Puma Q3 2026 results: sales down 6.3% as a tariff refund props up the margin

Puma's third-quarter 2026 sales fell 6.3 percent at constant currency to €1,776.2 million, and the sportswear maker narrowed its full-year operating loss forecast to between €80 million and €130 million, according to its October 30, 2026 release. A €29.8 million tariff refund helped the margin, so the headline profit picture looks better than the underlying selling did. The other news of the quarter is ownership: ANTA Sports became Puma's largest shareholder on October 7.

What Puma reported for Q3 2026

Currency-adjusted sales were €1,776.2 million, against €1,870.1 million in the third quarter of 2025. On a reported basis the decline was 5.0 percent, helped by about 130 basis points of currency effect. Puma blames two things: the "reset measures" it started in the third quarter of 2025, and weaker consumer demand in Europe and North America, which it ties to the conflict in the Middle East.

Wholesale did the damage. It fell 9.6 percent at constant currency to €1,187.9 million, which Puma says was mainly the planned reduction of what it calls undesirable business with mass merchants, plus softer orders from retail partners. Direct-to-consumer grew 1.2 percent to €588.3 million. E-commerce rose 7.8 percent while owned stores fell 2.3 percent, and direct sales reached 33.1 percent of the total, up from 30.5 percent a year earlier.

Where sales fell and where they grew

The regional split is the clearest part of the release:

• EMEA: down 11.5 percent at constant currency to €801.2 million.
• Americas: down 8.1 percent to €580.4 million, with North America down 17.2 percent and Latin America up 1.4 percent.
• Asia/Pacific: up 10.0 percent to €394.6 million, led by low-profile sneakers such as the Speedcat. Greater China grew 3.5 percent.

By product, footwear fell 5.1 percent to €1,010.9 million, apparel fell 9.4 percent to €557.1 million and accessories fell 3.2 percent to €208.1 million. Puma pointed to running, helped by its NITRO foam technology, and to HYROX-related training products as growth areas. Core, football and some Sportstyle franchises were weak.

The margin: a refund, not a turnaround

Gross margin rose about 420 basis points to 49.5 percent from 45.4 percent. Puma credits lower sourcing prices, including tariff refund effects, along with channel mix and currency. The refund alone was €29.8 million and contributed approximately 170 basis points, by the company's own figure. By our arithmetic, that leaves roughly 250 basis points of improvement from everything else.

Costs moved the other way. Operating expenses excluding one-time effects rose 6.7 percent to €900.0 million, which pushed the expense ratio to 50.7 percent of sales from 45.1 percent. Adjusted EBIT, which strips out one-time effects, fell to €0.4 million from €26.3 million. Reported EBIT was a loss of €11.4 million. That figure includes the €29.8 million refund and €11.7 million of one-time costs tied to the cost efficiency program. Take the refund out and the reported figure would have been a loss of about €41 million, again our arithmetic from the release.

The balance sheet looked better. Inventories fell 24.3 percent to €1,608.9 million, which Puma attributes to lower purchasing. Free cash flow was €92.0 million, against negative €43.0 million a year earlier. Cash stood at €352.9 million on September 30, 2026. Lean stock matters for a brand that has been trying to stop over-discounting, but it also means fewer goods on shelves while sales are shrinking.

ANTA and the China question

On October 7, 2026, Puma announced the completion of ANTA Sports' purchase of the 29.06 percent stake previously held by Artémis SAS, making ANTA its largest shareholder. Puma said it will keep operating as an independently managed company. WWD reported that ANTA bought the stake from the Pinault family for $1.8 billion.

The release links the deal to a soft spot in China. Wholesale there declined, "reflecting more cautious order patterns following the announcement of ANTA Sports' planned acquisition of a stake in PUMA," while direct sales grew and Greater China sales rose 3.5 percent overall. WWD reported that ANTA prefers a direct-to-consumer model and that Puma's partners and distributors have reacted cautiously.

What changes is not yet known. Hoeld told journalists that Puma has engaged with ANTA to define the future operating model in China, but that there was nothing to share beyond confirming "intense conversations." WWD also reported that no immediate change was expected in fourth-quarter wholesale in China.

What the outlook says

Puma kept its sales guidance unchanged: a currency-adjusted decline in the low to mid single-digit percentage range for 2026. It narrowed its EBIT range to a loss of between €80 million and €130 million, from a previous range of €50 million to €150 million. Capital spending is now expected below €150 million, down from around €200 million.

Narrowing a range with one quarter left is a statement about visibility, not about growth. Hoeld has described 2026 as a transition year and, per WWD, expects a return to growth in 2027. The market reaction was positive: WWD reported the shares closed up 5.59 percent on the day. That is a market move, and nothing in the release promises it will last.

Our take

Puma is cleaning up on purpose, and the clean-up is visible in lower inventory, fewer mass-merchant sales and a bigger direct share. It is also visible in a sales line that has not turned. The Asia/Pacific growth is real, the North American drop of 17.2 percent is the number to watch, and the refund makes the margin look better than the trading deserves. We would wait for fourth-quarter sales and a concrete China plan from ANTA before treating 2027 growth as anything more than management's stated goal. For background on another sportswear reset, see our look at the Nike restructuring filing.