Polaris CEO Frets Over Economy After Covid Drove Blowout Quarter

(Bloomberg) -- Polaris Inc. is one of the few companies to benefit from pandemic-related shutdowns, but Chief Executive Officer Scott Wine isn’t celebrating.

Offering consumers relief from coronavirus-induced cabin fever helped the maker of snowmobiles, off-road vehicles and motorcycles post blowout second-quarter earnings Tuesday that beat the highest analyst estimate and lift earnings guidance for the full year. Still, the company’s CEO is cautious about the outlook.

“The risk we have is not really the pandemic because in a weird way the pandemic helps us,” Wine said in an interview. “I am very concerned about the economy, the election, rhetoric with China -- that’s more of a concern for us than anything else right now.”

He said Polaris expects “moderate growth” in the second half of the year.

The Medina, Minnesota-based company cut jobs and loaded up on cash to weather the viral storm earlier this year, only to see demand surge as stir-crazy consumers flocked to socially distant outdoor activities.

Shares of the company rose 7.4% to close Tuesday at $105.26, the highest in nearly two years.

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