Dive Brief:
- Birkenstock’s fourth quarter revenue grew 15% year over year to 526 million euros (about $617 million at press time), per a company release Thursday. The footwear company reported double-digit revenue growth across all geographic regions, with Asia Pacific seeing the largest increase.
- The brand’s net profit improved 79% to 94 million euros, with both direct-to-consumer and wholesale revenue growing. Meanwhile, its gross profit margin of 58.1% was down 90 basis points, mostly due to currency translation and incremental U.S. tariffs.
- For fiscal year 2026, Birkenstock expects revenue growth between 10% and 12%, reaching a range of 2.3 billion euros to 2.35 billion euros. The brand also projects gross profit margin between 57% and 57.5%. Both expectations are inclusive of currency translation and incremental tariff headwinds.
Dive Insight:
Despite the impact of U.S. tariff changes, Birkenstock executives remained positive that consumer demand was strong for its final quarter of the fiscal year.
“As we look forward into fiscal 2026, we see a continuation of the strong consumer demand and double-digit growth,” Birkenstock CEO Oliver Reichert said in a statement. “Our growth is currently only limited globally by our production capacity and desire to maintain scarcity; consumer demand remains robust globally.”
For its footprint, the brand opened 30 net new stores globally in fiscal 2025 and expects to open 40 more in the next year.
In the Americas region, Birkenstock reported full-year revenue growth of 15%, led by its wholesale channel “where the company continues to take share with key partners,” per the press release. Birkenstock in the Americas opened six new stores in fiscal 2025, bringing the total number of owned stores in the region to 14.
Analysts, while pleased by Birkenstock’s revenue beat for the quarter, remarked less positive market reaction to its fiscal 2026 outlook.
“Birkenstock’s shares are down about 10% in premarket trading given the surprising downtick in anticipated revenue growth in fiscal 2026,” William Blair analysts said in an emailed note. “We view the margin compression as temporary given the impact of currency and tariffs … We continue to expect sales over the next few years to be bolstered by ramping production, DTC expansion, white-space categories/geographies, and favorable product mix on premiumization and an expanded closed-toe assortment.”
There is still opportunity for growth, according to an emailed note from Guggenheim analysts led by Simeon Siegel.
“We expect questions around [gross margin] and channel mix dynamics but continue to see among the strongest constant currency growth in our coverage flowing through to industry leading adjusted EBITDA margins, all while healthy cash flow deleverages the balance sheet,” Guggenheim analysts said. “We continue to favor BIRK’s positioning as a strong brand with ongoing whitespace ahead.”