Rocky Brands, Inc. President & CEO Jason Brooks told participants on a Q4 conference call with analysts that the quarter delivered strong results that reflect the momentum that has been building in the company’s business. He said performance during the holiday season was particularly encouraging, highlighted by exceptional demand in the direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel.

The Rocky Brands portfolio includes the Rocky, Georgia Boot, Durango, Lehigh, The Original Muck Boot Company, Xtratuf, and Ranger brands.

Fourth Quarter Review
Fourth quarter net sales increased 9.1 percent to $139.7 million, compared to $128.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. The growth rate was said to be the highest growth rate of the year and the company’s highest rate in over 3 years.

  • Wholesale segment sales for the fourth quarter decreased 2.1 percent to $79.6 million, compared to $81.3 million for the 2024 Q4 period.
  • Retail segment sales for the fourth quarter increased 30.8 percent to $57.0 million, compared to $43.6 million for the prior-year Q4 period.
  • Contract Manufacturing segment sales decreased 1.6 percent y/y to $3.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Xtratuf
Brooks said the Xtratuf brand delivered another exceptional quarter, continuing its position as the company’s fastest-growing brand with strong performance across all channels, led by e-commerce, which was up almost triple digits.

The Wholesale business for the brand was said to be up nicely, driven by traditional big box, outdoor specialty retailers and regional partners across the Southeast and Pacific Northwest.

“Product-wise, our most popular styles dominated sales throughout the quarter, including our core ankle deck boots, including our sports and legacy collection,” Brooks noted. He also called out a standout performance from the new cold weather collection, which are fleece-lined versions of the brand’s classic ankle deck boots for both men and women. The collection apparently “sold very well” and proved attractive to both new customers and existing Xtratuf fans in colder environments.

“The Q4 launch of our new Sesame Street licensed product was also well received, particularly through e-commerce, adding momentum to our rapidly growing kids business,” he added.

Muck
Muck also reportedly had “a very good quarter” with sales increasing in the low 20 percent range, according to commentary from Brooks.

“Growth was driven by our branded website, which was up mid-double digits, while marketplace volumes more than doubled, driven in part by two successful Good Morning America Deals and Steals events during the quarter,” the CEO said. “This strong performance reflects our inventory position compared to 2024, successful National Muck Day execution in early October, favorable weather conditions in early December and continued strong brand demand.”

Brooks said the women’s Muck business “continues to excel,” led by the Arctic Sport II series and continued success with the women’s Originals series. He said they also saw strength in the men’s Arctic collection, particularly in the Midwest, West and the Rocky Mountain regions, while the kids’ business also experienced strong growth with the added Bone Collector kids boots contributing to the uptick.

Durango
Durango reportedly finished the quarter with a good December performance, especially in farm & ranch accounts that benefited from increased foot traffic due to the wet and snowy weather conditions (in some markets). He said that momentum was offset by softness in the key account base year-over-year due to bulk buy timing and carryover inventory impacts that negatively impacted wholesale sell-in.

Brooks said Durango.com continues to perform well, increasing in low double digits in Q4 as legacy collections and new styles from the Shyloh series were in high demand.

He said the brand is adding new men’s and women’s Square Toe series for Spring ’26 at key price points. He added that they are being carried by key accounts and large farm & ranch retailers.

Georgia Boot
It was also a tale of  two channels for Georgia Boot in the fourth quarter, Brooks noted.  He said Wholesale results were lackluster, due in part to timing of certain customer orders. The issues was said to be partially offset by a strong double-digit gain in e-commerce, driven by a strong holiday season online for the brand.

“Our strongest offerings include items with the trending BOA lacing system across categories, including the technically Carbon Flex wedge, the LTX Logger and the general work Durablend styles,” the CEO said. “We are pleased to share that the BOA Carbon Flex wedge will be prominently featured at one of Georgia Boot’s largest customers beginning in Q1 2026. We have also been expanding our Super Light concept, launching a wedge version for the Spring ’26 that was picked up by a large farm & ranch customer in the Pacific Northwest.”

Rocky Work, Outdoor & Western
Rocky Work, Outdoor & Western reportedly ended Q4 on a positive note as favorable boot weather drove sales of insulated and waterproof products across brick-and-mortar and e-commerce channels.

Profitability & Expenses
Gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2025 was $57.7 million, or 41.3 percent of net sales, compared to $53.2 million, or 41.5 percent of net sales, in Q4 2024. The 20-basis point decrease in gross margin was said to be primarily attributable to a decrease in Wholesale gross margins due to higher tariffs, partially offset by an increase in Retail segment gross margins and a higher percentage of Retail net sales, which carry higher gross margins compared to the Wholesale and Contract manufacturing segment gross margins.

