Amer Sports (AS) shares jumped Tuesday after the outdoor apparel giant reported first-quarter results that blew past Wall Street estimates and raised its full-year outlook. The company, which owns brands like Arc'teryx, Salomon, and Wilson, is riding a wave of demand for technical apparel and outdoor gear.
For the quarter, Amer Sports posted adjusted earnings of 38 cents per share, well above the 30 cents analysts were looking for. Revenue came in at $1.946 billion, up 32% from a year ago and ahead of the $1.835 billion consensus. The growth was broad-based: technical apparel revenue rose 33%, Outdoor Performance revenue surged 42% to $714 million, and Ball & Racquet Sports revenue increased 13% to $347 million.
The company also flexed its pricing power and operational efficiency. Adjusted gross margin expanded by 200 basis points to 60%, while adjusted operating margin improved 160 basis points to 17.4%. Adjusted operating profit climbed 46% to $339 million. Inventories did rise 33% to $1.688 billion, but the company ended the quarter with $684 million in cash and equivalents.
CFO Andrew Page summed up the confidence in a statement: "Looking ahead, given the momentum from our highest-margin Arc'teryx franchise, accelerating Salomon Softgoods growth, plus the solid foundation of our equipment franchises, we have the confidence to raise our 2026 sales, margin, and EPS guidance."
And raise they did. Amer Sports now expects full-year 2026 GAAP earnings of $1.18 to $1.23 per share, up from prior guidance of $1.10 to $1.15 and above the analyst estimate of $1.17. Revenue guidance was lifted to a range of $7.879 billion to $8.011 billion, compared to the previous $7.617 billion to $7.748 billion and the consensus of $7.760 billion.
For the second quarter, the company sees GAAP earnings of 8 to 10 cents per share, in line with estimates, and revenue of $1.508 billion to $1.533 billion, above the $1.488 billion consensus.
Investors liked what they heard. Amer Sports shares were up 4.83% at $34.75 at the time of publication Tuesday.
