VF Corporation, parent of the Vans, Timberland, The North Face,  Jansport, Altra, and Smartwool active lifestyle brands, among others, saw VFC shares fall $1.17, or 5.8 percent, to close at $19.11 on Wednesday, January 28 after the company delivered fiscal third-quarter results that reflected a 10 percent Vans brand sales decline on a currency-neutral (CN) basis. During an analyst conference call on Wednesday, the company forecast sales at Vans would decline again in the fourth quarter and provided little indication when they would return to growth.

Vans’ sales decline in the third quarter ended December 27 was only slightly better than the 11 percent CN decline seen in the fiscal second quarter. Vans is expected to show a mid-single-digit decline in the fiscal fourth quarter while some analysts had been hoping for a return to growth given that Vans’ faced particularly easy comparisons against a 20 percent decline a year ago.

Overall guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter was slightly below analyst targets.

On the call, VF Corp. President and CEO Bracken Darrell said Vans is showing numerous signs of progress in its turnaround, including a strong response to new product offerings, successful campaigns supporting brand heat, and e-commerce returning to growth “in something like 19 quarters.” However, he cautioned it will take more time to revive store traffic.

“Overall, I feel just very, very good about Vans, but we’re gonna be patient,” said Darrell. “We’re not gonna push it. We’re not gonna force anything. We’re gonna let this thing really play out as it should. I learned one thing about turnarounds. You don’t want to force a turnaround early. You want to let it develop, and we are letting it develop.”

The stock hit came despite VF reporting third-quarter sales and earnings that topped guidance due to gains at The North Face and Timberland, driven particularly in the Americas region, as well as VF’s DTC channel marking its first positive DTC quarter in several years.

Third Quarter Results Handily Tops Expectations
Net sales in the quarter, including Dickie’s sales until it was sold in mid-December, rose 1.5 percent to $2.88 billion. Adjusted to exclude the sale of Dickie’s, total revenues grew 4 percent on a reported basis and 2 percent on a CN basis. Adjusted results topped guidance that had called for sales to decline in the range of 3 percent to 1 percent on a CN basis year-over-year.

On an adjusted basis, and excluding Dickie’s, EPS declined to 58 cents a share from 61 cents a year ago, but came in well ahead of analysts’ consensus target of 45 cents.

Operating earnings on an adjusted basis improved 7.2 percent to $341 million. VF had guided adjusted operating income in the range of $275 million to $305 million.

VF said the operating income improvement was supported by mix benefits and sourcing savings, resulting in lower product costs offsetting tariffs impact.

Gross margins gained 10 basis points to 57.0 percent on an adjusted basis, exceeding guidance calling for margins to be down versus last year. Lower discounts helped offset the initial impacts from tariffs.

SG&A expense declined 0.7 percent to $1.31 billion, and was down 20 basis points to 44.8 percent on an adjusted basis, to 44.9 percent of net sales.

By region, Americas’ sales were up 2 percent to $1.54 billion and gained 6 percent on an adjusted basis excluding Dickie’s, marking its strongest performance in over three years.

EMEA sales were up 2 percent (+4 percent CN) to $928.7 million. On an adjusted basis, EMEA sales were up 5 percent (-3 percent CN). APAC sales were $408.4 million, down 6 percent (-7 percent CN). On an adjusted basis, APAC sales were down 4 percent on both a reported and currency-neutral basis.

By channel, DTC sales reached $1.63 billion, up 4 percent (+1 percent CN). On an adjusted basis excluding Dickie’s, DTC sales were up 6 percent (+4 percent CN). Wholesale sales reached $1.25 billion, down 1 percent (-5 percent CN) year over year. On an adjusted basis, wholesale sales were up 3 percent (-1 percent CN).

Reportable Segment Information – Constant Currency Basis
(in $ thousands)

Vans Currency-Neutral Sales Drop 10 Percent
Vans’ sales declined 8 percent (-10 percent currency-neutral) in the quarter to $557.6 million, in line with expectations. On a constant-currency basis, sales were down 8 percent in the Americas, 13 percent in EMEA and 20 percent in APAC. One highlight was online strength in the Americas and in EMEA, which led to in Vans achieving quarterly global e-commerce growth for the first time in over four years, led by the Americas.

