Wolverine Worldwide is raising its outlook for the year while touting its eighth consecutive quarter of growth.
The Rockford, Mich.-based footwear company said total revenue in the third quarter of 2026 was $505.4 million, up 7.5 percent from $470.3 million the same time last year.
Net earnings in the quarter were $67.1 million, up from $26.3 million a year ago. Diluted earnings per share in Q3 were 78 cents, up from 30 cents in the same year-ago quarter.
These results beat analysts’ expectations, which called for net sales in Q3 at between $495.3 million to $505 million and earnings per share between 45 cents and 48 cents, according to Yahoo Finance.
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By brand, Merrell and Saucony continued to lead the way in Q3 in terms of growth. At Merrell, net sales in the period were $178.2 million, a 6.5 percent increase from $167.3 million last year. At Saucony, net sales were $158.9 million, a 19.4 percent increase from $133.1 million just a year ago.
At the company’s namesake Wolverine brand, net sales declined 4.1 percent to $43.5 million in the first quarter from $45.3 million a year ago. And at Sweaty Betty, net sales decreased 7 percent in Q3 to $41.4 million from $44.5 million.
The company’s international revenue in Q3 jumped 11.7 percent to $271.2 million from year ago levels, while its direct-to-consumer revenue was up 2.2 percent to $109.1 million. Net debt at the end of the quarter was $399 million, down $143 million, or approximately 26.4 percent, compared to the prior year.
The company said on Thursday that it received International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariff refunds in the third quarter totaling $35.3 million, including interest.
As of October 3, $32.6 million was recorded as a reduction to cost of goods sold, $1.3 million was recorded as a reduction to interest expense, and $1.4 million was recorded as a reduction to inventory, the company said.
In the third quarter of 2026, Wolverine noted that the IEEPA tariff refunds benefited gross margin, operating margin, and adjusted operating margin by approximately 640 basis points each and, net of tax, diluted earnings per share and adjusted diluted earnings per share by approximately 31 cents each.
Chris Hufnagel, Wolverine Worldwide’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement that the company delivered a “strong” third quarter performance, led by its two largest brands and disciplined execution across the business.
“This quarter, now our eighth consecutive quarter of growth, is further evidence that our transformation story is also a growth story — with continued earnings improvement and a healthier balance sheet providing us greater capacity to invest behind our brands and the opportunities we see ahead,” Hufnagel noted.
The CEO added that based on Wolverine Worldwide’s year-to-date results and its expectations for the final quarter of the year, the company is raising its outlook for 2026.
The company now expects revenue for the year to be between approximately $2.00 billion to $2.01 billion, representing growth of approximately 6.7 percent to 7.2 percent compared to 2025. This compares to the previous outlook which called for revenue of approximately $1.98 billion to $2.00 billion.
Plus, diluted earnings per share are now expected to be in the range of $1.88 to $1.92, including an approximate 32 cent benefit from IEEPA tariff refunds. This is up from the company’s previous guidance, which called for diluted earnings per share in the range of $1.48 to $1.58.
