Arc'teryx and Salomon drive Amer Sports' Q2 revenue and profitability

For the second quarter ended June 30, 2026, Amer Sports has delivered results that significantly exceeded expectations and has once again raised its targets for 2026. Behind the 32 percent revenue growth, the group is benefiting primarily from a shift in mix, strong direct-to-consumer progression and spectacular expansion across Asia.

A few years ago, Amer Sports was best known as the owner of a portfolio of sports brands ranging from Salomon to Wilson, including Atomic and Peak Performance. The Finnish group had, however, a fairly common weakness for an equipment manufacturer of its size: a portfolio in which brands did not all share the same growth trajectory or the same level of profitability.

The second-quarter 2026 results tell a different story. Amer Sports has just reported 1.63 billion dollars in quarterly revenue, up 32 percent year-over-year (YoY) and up 30 percent at constant exchange rates. All three divisions grew by double digits, with a clear advantage for outdoor and technical apparel. The group has once again raised its annual targets, now aiming for approximately 24 percent revenue growth in 2026.

The market had anticipated approximately 1.54 billion dollars in revenue and 0.10 dollars in adjusted earnings per share. Amer Sports ultimately reported 0.22 dollars in adjusted EPS — more than double the estimate available prior to publication.

What is most interesting, however, is not simply the gap between forecasts and results. It is what these figures reveal about the group's new economic model.

Arc'teryx and Salomon reshape Amer Sports' profile

An initial reading of the results confirms the position that two brands have taken in Amer Sports' trajectory. In the Technical Apparel segment, which includes Arc'teryx, revenue reached 674 million dollars, up 32 percent. Comparable growth across stores and e-commerce reached 17 percent. Adjusted operating margin rose to 18.8 percent, compared with 14.1 percent a year earlier.

The performance is particularly notable because it does not rest solely on new store openings. Amer Sports reported 34 percent direct-to-consumer (DTC) growth in this division and 27 percent wholesale growth. Eight additional Arc'teryx stores were opened during the quarter.

The group also highlighted the progression of its womenswear segment, which now represents one of Arc'teryx's principal growth drivers. Women's sales grew faster than other categories in the second quarter, supported by an expanded range and work on fit, colourways and dedicated product lines.

Arc'teryx maintains its technical heritage while progressively broadening its potential market. The brand appears to be seeking to move beyond a core audience of expert practitioners without sacrificing the premium positioning that underpins much of its value. This is also what enables Amer Sports to grow both its volumes and the value of each customer relationship.

The same shift in scale is evident at Salomon. The Outdoor Performance segment generated 569 million dollars in sales in the second quarter, representing 37 percent growth. Growth reached 35 percent at constant exchange rates. Adjusted operating margin reached 14.6 percent, compared with 6.6 percent a year earlier.

The momentum is primarily driven by Salomon products, notably footwear and softgoods. DTC grew by 52 percent, while wholesale gained 25 percent.

This is a key point in understanding Amer Sports' trajectory. Salomon is no longer simply gaining ground in running and outdoor. The brand is expanding its commercial territory, particularly in lifestyle footwear, with distribution progressively extended to retailers such as Foot Locker, JD Sports and Nordstrom in the US.

The group remains deliberately selective, however. Its objective is not to multiply points of sale indiscriminately, but to develop stores in "epicentres" such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Paris and London. In China, Salomon had 315 doors at the end of the quarter, and Amer Sports believes it can ultimately grow this network to between 400 and 500 points of sale.

Amer Sports is expanding the market share of its two most dynamic brands without applying the conventional playbook of broad-based expansion. Arc'teryx is opening more stores, Salomon is widening its distribution, and both are strengthening their direct relationship with the consumer. The group continues to control the channels in which its brands are present and the manner in which they are represented within them.

The result is also visible in the margins. At Arc'teryx, 32 percent sales growth is accompanied by an adjusted operating margin of 18.8 percent. At Outdoor Performance, it moves from 6.6 percent to 14.6 percent. Growth is therefore not simply translating into higher revenue — it is beginning to generate greater profitability as well.

This is arguably what makes these two brands particularly significant for the group's future. With Arc'teryx and Salomon, Amer Sports holds two labels capable of scaling up while remaining positioned in segments where technical credentials continue to justify premium pricing.

Third engine is quieter, but it changes the group's profile

Wilson tells a different story. The Ball & Racquet segment grew 24 percent to 390 million dollars. Growth is driven by tennis, across both racquets and apparel. The division benefits in particular from the launch of the Blade v10 and the development of the Tennis 360 offer. Padel has also entered the segment's top five revenue sources.

Adjusted operating margin reached 17.2 percent. This figure should be read with caution, however. It benefits significantly from tariff duty refunds, which represent 970 basis points of the quarter's margin. Excluding this effect, the improvement remains real, though considerably less striking.

Wilson is therefore less compelling than Salomon or Arc'teryx in terms of brand narrative. Its growth does demonstrate, however, that Amer Sports' model does not depend entirely on enthusiasm for outdoor.

Real change is visible in distribution channels

There is another figure that warrants almost as much attention as the group's 32 percent growth. DTC advanced 40 percent in the second quarter and now represents approximately 55 percent of Amer Sports' revenue — a record for the group. Wholesale also grew strongly, at plus 24 percent.

The impact of this shift is significant for two reasons. First, it gives Amer Sports greater control over its brands, its pricing and its customer experience. Second, DTC is mechanically more attractive when a premium brand has sufficient desirability to generate traffic without relying on aggressive promotional activity.

