reviewed the stock performance of 35 publicly traded manufacturers and retailers from the leisure marine segment worldwide in a bid to spot any patterns or emerging trends. In the end, there was only one – most companies on our list ended the year trading at a lower value than they started out with. Only 11 of 35 firms reviewed were trading higher on December 12 – when our calculations were made – than they were on the first day of trading in January. 69% of firms reviewed saw their stock value decline over that period, reflecting the softness of the boat market this year.

In order to eliminate skew related to currency fluctuations, stock values are reflected in the local currencies of each stock’s home exchange.

So how do the numbers compare?

The 10 best performing stocks through 2024 included Garmin, Cummins, Hubbell, Patrick Industries, Caterpillar, Suzuki, Teledyne/Raymarine, Volvo Group, Yamaha and KVH.

Those suffering the highest losses included Vision Marine Technologies, Twin Vee Powercats, Oxe Marine, Myers Industries, Nimbus Group, OneWater Marine, Hanse, Dometic Group, Polaris and Johnson Outdoors.

Among all industries, the leisure marine sector did better than most. While stocks in the pharmaceutical and logistics sectors showed significant gains in 2024, sectors including aerospace, home entertainment and energy had a much tougher year.

And as we look ahead to 2025?

On the current path many banks and financial analysts appear to be calling for a more moderate stock market in the coming 12 months with less overall volatility. The consensus among US banks and investment firms calls for the S&P 500 to hit volumes of approximately 6,500 by the end of 2025, according to Bloomberg data, while European banks anticipate a positive if unspectacular year ahead.

Following the challenges experienced in a tough market through 2024, that’s an outlook that will appeal to many.