Source: 5W modeled citation share across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, Q1 2026. About 39.7% is split across ranks 16 to 25, regional builders, the few independent operators that appear and category-adjacent brands.
What is the full top 25 ranking?
The full ranking lists each brand with its modeled share and the facts verified in October 2026. Ranks 16 to 25 each modeled below 1.5%.
Top 25 U.S. pool and spa brands by modeled AI citation share (Q1 2026) with facts verified October 2026 | Rank | Brand | Share | Verified facts |
|---|
| 1 | Leslie's | 11.0% | Phoenix, Arizona. Nasdaq: LESL. Filed Chapter 11 on September 30, 2026. More than 900 stores in 38 states, with 76 closures planned. |
| 2 | Pentair | 8.5% | Pool equipment maker: pumps, filters, heaters, automation and salt chlorinators. |
| 3 | Hayward Holdings | 7.0% | Pool equipment maker. Second-quarter 2026 net sales rose 6%; refinanced debt to 2033; opening its sixth dealer training hub in Atlanta in Q4 2026. |
| 4 | Pinch A Penny | 5.0% | Franchise retail network supplied by Pool Corporation. Just over 300 locations at the end of 2025. |
| 5 | Fluidra (Jandy, Zodiac, Polaris) | 4.5% | Madrid-listed equipment maker with several U.S. sub-brands. |
| 6 | Pool Corporation | 3.8% | Covington, Louisiana. Nasdaq: POOL. Wholesale distributor with 455 sales centers after Q1 2026. |
| 7 | Master Spas | 3.4% | U.S. hot tub and swim spa maker. |
| 8 | Jacuzzi | 3.0% | Hot tub brand whose name consumers use as a generic term. |
| 9 | Latham Pool Products | 2.6% | Nasdaq: SWIM. Q2 2026 net sales of $197.5 million. Bought Freedom Pools for $17 million in February 2026. Fiberglass expected to be about 80% of 2026 in-ground sales. |
| 10 | Maytronics (Dolphin) | 2.4% | Israeli maker of robotic pool cleaners. |
| 11 | Bullfrog Spas | 2.2% | Hot tub maker with modular JetPak technology. |
| 12 | HotSpring Spas | 2.0% | Hot tub maker owned by Watkins Wellness. |
| 13 | Anthony & Sylvan Pools | 1.8% | Residential pool builder. |
| 14 | Blue Haven Pools | 1.6% | National pool builder network. |
| 15 | Intex Recreation | 1.5% | Above-ground and inflatable pool maker. |
| 16 to 20 | CMP, regional retailers such as Zagers and AquaOne, Endless Pools, Cover-Pools and CoverStar, Swimming Pool.com and Inyo Pool Products | Below 1.5% | Component makers, regional retail networks, swim spas, safety covers and online parts sellers. |
| 21 to 24 | BioGuard, Pool Life and Clorox Pool&Spa, Caldera and Freeflow Spas, regional fiberglass brands, AHS Chemicals and Haviland | Below 1.5% | Chemical brands, mid-tier hot tubs and niche fiberglass makers. |
| 25 | Aqua Magazine and Pool & Spa News | Below 1.5% | Trade-press outlets whose rankings and buyer's guides AI answers draw on. |
Sources: 5W Q1 2026 modeled citation share; company releases cited above; Hayward Q2 2026 call summary.
Why do a few brands capture most citations?
A few brands capture most citations because they publish technical pages, store listings and dated corporate news that AI answers can quote. The first edition found six patterns, updated here.
- Public companies produce dated coverage. Leslie's, Pentair, Hayward, Pool Corporation and Latham hold 32.9% of modeled share together, and Leslie's bankruptcy shows the same coverage cuts both ways.
- Equipment makers and retailers win different questions. Questions about the best pool pump route to manufacturer pages, while questions about where to buy one route to retailers.
- Hot tubs are a separate citation surface from in-ground pools. Master Spas, Jacuzzi, Bullfrog and HotSpring compete mostly with each other.
- Sun Belt franchise density helps Pinch A Penny. Most of its stores are in Florida, which is why a hurricane-driven Florida swing moved its fourth-quarter 2025 sales by 9%.
- Sub-branded portfolios split their coverage. Fluidra's Jandy, Zodiac and Polaris each hold a narrow slice, and the first edition found that none holds the broad pool equipment questions.
- Trade press anchors the editorial surface. Aqua Magazine and Pool & Spa News rankings and buyer's guides feed answers to best-brand questions.
What happened in pool and spa during 2026?
The pool and spa industry's 2026 news centers on Leslie's bankruptcy, fiberglass growth and steady results at equipment makers. Each event produced dated coverage that engines can cite.
Leslie's filed Chapter 11
Leslie's filed a prearranged Chapter 11 case on September 30, 2026 with the support of more than 80% of its existing lenders. The plan cuts about $685 million of funded debt, closes 76 stores and seeks $90 million of new financing, and Leslie's expects to emerge in early 2027. The company blamed a persistently challenging retail environment and unfavorable weather.
Latham grew on fiberglass
Latham reported second-quarter 2026 in-ground pool sales up 22.5%, led by fiberglass, and raised its full-year sales outlook. It completed the Freedom Pools acquisition in February 2026 for $17 million.
Hayward held its guidance
Hayward reported 6% second-quarter 2026 net sales growth and maintained about 5% full-year growth guidance. North America grew 9% on salt chlorine generators and automation, and Europe fell 8%.