This model was already in motion before 2026. In its annual report, Amer Sports indicated that DTC represented 49 percent of its revenue in 2025, compared with 30 percent in 2022. The group had identified the progressive shift from wholesale to DTC as one of the principal levers for improving profitability. The second quarter shows that this strategy is not slowing — on the contrary, it is accelerating.

Asia becomes a growth engine in its own right

The geographic picture is equally revealing. Amer Sports' sales grew 60 percent in Asia-Pacific in the second quarter and 36 percent in China. The Americas accelerated to plus 26 percent, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew by 20 percent. Asia has become one of the group's preferred expansion territories, particularly for Salomon.

China accounts for a significant share of new Salomon and Wilson store openings. The group plans a further 45 net Salomon openings in China across the full year of 2026, while also seeking to increase the size and productivity of its existing stores.

Amer Sports' objective appears to be not only to sell more product in a region where demand is growing rapidly, but also to build distribution networks capable of sustainably supporting the value of its brands.

Margins tell a more compelling story than revenue

Revenue is substantial, but the margin picture deserves closer attention. Adjusted gross margin reached 65.8 percent, compared with 58.7 percent a year earlier. A significant portion of this improvement stems from an exceptional item — tariff duty refunds — which contributed 390 basis points.

Amer Sports nonetheless estimates that the underlying improvement exceeds 300 basis points. It derives from pricing, product mix, geographic mix and DTC progression, as well as more favourable freight costs and tariff conditions.

This is where the model becomes particularly compelling from a financial standpoint. A brand such as Arc'teryx or Salomon can sell more without necessarily increasing its fixed costs at the same rate. When volume grows within existing stores and the mix shifts towards DTC, a greater share of incremental revenue flows more directly into margin.

The result is visible in adjusted operating profit, which reached 208 million dollars, up 209 percent. Adjusted operating margin moved from 5.5 percent to 12.8 percent. Even excluding the effect of tariff refunds, Amer Sports estimates that margin improved by more than three points.

The group is therefore doing something more difficult than growing its sales. It is beginning to convert that growth into profitability.

Amer Sports raises its targets again

It is on the outlook that the market will now focus its attention. Amer Sports is targeting revenue growth of approximately 24 percent for 2026, compared with a previous range of 20 to 22 percent. Expected growth is now 25 to 26 percent for Technical Apparel, 27 to 28 percent for Outdoor Performance and approximately 14 percent for Ball & Racquet.

The group has also raised its adjusted operating margin guidance to 14.2 to 14.5 percent, compared with 13.4 to 13.7 percent previously, and its adjusted EPS target to 1.27 to 1.30 dollars, compared with 1.18 to 1.23 dollars.

The comparison between divisions is particularly instructive. Amer Sports now targets an operating margin of approximately 22.5 percent for Technical Apparel, 16 to 16.5 percent for Outdoor Performance and 6.7 to 7.2 percent for Ball & Racquet.

This divergence also explains why the group's mix is reshaping its economic value. The more weight Arc'teryx and Salomon carry, the closer Amer Sports moves towards a portfolio of high-growth, premium brands with strong pricing power — rather than a generalist sports equipment manufacturer.

Group is not yet without risk

It would nonetheless be too easy to read these results as growth without trade-offs. The first issue concerns tariffs. The second quarter benefited from 50.1 million dollars in net profit linked to tariff refunds. Amer Sports notes that the majority of its refund claims have already been received.

The company is now building its 2026 forecasts on the assumption that Section 301 tariff rates will remain in place until the end of the year.

The second point concerns expenditure. Adjusted general and administrative expenses increased by 33 percent in the quarter, driven in particular by investment in Wilson Tennis 360 and corporate spending. Amer Sports now expects 240 million dollars in corporate expenditure for the year, compared with 220 million previously, primarily due to IT investment and deferred compensation. Inventories also grew by 19 percent YoY to 1.9 billion dollars. This increase is, however, significantly below the 32 percent growth in sales. Management therefore considers inventory normalisation to be progressing more quickly than anticipated.

This is broadly reassuring for a group accelerating at this pace. Growth is not, at this stage, being purchased at the cost of a disproportionate build-up of stock.

Amer Sports' ambition now extends well beyond outdoor

This quarter ultimately offers a clearer picture of what Amer Sports is seeking to build. Arc'teryx provides premium credentials and strength in technical apparel. Salomon adds a particularly compelling dimension, enabling a brand historically associated with trail and mountain to move into footwear, lifestyle and major urban centres. Wilson provides a third pillar, centred on tennis, racquet sports and, increasingly, softgoods.

The group generated 6.6 billion dollars in revenue in 2025. In light of this new trajectory, Amer Sports no longer resembles a portfolio of sports brands in recovery. It is progressively becoming a group built around several premium brands capable of gaining simultaneously in distribution, pricing and desirability.

Amer Sports now combines three levers that markets value particularly highly: growth above 20 percent, margin expansion and a strengthening balance sheet. The challenge, going forward, will be to sustain this momentum as Salomon and Arc'teryx take on greater weight within the group.

At the end of June, the group held 573 million dollars in net cash, compared with 539 million three months earlier, and expects approximately 400 million dollars in capital expenditure for the year, primarily to support its retail expansion and IT infrastructure.

As for what comes next, Amer Sports will host its Investor Day on September 17 in Annecy. It is likely on that occasion that the group will need to provide greater visibility on the scale it now envisages for Arc'teryx and Salomon, and on how it intends to finance this new phase of development.

About the data used

The financial and operational data in this article are drawn primarily from the second-quarter 2026 results, the investor presentation and the earnings call transcript published by Amer Sports on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, supplemented by consensus data available prior to publication and the 2025 annual report.