Sales decline at Under Armour: Home market of North America weighs on results

Under Armour concluded fiscal year 2025 with a significant drop in sales. Nevertheless, the US sportswear manufacturer believes that it is well on its way to realigning its brand. “We are in the process of reigniting our brand relevance,” explained chief executive officer (CEO) Kevin Plank on Wednesday, when presenting the latest financial figures.

In the past fiscal year, Under Armour recorded a 9 percent drop in sales to 5.2 billion dollars. The domestic market of North America developed particularly weakly, where revenues fell by 11 percent to 3.1 billion dollars. The international business also suffered losses. Here, sales fell by 6 percent to 2.1 billion dollars. While the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region developed stably, the Asia-Pacific region recorded a significant minus of 13 percent. In Latin America, revenues fell by 6 percent.

In the wholesale business, sales fell by 8 percent to 3 billion dollars. In direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales, the decline was even lower at 11 percent to 2.1 billion dollars. The e-commerce sector was particularly hard hit, with revenues falling by 23 percent due to planned cuts in discount promotions. The share of online business in total D2C sales was 35 percent last year.

The development in the individual product groups showed a similar picture: sales in the apparel segment fell by 9 percent to 3.5 billion dollars, while the footwear sector recorded a 13 percent decline to 1.2 billion dollars. One bright spot was the accessories sector, which closed with a slight plus of one percent to 411 million dollars.

Adjusted profit despite net loss

Under Armour had to report an operating loss of 185 million dollars. However, adjusted for special effects, the company achieved an operating profit of 198 million dollars. The bottom line was a net loss of 201 million dollars, while the adjusted net profit was 135 million dollars. The diluted loss per share amounted to 0.47 dollars, the adjusted earnings per share were 0.31 dollars.

For the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2026, Under Armour continues to expect headwinds in view of the persistently difficult macroeconomic environment. Sales are expected to fall by 4 to 5 percent. A decline of a similar magnitude is expected in North America, while the Asia-Pacific region must expect a decline in the mid-teens percentage range. In the EMEA region, on the other hand, the company anticipates growth in the high single-digit percentage range.

The gross margin is expected to improve slightly, while operating expenses - adjusted for one-off effects - are likely to be slightly below the previous year's level. The adjusted operating result is expected to be between 20 and 30 million dollars, the adjusted earnings per share are expected to be between 0.01 and 0.03 dollars.