Puma's shares sank 22% to their lowest in nine years today, a day after the German sportswear group issued disappointing forecasts for the first quarter and for 2025 amid weak demand in its US and Chinese markets.
Weak quarterly sales and annual profit announced in January have raised concerns over Puma's ability to compete with bigger rivals Adidas and Nike, while fending off newer, fast-growing brands such as On Running and Hoka.
Puma said late last night that its annual currency-adjusted sales would grow in a low- to mid-single-digit percentage rate, compared with 4.4% growth to €8.82 billion in 2024.
It had previously expected 2025 growth to be stronger than in 2024.
"While expectations have lowered recently, we still think this guidance is below the most conservative estimates and raises more questions," analysts at Barclays wrote in a note to investors.
The group forecast adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of €520m to €600m for 2025, before a one-time charge of up to €75m related to its cost-cutting programme.
"Overall, investors were looking for a weaker guidance with potentially a flat to small decline in EBIT year-on-year," said analyst Adam Cochrane at Deutsche Bank.
The company said its quarterly currency-adjusted sales were forecast to grow in a low single-digit percentage, below last year's level, with "significantly" lower operating earnings for the same period.
"Our outlook for 2025 is below the expectations we set a year ago, both in terms of top and bottom lines," CEO Arne Freundt said in a statement.
The German sportswear brand had reported lower than expected fourth-quarter sales and a drop in annual profit at the end of January, causing its shares to lose more than a fifth of their market value in a single day.
