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If You Invested $1000 in Thor Industries 10 Years Ago, This Is How Much You'd Have Now

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How much a stock's price changes over time is a significant driver for most investors. Not only can price performance impact your portfolio, but it can help you compare investment results across sectors and industries as well.

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, also plays a role in investing, particularly with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Thor Industries (THO - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to THO for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Thor Industries' Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Thor Industries' main business drivers.

Founded in 1980, Indiana-based Thor Industries is the largest manufacturer of RVs in the world. The American company builds a variety of RVs in North America and Europe, and sells those vehicles along with related parts and accessories to independent, non-franchise dealers throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

Thor, through its subsidiaries, is the leading RV maker in North America in terms of unit sales and revenues.  The company’s North American operating subsidiaries include Airstream, Thor Motor Coach, Keystone, Hearland, KZ and Jayco. Under the company’s decentralised structure, each of the subsidiaries operate independently. Thor is the #1 player in travel trailers, fifth wheels and motorized RVs in North America.

It has emerged as one of the leaders in the European RV industry through the acquisition of Erwin Hymer Group (EHG), which was closed last February. European RV operations include eight production facilities that manufactured noted brands within Europe including Hymer, Buerstner, Carado, Eriba, Etrusco, Laika, Xplore, Elddis, Compass, Buccaneer, and CrossCamp.

Thor operates under three reportable segments: North American Towable Recreational Vehicles (accounting for 52% of total RV revenues in fiscal 2021), North American Motorized Recreational Vehicles (22%) and European Recreational Vehicles (26%). Thor reported consolidated backlog of $16.86 billion at the end of fiscal 2021, reflecting a meteoric year-over-year rise of 190%. 

As the RV market is fiercely competitive amid low barriers of entry, Thor counts Forest River, Inc. and Winnebago Industries, Inc. as its closest peers within North American towable and motorized segments. Its major competitors within the European segment include Trigano, Hobby/Fendt and Knaus Tabbert.

The recreational vehicle industry is influenced by many strong macroeconomic factors and is extremely sensitive to overall strength of the economy. The Global RV Market has enjoyed exponential growth since 2008 on the back of rising popularity of van life movement among millennials and changing customer lifestyles. The demand for RVs in luxury camping and travel amenities is likely to keep growing in the future.

Bottom Line

While anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in Thor Industries ten years ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.

According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in July 2012 would be worth $2,869.01, or a 186.90% gain, as of July 6, 2022. Investors should keep in mind that this return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.

Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 180.16% and gold's return of 7.18% over the same time frame.

Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for THO.

Buyout of Germany-based EHG has made Thor the largest recreational vehicle (RV) manufacturer in the world. Acquisition of TiffinHomes has further expanded its existing portfolio and bolstered revenues. Airxcel buyout has enhanced Thor’s supply chain business in North America and Europe. The RV maker is committed to enhance shareholders value and has raised regular dividend for 10 straight years. However, the company is facing temporary hiccups owing to supply constraints and shortage of various RV components in Europe as well as North America. Also, rising commodity prices is likely to clip gross margins, going forward. Stiff competition within the RV industry is also a concern. Further, the firm is bearing the brunt of escalating operating costs over the past few years. Thus, the stock warrants a cautious stance.
 

The stock has jumped 5.16% over the past four weeks. Additionally, no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 5 higher, for fiscal 2022; the consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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