Pool Corporation held steady with franchise growth
Pool Corporation said at its first-quarter 2026 call that Pinch A Penny franchisees opened seven stores in the quarter and that it operated 455 sales centers. It said new construction permits were still below the prior year.
Why are independent pool businesses missing from AI answers?
Independent pool builders and service operators are missing because their public footprint is often a website, a Google Business Profile and reviews, while larger brands publish technical pages, store pages and dated news. In the first edition, 5W's model estimated that about 91% of independent builders and service operators had effectively zero citation share in their own metro.
The first edition also found that strong local reviews alone did not produce citations. A builder with hundreds of local reviews can still lose a metro-specific question to a franchise or dealer-network brand with more structured pages.
How can a pool or spa business improve its AI visibility?
A pool or spa business improves its AI visibility by publishing local, specific and checkable pages for each service area and product. These ten steps apply to builders, service companies, retailers and equipment makers.
- Complete the Google Business Profile with the right categories, such as swimming pool contractor or pool supply store, plus hours, service areas and project photos. Google AI Overviews and Gemini draw local results from this data.
- Create one page per city or service area with specific details: local water hardness, typical pool types, permit steps and seasonal opening dates. A page that names the city lets an engine match a metro-specific question.
- If your market has Leslie's closures, publish a free water testing page with hours, address and what the test covers. Customers of a closed store will ask where to go next, and a clear local page answers that question.
- Publish price ranges for common jobs, such as vinyl liner replacement, fiberglass installation and automatic cover installation, and label them as examples with the assumptions behind them. Questions about cost are answered from pages that show numbers.
- Write a fiberglass, vinyl and concrete comparison page with installation time, maintenance and cost differences. Latham expects fiberglass to be about 80% of its 2026 in-ground sales, so homeowners are asking.
- Equipment makers should publish model-level spec pages with flow rates, compatible equipment and warranty terms. Technical questions such as the best variable-speed pump route to pages that list specs.
- Keep hot tub and in-ground pool content on separate pages. The first edition found they are separate citation surfaces, so a combined page serves neither.
- Dealers should publish manufacturer training, certification and warranty status on their own pages. Hayward is expanding its dealer training hubs, and a certified dealer page gives engines something to cite.
- Announce openings, closures, ownership changes and bankruptcy milestones in dated press-release pages, and keep Wikipedia and Wikidata entries current with cited edits. Answers can keep repeating old store counts after a restructuring.
- Test monthly. Ask five engines 20 prompts per metro, including Sun Belt and non-Sun Belt cities, such as "pool supplies near [neighborhood]" and "who builds fiberglass pools near [city]", record which brands and sources appear, and compare month to month.
For help running a category audit, see 5W's GEO optimization practice. Other consolidating local-service categories are covered in the Car Wash AI Visibility Index, the Funeral and End-of-Life Services AI Visibility Index and the Local Services AI Visibility Crisis study.
What does 5W's founder say about pool and spa AI search?
"Pool and spa is a consolidated consumer category, and the consolidation maps onto AI citation share. Leslie's dominates retail. Pentair and Hayward dominate equipment. Pool Corporation dominates distribution. Master Spas dominates hot tubs. The problem is that about 91 percent of independent pool builders and service operators have almost no AI citation share regardless of local reputation. Franchise networks and the trade press are the two paths independents have to capture citation share."
Ronn Torossian, Founder and Chairman of 5W.
How was citation share modeled?
Citation shares in this index are modeled estimates built by the 5W Research Team for ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews in Q1 2026. 5W does not log live query runs, so the shares are directional benchmarks, not deterministic counts.
Sub-categories and update scope
The model covered five sub-categories: pool retailers and supply chains, equipment manufacturers, hot tub and spa makers, pool builders and service operators, and pool chemicals and consumables. This October 2026 update did not re-run the model. It corrects ownership, store-count and listing facts using company filings, press releases and trade press, and it adds the playbook. A new model run is needed to show how Leslie's Chapter 11 and other 2026 events changed any brand's share. Market-size and pool-count figures from the first edition were removed because 5W could not re-verify them.
About 5W
5W is an independent PR, creative and GEO agency founded in 2003, with no outside shareholders. It does its work in house, including media relations, site building and content. The AI Visibility Index series ranks the top 25 brands in a single consumer category by modeled AI citation share. More at www.5wpr.com and in the AI Visibility Index series.
Frequently asked questions
How were the pool and spa citation share figures calculated?
The figures are modeled estimates from 5W's Q1 2026 model of four AI engines. 5W does not log live query runs, so the shares are directional benchmarks.
Is Leslie's in bankruptcy?
Yes. Leslie's filed Chapter 11 on September 30, 2026 and plans to close 76 stores. It expects to emerge in early 2027 with its lenders as majority owners.
Who owns Pinch A Penny?
Pinch A Penny stores are independently owned franchise locations supplied by Pool Corporation's Sun Wholesale Supply business. Pool Corporation acquired that business in December 2021.
Is Latham listed on the NYSE?
No. Latham Group trades on Nasdaq under the symbol SWIM.
Are independent pool builders included in the ranking?
Yes. The model includes independents, and it estimates that about 91% of independent builders and service operators had effectively zero citation share in their own metro.
How can my pool or spa business get included in the next ranking?
Complete your location and service-area pages, publish price ranges and equipment specs, and earn coverage in trade and local press. Contact info@5wpr.com for engagement details.
