Birkenstock Raises 2026 Sales Forecast as Full-Price Demand Stays Strong

Birkenstock raised its fiscal 2026 sales outlook on Thursday after another quarter of double-digit growth, saying demand remained strong across its stores, website and wholesale partners and that full-price selling continued to support the brand. The German footwear maker now expects revenue to grow 15% in constant currency for the year, the top end of its previous 13% to 15% range, while adjusted EBITDA is expected to reach at least €710 million.

The company said reported full-year revenue should land at the high end of its €2.30 billion to €2.35 billion range. It left adjusted earnings-per-share guidance unchanged at €1.90 to €2.05. Birkenstock separately highlighted currency effects, U.S. tariffs and a higher expected tax rate among the pressures on profitability. The shares rose sharply after the report, trading about 17.6% higher at $43.21 at 11:03 a.m. Eastern Time.

Full-price demand supports growth across channels

Birkenstock’s fiscal third-quarter results showed revenue of €719.5 million for the three months ended June 30, up 13% from a year earlier on a reported basis and 15% in constant currency. Direct-to-consumer revenue, which includes Birkenstock’s own stores and digital business, increased 14% reported and 16% in constant currency. The company added 13 owned stores during the quarter, bringing its global total to 124.

Business-to-business revenue rose 13% on a reported basis and 15% in constant currency, supported by double-digit growth at key retail partners. Birkenstock said most of that growth came from existing doors rather than simply adding more wholesale locations, citing a broader assortment, high sales velocity and strong full-price realization. For a premium footwear brand, maintaining regular-price sales is important because it indicates that revenue growth is not being driven mainly by heavier discounting or clearance activity.

Reuters reported that direct-to-consumer sales accounted for nearly 39% of quarterly revenue. The news service also reported strong product momentum beyond Birkenstock’s core sandal business: sales of the Naples clog more than quadrupled from a year earlier, while closed-toe styles excluding the Boston clog rose more than 50%. Birkenstock itself said closed-toe products continued to gain share, led by newness in both clogs and shoes.

Growth was broad geographically. Revenue in the Americas rose 11% reported and 14% in constant currency, Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew 15% on both bases, and Asia-Pacific increased 18% reported and 23% in constant currency. Excluding Australia, where the acquisition of Birkenstock’s long-standing distributor changed the timing of reported sales, Asia-Pacific growth was close to 30%. The company also said disruption tied to conflict in the Middle East had a smaller effect than it had feared earlier in the year; Reuters reported that Birkenstock now expects a high-single-digit-million-euro second-half impact, down from its earlier estimate of €10 million to €12 million.

Higher sales guidance does not eliminate margin pressure

The quarter also showed why Birkenstock did not raise every part of its annual outlook. Gross profit was €424.9 million, but the reported gross margin slipped to 59.1% from 60.5% a year earlier, while adjusted gross margin fell 130 basis points to 59.2%. Birkenstock attributed the adjusted-margin decline mainly to unfavorable currency translation and incremental U.S. tariffs, which reduced the margin by roughly 60 basis points and 70 basis points, respectively, with product mix also weighing on profitability and better production-capacity absorption providing a partial offset.

Adjusted EBITDA rose 11% to €242 million, though the adjusted EBITDA margin declined to 33.7% from 34.4%. The quarterly performance was strong enough for Birkenstock to raise its full-year adjusted EBITDA target to at least €710 million, resulting in an expected margin of 30.2% to 30.5%, compared with the previous 30.0% to 30.5% range. Full-year adjusted gross margin guidance remained unchanged at 57.0% to 57.5%.

Reported net profit fell 15% to €109.6 million and diluted earnings per share declined to €0.60 from €0.69. The company said those figures were affected by €22 million of non-recurring, non-cash expenses tied to an accelerated share repurchase and refinancing; excluding those items, adjusted net profit rose 15% to €134 million and adjusted EPS increased 19% to €0.74. Revenue exceeded the €713.4 million average analyst estimate compiled by LSEG and cited by Reuters, while adjusted EPS came in slightly below the €0.76 estimate.

Birkenstock also raised its expected full-year tax rate to 30% to 31% from 26% to 28%, primarily because of non-deductible, non-cash expenses associated with the refinancing and share repurchase. That higher tax assumption helps explain why the company held its full-year adjusted EPS range at €1.90 to €2.05 even as it lifted the revenue and EBITDA outlook. Investors therefore received a stronger operating forecast without a corresponding increase in per-share profit guidance.

Birkenstock is pairing expansion with buybacks

Management is continuing to spend on production and retail capacity while also returning capital to shareholders. Birkenstock invested about €26 million in capital expenditures during the third quarter, primarily to add production capacity and expand its global retail operations, and kept full-year capital expenditure guidance at €110 million to €130 million. The company also completed a €230 million accelerated share repurchase on June 30, reducing its outstanding share count by about 6 million shares.

Earlier in June, Birkenstock issued €900 million of 4.50% senior notes and used part of the proceeds to repay €428.5 million of 5.25% notes. It said the additional balance-sheet liquidity could support further share repurchases of up to $500 million, subject to market conditions, debt repayments and other corporate uses. Cash and cash equivalents stood at €693.6 million at the end of June.

The buyback increased leverage relative to last year. Net leverage was 1.8 times at June 30, compared with 1.5 times at the end of September 2025, and Birkenstock now expects a full-year net leverage ratio of roughly 1.6 to 1.7 times rather than its previous 1.3 to 1.4 times range. The company’s fiscal year ends September 30, leaving one quarter for Birkenstock to deliver the raised 15% constant-currency revenue-growth target while staying within the profit and margin ranges it maintained on Thursday.