Puma Sales Slump Continues in Q3, Company Revises Guidance

BERLIN – In the midst of a reset, Puma saw another disappointing performance in the third quarter, prompting it to revise down its low forecast for full-year operating profit.

Puma said sales fell 5 percent to 1.78 billion eurosin the three months to Sept. 30. This represented a 6.3 percent drop in currency adjusted terms.

“Our third-quarter performance was in line with expectations as we continued to move Puma through this transition year while laying the foundation for future growth,” chief executive officer Arthur Hoeld said in a statement.

Hoeld took on a moribund Puma in July 2025 and promised to clean up the brand’s inventory and stop over-discounting at mass merchants. That meant 2026 was to be a year of transiformation and the brand should return to growth in 2027, he said.

The third-quarter sales decline was due to reset measures initiated during the same period a year ago, as well as the impact of the volatile geopolitical situation on consumer sentiment, the company explained.

Sales in Puma’s home market — also its biggest — of Europe plus the Middle East and Africa fell 12 percent to 801.2 million euros.

In the Americas, they slid 2 percent to 580.4 million euros. In North America, sales fell more than in Latin America, where the brand just managed to hang onto growth.

Asia Pacific provided a bright spot, with sales rising 7.5 percent to 394.6 million euros. This was due to ongoing momentum for Puma’s low profile looks from the Speedcat family, footwear originally designed for motor racing in the 1990s, and its partnership with the fitness trend Hyrox.

While business was good around Asia, the company said momentum in China was a little slower because of its new relationship with Anta Sports there.

Anta, the third-largest sportswear firm in China, is now Puma’s largest shareholder in a deal that was finalized this month. Anta prefers a direct-to-consumer model and since the deal was announced, partners and distributors in China have been more cautious, Hoeld has previously noted.

Analysts have said the Anta deal could drive Puma’s growth next year and in his statement on Friday, Hoeld said he saw the deal as “a strong vote of confidence in our strategy, our management team and our future.”

In terms of Puma’s product categories, footwear sales dropped 3.3 percent to 1.01 billion euros. This was because of muted performance in certain core looks but was offset somewhat by growing momentum in the low profile looks and new running shoes, the company said.

Apparel sales slumped 8.9 percent, while accessory sales declined 2.1 percent.

Over the third quarter, the brand’s operating profit, or EBIT, also decreased, going from 16.2 million euros in the black over the same period last year to 11.4 million in the red this year. This was the result of one-off effects related to the company’s cost efficiency program, it said.

Puma’s third quarter broadly met market expectations. Analysts had expected sales of 1.76 billion euros, a sales dip of 6.2 percent and EBIT around minus 10 million euros.

Given the results of the third quarter, Puma said it would be adjusting its outlook for the full year. While it still expects sales to continue to decline in the low- to mid-single percentages, it now forecasts EBIT will come in somewhere between minus 80 million and minus 130 million euros.

This was down from its previous forecast of minus 50 million to minus 150 million euros.

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