“We continue to make progress here, and we’re seeing green shoots,” Darrell assured analysts.

He said new products delivered growth again for Vans in the quarter, with “consistently strong” sales from the Super Low Pro, the skate loafer. He added that “elevation, innovation, and newness are also increasingly visible and having an impact across our icons.” He said for the Authentic and Slip-On are seeing “improving trends” and benefiting from interest in skate-inspired shoes from luxury designers.

The K-pop Demon Hunters collaboration, launched in early December, saw a strong response and was brought to market in only ten weeks from idea to store shelf. In marketing, the Meet The Vans holiday campaign “featured lifestyle product and drove online energy during the gift-giving holiday period,” said Darrell.

Darrell said Vans’ partnership with SZE, the R&B singer who joined Vans as its first creative director last August, will be more evident in the latter part of this year. He said, “Just last week, SZA was in Paris at Paris Fashion Week, seated in the front row at the Louis Vuitton and Dior fashion shows, wearing bespoke Vans, old school and authentic, bejeweled with gemstones by New York-based jewelry designer Rachel Goatley. We’ll see more of SZA and her artistic vision for the brand in the coming months. In summary, Vans continues to make progress.”

Still, in the Q&A session of the call, Darrell declined to estimate when the positive e-commerce growth will translate to a return to growth overall. He said, “I’ve just so carefully avoided ever saying, ‘When will the brand turn positive?’ And I’ll do it again? But I would say it is a very good sign. I think we’ve got we also have just a lot of there’s a lot of good, brand discussion now happening, you know, at the tier-zero accounts. You know, we’ve really got strong interest in our very premium elevated product that we’re launching, which we’re bringing down into our channels and over time into the wholesale channels too. So, I really love the path that we’re on.”

The North Face Outperformance Driven By Americas Region
The North Face’s sales grew 8 percent (+5 percent currency-neutral) in the quarter to $1.36 billion, ahead of expectations. On a constant-currency basis, sales grew 15 percent in the Americas with double-digit growth across both DTC and wholesale channels. As expected, sales on a CN declined 2 percent in the EMEA region and 3 percent in APAC.

“Both DTC and wholesale were up globally,” said Darrell. “In the quarter, all product categories were up versus last year with strength in performance apparel and footwear, which was up double digits again this quarter.”

He noted that TNF continues to benefit from moves to expand product offering in its premium Summit Series, which is seeing double-digit growth in all regions.

He added, “We’re making inroads as well into elevated products and elevated fabrication” noting The North Face released a leather jacket priced at $1,100 that sold out in less than twenty-four hours  He added, “The brand was again recognized for design and innovation through multiple awards, including the top outdoor brand in America, in Times the world’s best brands of 2025 list. You might remember we also won Fast Company’s 2025 innovation by design award, Times Best Innovations of 2025, and the Popular Science 50 greatest inventions or innovations of 2025.

The second installment of TNF’s collaboration with Skims also delivered strong results in the quarter.

Aligned with a goal of elevating its product offering, the brand during the quarter opened its largest global flagship store in New York on 5th Avenue with the location delivering “strong results in its initial weeks of trading.” He said TNF also continues to “refine and advance our marketing tactics. Our social-first marketing approach is driving brand heat while broadening reach, and Q3 marked our strongest social-first performance to date.”

Darrell also called out the potential benefit from long-time ambassador Alex Honnold, who this past weekend became set the record for the biggest urban free solo climb in history, climbing the 1,667-foot skyscraper Taipei 101 in Taiwan in an event broadcast live in Neflix.

In the Q&A section, Darrell said The North Face’s “underlying business was very strong in The Americas” in the quarter, although he also believes the performance is “more a reflection of the fact that we were just very weakly developed in The Americas. We have a lot of upside there.”

