Wolverine World Wide, Inc.

What Wolverine sells

Wolverine Worldwide owns footwear and apparel brands including Merrell, Saucony, Wolverine and Sweaty Betty. Growth at the two largest brands currently contrasts with weaker sales at Wolverine and Sweaty Betty.

Latest quarter: October 3, 2026

The tables distinguish results under U.S. accounting rules (GAAP) from adjusted measures that exclude selected costs.

Quarterly tariff refunds and interest totaled $35.3 million: $32.6 million reduced cost of goods sold, $1.3 million offset interest expense and $1.4 million reduced inventory. The estimated benefit was 6.4 percentage points of gross and operating margin and 31 cents a share. Refunds remain in adjusted earnings; that measure removes selected environmental and reorganization-related costs instead.

Saucony revenue rose 19.4% to $158.9 million and Merrell rose 6.5% to $178.2 million. Wolverine brand revenue fell 4.1% to $43.5 million; Sweaty Betty fell 7% to $41.4 million.

Forecast history

In August, the 2026 outlook called for revenue of $1.980 billion–$2.000 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.55–$1.65 a share, excluding potential tariff refunds. November's targets are $2.000 billion–$2.010 billion and $1.95–$1.99, including about 32 cents of refund benefit.

The GAAP earnings target rose from $1.48–$1.58 to $1.88–$1.92 a share. November assumes a 19% tax rate and 82.5 million diluted shares, compared with 18% and 82 million in August. Fiscal 2026 ends January 2, 2027 and has 52 weeks, compared with 53 weeks in fiscal 2025.

Cash, debt and inventory

October 3 cash was $148.1 million, compared with $158.5 million on July 4. Debt at carrying value fell to $547.4 million from $601.1 million. Management's rounded net debt was $399 million, down from $443 million in July and $542 million a year earlier.

The $550 million principal amount of 4% notes matures August 15, 2029. The revolving credit facility matures September 24, 2030; it had no borrowings and $576.6 million available after letters of credit. Principal differs from the balance-sheet carrying value.

Operating cash flow for January 4 through October 3 was $73.6 million, against an outflow of $6.2 million a year earlier, with refund receipts helping cash. Capital spending was $7.7 million. Inventory was $278.2 million, up from $269.3 million in July but below $292.5 million a year earlier. No shares were repurchased in the first three quarters.

What the next report can establish

The useful comparison is brand growth and profitability after separating the refund contribution. Saucony and Merrell provide evidence of a recovery; the other two brands and the smaller underlying forecast increase show where that recovery remains uneven.