Amer Sports is Tuesday's IBD Stock Of The Day. The sporting goods company with long-familiar brands Wilson, Salomon and Louisville Slugger has turned into a hot footwear and apparel play. AS stock has more than tripled from its February 2024 IPO price, running circles around Nike stock, as well as shares of On Holding and Deckers Outdoor. It's near a new buy point after topping Q2 earnings estimates on Aug. 19 and boosting its full-year outlook.
"We are very confident that our fundamental business momentum, diverse global footprint, clean balance sheet and strong brand portfolio with pricing power will give us significant flexibility to manage through a variety of tariff scenarios," Chief Financial Officer Andrew Page said on the Aug. 19 earnings call.
Amer Sports Brands
Second-quarter earnings grew 20% to 6 cents as revenue climbed 23% to $1.236 billion. For the full year, Amer Sports, based in the Cayman Islands, provided an outlook for EPS of 77 cents to 82 cents, up 69% at the midpoint.
Wilson, the best-known brand for its tennis, soccer, football and baseball gear, is a relatively slow grower as well as a lower-margin business.
In Q2, Ball & Racquet Sports sales grew 11% to $313.7 million. Meanwhile, Technical Apparel sales grew 23% to $508.9 million and Outdoor Performance segment sales 35% to $413.7 million.
Technical Apparel includes the Arc'teryx and Peak Performance outdoor apparel brands. Outdoor Performance includes Salomon, known for winter-sports gear and hiking and running footwear, and the Atomic and Armada ski brands.
'Traction In Sloppy Terrain'
On the Q2 call, CEO Jie Zheng called Arc'teryx "a breakout story with leading growth and profitability for the outdoor industry, driven by its disruptive direct-to-consumer model."
He noted "explosive growth" of its Clarkia wide-leg pants for women. He added that footwear is the Arc'teryx brand's fastest-growing category, with recent new running shoe launches and more to come in the second half of the year.
The Salomon sneakers brand "is experiencing a global acceleration," he said on the Q2 call. He touted its new Aero Glide 3 running shoes with a new foam "offering the runner a new level of rebound."
A GearLab review of the 10 best trail running shoes of 2025 led off with Salomon. "Both our men's and women's testing teams love the Salomon S/Lab Ultra 3. These stable and responsive shoes continue to impress us with some of the best traction in sloppy terrain that we have encountered."
Switch Back Travel's best trail running shoes of 2025 listed the Salomon S/Lab Pulsar 4 as No. 1. The Nike Zegama 2 came in at No. 12. Reviewers do list Salomon prices as a con. The Pulsar 4 will set you back $220 vs. $190 for the Nike Zegama 2.
AS Stock Vs. NKE, ONON, DECK
Sloppy terrain isn't a bad description for what footwear and apparel makers have been going through. The group ranks a weak No. 138 of 197 based on stock price performance and momentum. The industry heavily dependent on overseas manufacturing has grappled with the impact of tariffs.
Wolverine World Wide is an exception. Nike is trying to engineer a turnaround, but shares of recent leaders On Holding and Deckers Outdoor have badly lagged the market since early in 2025.
Since Amer Sports began trading on Feb. 1, 2024, it has surged 213% from its IPO price through Tuesday's close. Meanwhile, NKE is down 23% and DECK 9%, though ONON has climbed 70%.
Amer Sports is the No. 1 rated stock in the Leisure-Products group with an excellent 95 IBD Composite Rating out of a possible 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup. The single rating combines both technical and fundamental factors.
While Amer Sports initially lost ground after its Aug. 19 report, it bounced back strongly in subsequent days. Last Friday, AS stock sprinted up 11.5% to 41.48, flashing an early entry opportunity. It moved clear of its 50-day moving average and proceeded to climb past a 40.21 buy point from a flat base, according to MarketSurge.
Amer Sports pulled back 1.9% on Monday, then rose fractionally to 40.71 in Tuesday stock market action, holding in a buy zone that runs through 42.75.
Be sure to read IBD's The Big Picture column after each trading day to get the latest on the prevailing stock market trend and what it means for your trading decisions.
