Under Armour reported third-quarter revenue of $1.4 billion, down 6%, and its seventh straight quarter of year-over-year revenue declines. But Wall Street cheered the news, as the figure bested analyst expectations of a 10% fall, and the sportswear brand raised its 2025 fiscal year forecast.
The stock rose as much as 11% in pre-market trading, stabilizing around a 4% rise after the earnings call at the market open.
Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank attributed the financial results to an updated product strategy, less discounting, and the company’s shift to a category-led operating model. Earnings per share were $0.08 and ahead of the $0.04 consensus.
“[North America] wholesale appears to be the main driver of the sales beat, a positive sign that the brand isn’t as weak in that channel as feared,” Paul Lejuez, Citigroup analyst, wrote in an initial report to the earnings news.
North America revenue was $844 million—down 6%—and represented 60% of Under Armour’s revenue. Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) was the best-performing region, with revenue up 5% to $288 million.
The company raised its guidance for the year for revenue to be down 10%, versus low double digits, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.28-0.30, compared to $0.24-0.27.
On the earnings call, CFO David Bergman addressed potential increases in U.S. tariffs on imported goods. Under Armour sources roughly 3% of its goods from China and less than that from Mexico, and the company has no manufacturing relationships in Canada. “Given these facts, the current tariffs proposals are not expected to impact our business significantly,” Bergman said.
Plank returned to the CEO chair on April 1 of last year after the once high-flying brand he founded sputtered, failing to deliver in the marketplace and for investors. The company’s market cap topped $22 billion in 2015 but dipped below $3 billion last April.
In November, the stock soared 27% after reporting second-quarter earnings. It marked the second-best one-day share performance since its IPO in 2005. But those gains disappeared over the last three months and closed Wednesday at $8.24 and below where it traded before the November jump.
In addition to Plank, other top executives joined the Baltimore-based brand last year, including Yassine Saidi as chief product officer and Eric Liedtke as executive vice president of brand strategy.
