Shares of Under Armour were charging higher after the athletic apparel company delivered a strong fiscal first quarter, indicating the company's leadership reshuffle was working.
In March, the company disclosed that CEO Stephanie Linnartz was stepping down and founder and former CEO Kevin Plank was taking over April 1. The company has since been in refresh mode.
So far, so good.
Under Armour on Thursday reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 1 cent, better than Wall Street's call for a loss of 8 cents, according to FactSet. Revenue of $1.18 billion fell 10% from the year-ago quarter but was above estimates of $1.14 billion.
Gross margins increased 110 basis points to 47.5%, "driven primarily by lower levels of discounting in the direct-to-consumer business and lower product costs" according to the company.
"We are encouraged by early progress in our efforts to reconstitute a premium positioning for the Under Armour brand and pleased with our first quarter fiscal 2025 results that were ahead of expectations," said Plank in a statement.
For fiscal 2025, Under Armour now expects adjusted earnings per share between 19 cents and 22 cents, higher than an earlier range of 18 cents to 21 cents. Analysts expected in 21 cents.
Under Armour stock was up 17% in Thursday trading Thursday. Coming into the trading session, shares have fallen 26% this year.