He noted that the brand is able to sell at notably higher prices in other regions. The declines for TNF in the EMEA region reflect “kind of a macro slowdown,” but he still feels the brand has a “really good business in EMEA.”

The softness in APAC for TNF reflects an expected slowdown following a “long period of strong growth,” marked by expanded distribution and brand elevation. He said, “We’re where we ought to be…We’re missing some products we really need to have there and [need to] get our marketing revved up even more.”

Timberland Boosted By Strong Demand For Six-Inch Boot
Timberland’s sales grew 8 percent (+5 percent currency-neutral) in the quarter to $569.7 million, with both DTC and wholesale expanding for fifth consecutive quarter. On a constant-currency basis, sales were up 9 percent in the Americas and grew 4 percent in EMEA while declining 8 percent in APAC.

“From a product perspective, the six-inch premium boot was a key driver behind the brand’s strong momentum,” said Darrell. “We’re innovating against this core icon while also continuing to develop products across other categories. The boat shoe continues to grow strongly, up double digits in all regions, and we’re developing the brand’s product lineup, including new transitional styles for the warmer season.”

Building on last quarter’s trends, search interest for the Timberland brand continued to grow in the U.S. and key EMEA markets. Darrell said, “The brand consistently shows up in key cultural moments and is embraced by celebrities everywhere, from courtside to the red carpet. As you can probably tell, I couldn’t be more excited about Timberland’s growth opportunity over the long term.”

Altra Again Leads the Other Brands Segment
In its Other Brands segment, the star again was Altra, which delivered its fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, driven by digital and key franchises in trail and road running.

“It’s clearly a smaller brand today than our top three, but I have to tell you, I love the brand’s energy and distinctive products,” said Darrell. “The potential here is large and probably underappreciated.”

He said Altra’s sales grew 23 percent versus last year, with key franchises in both trail and road running continuing to drive growth. Darrell added, “New products are delivering, including Via 2 and Timp 6. Darrell said, “We’re investing strongly in marketing, given the very high ROI. We’re well on track to exceed $250 million in revenue for Altra in fiscal ’26. But the addressable market is large and growing.”

Overall, sales in the Other Brands segment (Altra, Napapijri, Eastpak, JanSport, Kipling, Icebreaker, Smartwool) were down 12 percent on a reported basis (-15 CN) to $392.2 million.

Napapijri’s sales declined as the brand is undergoing repositioning efforts across key markets under new brand leadership, according to VF’s slide presentation supporting its analyst call. Packs (Kipling, Eastpak and JanSport) saw continued strength at Eastpak but other brands were down year over year. Icebreaker’s sales grew, driven by DTC; while Smartwool up double-digits across channels.

Executive Change
Darrell also noted that VF’s chief commercial officer, Martino Scabbia Guerrini, is stepping down from his role. He will continue to support the company as an adviser during the transition period. Brent Hyder will assume the role of chief commercial officer, in addition to his continuing role as president for The Americas that’s he’s held since last spring.

Darrell said, “I want to sincerely thank Martino for his twenty years of outstanding contributions to the company. Martino’s energy, passion, and deep focus on design and consumer-led brands have left an enduring impact on our business and on me. I’m confident this leadership team, comprised of best-in-class talent, will enable us to fulfill V.F.’s significant growth opportunities ahead.”

Outlook
For the fiscal fourth quarter, sales are expected to be flat to up 2 percent CN on an adjusted basis. Adjusted operating income is expected in the range of $10 million to $30 million. Analysts were looking for a 3.6 percent gain in sales on an adjusted basis and adjusted operating income of $30 million on average.

With the fourth-quarter guidance, VF’s guidance for the year calls for:

  • Revenue will be flat to up this year versus last year.
  • Gross margin will be at 54.5 percent or better, within striking distance of our fiscal year 2028 target of 55 percent.
  • Operating margin to be 6.5 percent or better.
  • Operating and free cash flow will be up versus last year.
  • Leverage will be 3.5 times or lower, down from 4.1 times at the end of fiscal 2025.

Image courtesy Altra