China's Athleisure Boom Is Not Lifting Every Brand Equally Amer Sports (NYSE:AS) reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue growth of 32% on a reported basis, or 30% excluding currency effects, as demand remained strong across its technical apparel, outdoor performance and ball-and-racket businesses. Chief Executive Officer James Zheng said all segments, geographies and sales channels posted double-digit growth during the quarter ended June 30. The company's largest growth engines—Arc'teryx, Salomon Softgoods and Wilson Tennis 360—each grew more than 20%, according to Chief Financial Officer Andrew Page. → Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street's Expectations for Margins Braze Blazes Ahead on Q1 2027 Earnings Beat, Raised Guidance Direct-to-consumer revenue increased 40% and represented about 55% of group revenue, a record high for the company.
Wholesale revenue rose 24%. By geography, Asia-Pacific revenue climbed 60%, Greater China grew 36%, the Americas increased 26% and EMEA rose 20%. Amer Sports said adjusted gross margin increased 710 basis points year over year to 65.8%.
The result included a one-time net tariff-refund benefit of $64.3 million, equal to 390 basis points of gross-margin benefit. Excluding that refund, the company said underlying gross margin expanded by more than 300 basis points, aided by pricing, product mix, channel mix, geographic mix, transportation costs and duties. → AMG's Alternatives Boom Powers Record Growth Apparel Earnings Winners and Losers: Ralph Lauren Takes Off Adjusted operating margin rose to 12.8% from 5.5% a year earlier. Excluding the tariff refund, adjusted operating margin expanded 340 basis points.
Adjusted net income reached $127 million, compared with $36 million in the prior-year quarter, while adjusted diluted earnings per share increased to $0.22 from $0.06. The tariff refunds added about $0.08 per share to quarterly adjusted EPS, Page said. The company ended the quarter with $573 million in net cash.
Inventory was up 19% from a year earlier, below the company's 32% revenue growth rate. Operating cash flow for the first half totaled $339 million, compared with $108 million a year earlier. → Microsoft's Maia 300 Chip Targets NVIDIA's AI Dominance Technical apparel revenue rose 32% to $674 million, led by Arc'teryx. Direct-to-consumer growth in the segment was 34%, including a 17% omnichannel increase, while wholesale revenue grew 27%.
Segment adjusted operating margin expanded 470 basis points to 18.8%, including a 170-basis-point benefit from tariff refunds. Zheng highlighted Arc'teryx's women's business as its fastest-growing category, saying new products and seasonal colorways represented more than 60% of women's sales in the quarter. Footwear also posted strong double-digit growth across regions, led by existing products such as the Norvan LD 4 trail shoe and Konseal trekking shoes, as well as the recently introduced Sylan 2 trail-running shoe.
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