Shares of Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. shot higher on Monday after golfing star Jon Rahm won the Masters Tournament at August National Golf Club over the weekend — thanks in part to the Callaway golf equipment he used.
Topgolf Callaway Brands’
MODG,
stock rose 4.8% in afternoon trading on Monday.
Rahm’s victory on Sunday was his first at the Masters. After beating Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson, Rahm is fourth player from Spain to win the tournament, according to media reports. Rahm won the U.S. Open in 2021.
Rahm signed a multiyear equipment deal with Callaway Golf in early 2021, under which he joined the brand’s PGA Tour professional staff. Last year, Callaway changed its name to Topgolf Callaway Brands following its merger with driving-range and entertainment chain Topgolf a year earlier.
During the tournament, Rahm wore a hat featuring the Callaway logo and used Callaway woods, irons and golf balls on his road to victory. Jeff Newton, a representative for Callaway, said over email that in the course of Rahm’s four wins this year, he has used Callaway’s new Paradym Driver, Paradym Fairway Woods and Chrome Soft X Golf Ball, among other products.
Jefferies analyst Randal Konik, in a research note on Monday, said he believed that investors have “yet to fully appreciate” the company’s “transformation into a preeminent golf entertainment platform.”
Konik said that along with equipment, clothing and golf bags, the company’s business has grown to encompass entertainment, via Topgolf. And while members of the baby boom generation drive much of the interest in golf, he said, the number of beginners entering the sport has increased. In addition, industry consolidation has allowed equipment manufacturers to charge more, helping boost profits.
“In our view, the consumer has given [manufacturers] permission to continue to push the envelope, in terms of price, so long as there is sufficient innovation to back it,” he said.
Interest in golf boomed during the early days of the pandemic when many indoor activities were shut down. But the boom in golfing, as in other industries, has run up against concerns about inflation and its effect on demand, both from golfers and the stores that sell the equipment.
Rahm has been mentioned regularly during Topgolf Callaway’s earnings calls. Chief Executive Oliver Brewer said in November that the validation of Rahm using Callaway-branded products such as golf balls was “unrefutable.”
Shares of Topgolf Callaway Brands are still down 2% over the past 12 months. In comparison, the S&P 500
SPX,
has fallen 7% over that period.
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