Operating expenses were $48.1 million, or 34.5 percent of net sales, for the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to $44.7 million, or 34.9 percent of net sales, for the same period a year ago.

  • Adjusted operating expenses were $47.4 million and $40.0 million for the fourth quarters of 2025 and 2024, respectively. Adjusted operating expense excludes $0.7 million of acquisition-related amortization in the fourth quarter of 2025, $4.0 million of expense related to trademark impairment, and $0.8 million of acquisition-related amortization costs in the fourth quarter of 2024.
  • Adjusted operating expense margin was 34.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with 31.2 percent in the year-ago period.

The increase in operating expenses was reportedly driven by higher logistics costs associated with the increase in Retail sales, as well as higher incentive compensation and other discretionary spending.

Income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2025 was $9.6 million, or 6.9 percent of net sales, compared to $8.5 million, or 6.6 percent of net sales for the same period a year ago.

  • Adjusted income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2025 was $10.3 million, or 7.4 percent of net sales, compared to Adjusted income from operations of $13.2 million, or 10.3 percent of net sales, for the 2024 Q4 period.

Interest expense for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $2.5 million compared with $3.0 million a year ago. The decrease compared to the year-ago period was driven by lower interest rates as well as lower debt levels.

The company reported fourth quarter 2025 net income of $6.5 million, or 86 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $4.8 million, or 64 cents per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2024.

  • Adjusted net income for the fourth quarter of 2025 was $7.2 million, or 94 cents per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $8.9 million, or $1.19 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Full Year 2025 Overview

  • Net sales increased 6.2 percent to $482.0 million versus $453.8 million in the prior year.
  • Gross margin increased 150 basis points to 40.9 percent of net sales compared to 39.4 percent of net sales in the prior year.
  • Income from operations increased 19.7 percent to $37.2 million compared to $31.1 million in the year-ago period.
  • Net income was $22.3 million, or $2.96 per diluted share, compared to $11.4 million, or $1.52 in the year-ago period.
  • Adjusted net income was $24.5 million, or $3.26 per diluted share, compared to $19.0 million, or $2.54 per diluted share, in the year-ago period.
  • Total debt on December 31, 2025 was $122.6 million, down 4.7 percent compared to $128.7 million December 31, 2024.

“We concluded 2025 with our highest quarterly net sales growth rate for the year in the fourth quarter, reflecting the momentum that has been building in our business,” said Brooks. “Our performance during the key holiday selling season was highlighted by strong demand in our direct-to-consumer channel led by Xtratuf, which delivered nearly triple-digit sales growth online. These results contributed to a very good year for our company, especially considering the industry headwinds caused by higher tariffs and deteriorating U.S. consumer sentiment. I am incredibly proud of how our organization responded to these challenges, especially the work leveraging our manufacturing facilities to diversify our sourcing, which helped offset a portion of the impact from higher tariffs and should provide margin tailwinds over the long term. At the same time, the strong response to our brands and merchandise offerings even as we selectively raised prices underscores the power of our brand portfolio and our success developing compelling, innovative footwear that resonates with consumers. We are encouraged by our recent performance and believe that the accomplishments from this past year have us well positioned to capitalize on the growth opportunities we believe exist in 2026 and beyond.”

Balance Sheet Summary
Cash and cash equivalents were $3.0 million on December 31, 2025, compared to $3.7 million for the 2024 year-end.

Total debt, net of unamortized debt issuance cost of $1.7 million, on December 31, 2025 was $122.6 million, consisting of $26.7 million term loan and $97.6 million of borrowings under the company’s senior secured asset-backed credit facility, which was down 4.7 percent from total debt, net of amortized debt issuance costs of $2.3 million, on December 31, 2024, of $128.7 million.

Inventory on December 31, 2025, was $181.1 million, compared to $166.7 million at 2024 year-end. Compared with December 31, 2024, and September 30, 2025, inventories on December 31, 2025, were up 8.7 percent and down 6.4 percent, respectively.

Share Repurchase Program
The company is also announcing that its Board of Directors has approved a new share repurchase program of up to $7,500,000 of the company’s outstanding common stock, no par value per share. This repurchase program replaces the previous program authorized by the Board of Directors that expires on February 24, 2026 and has a one-year term expiring on February 23, 2027.

Repurchases under the company’s new program will be made in open market or privately negotiated transactions in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b-18, subject to market conditions, applicable legal requirements, and other relevant factors. This share repurchase plan does not obligate the company to acquire any particular amount of common stock and may be suspended at any time at the company’s discretion.

Image courtesy Xtratuf /Rocky Brands, Inc.