tapebrief
DECK · Q1 2026

DECK · Q2 2026 Earnings

Cautious

Deckers Brands

Reported October 23, 2025

30-second summary

Q2 revenue grew 9.1% to $1.431B, beating the high end of the $1.38–1.42B guide, with GAAP EPS of $1.82 destroying the $1.50–1.55 guide and gross margin of 56.2% landing 220+bps above the 53.5–54% guide. Management reinstated the FY26 outlook at $5.35B revenue / $6.30–6.39 EPS / ~21.5% operating margin, and quantified unmitigated tariff exposure at ~$150M with $75–95M of mitigation. The print is a clean beat on every Q2 line, but the FY26 operating margin guide of 21.5% codifies a ~210bps step-down from FY25's record 23.6% — and HOKA was cut to "low-teens" full-year growth from the earlier mid-teens framework.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q2 FY2026

$1.82

Revenue

Q2 FY2026

$1.43B

+9.1% YoY

Gross margin

Q2 FY2026

56.2%

Operating margin

Q2 FY2026

22.8%

Key financials

Q2 FY2026
MetricQ2 FY2026YoYQ1 FY2026QoQ
Revenue$1.43B+9.1%$0.96B+48.4%
EPS$1.82—$0.93+95.7%
Gross margin56.2%—55.8%+40bps
Operating margin22.8%—17.1%+570bps

Guidance

Guidance is issued for both next quarter and the full year. Both may appear below.

Actuals vs prior guidance

MetricPeriodPrior guideActualΔResult
RevenueQ2 FY2026$1.38B to $1.42B$1.431B+$0.011B above high end of guideBeat
Diluted EPSQ2 FY2026$1.50 to $1.55$1.82+$0.27 above high end of guideBeat
Gross marginQ2 FY202653.5% to 54%56.2%+2.2 to +2.7pts above guideBeat
SG&A as % of revenueQ2 FY2026approximately 33.5%33.4%+0.1pts better than guideBeat
HOKA revenue growthQ2 FY2026approximately 10%11.1%+1.1pts above guideBeat
UGG revenue growthQ2 FY2026at least mid-single digits10.1%in-line to slightly above (mid-single digits typically 5–9%, actual 10.1%)Beat

New guidance

MetricPeriodGuideYoY
Diluted EPSFY2026$6.30 to $6.39—
Gross marginFY2026approximately 56%—
SG&A as % of net salesFY2026approximately 34.5%—
Operating marginFY2026approximately 21.5%—

Changes to prior guidance

MetricPeriodPrior guideNew guideΔResult
Revenue
FY2026
—$5.35Bimplied raise vs. prior FY guidance (no prior FY guide available, so treated as NEW_DISCLOSURE)Raised

Segment performance

Q2 FY2026
SegmentQ2 FY2026YoY
HOKA$0.634B+11.1%
UGG$0.76B+10.1%
Other brands$0.037B-26.5%
Wholesale$1.036B+13.4%
DTC$0.395B-0.8%

Platform metrics

Q2 FY2026
SegmentQ2 FY2026
DTC comparable net sales growth-2.9%

Profitability

Q2 FY2026
SegmentQ2 FY2026
SG&A expenses$477.3 million

Other KPIs

Q2 FY2026
SegmentQ2 FY2026YoY
Domestic$0.84B-1.7%
International$0.591B+29.3%
Share repurchases (Q2)2.6 million shares for $282.0 million—
Remaining share repurchase authorization$2.2 billion—

Management tone

The tariff exposure is now quantified, but the operating margin reset is now permanent in the guide. Management put the unmitigated FY26 tariff impact at ~$150M with $75–95M of mitigation now sized — enough visibility to underwrite the order book and reinstate the FY26 outlook. But management is simultaneously codifying an FY26 operating margin of ~21.5% — roughly 210bps below FY25's record 23.6% — meaning tariff resolution does not restore the prior earnings power. Steve framed FY25's 23.6% as a peak being lapped; this quarter the company put a number on the reset.

HOKA's framework was quietly cut to low-teens. At the start of FY26 management was guiding the brand to mid-teens. The new FY26 guide is "low-teens percentage versus last year," and the back-half HOKA growth contemplated by management is explicitly a low-teen rate. For a name where HOKA was the multi-year compounding engine, the framework change matters more than any single-quarter beat.

The DTC retreat is now institutionalized as strategy, not transient. Management stated explicitly that "we continue to expect international to outpace U.S. growth and global wholesale to outpace DTC for this fiscal year." DTC comparable sales were -2.9% in the quarter, and management framed first-half DTC pressure as a function of earlier wholesale shipment timing and more in-stock wholesale partners — i.e., a deliberate marketplace-management choice, not a brand-demand problem. The long-term DTC/wholesale balance ambition (50/50) remains, but the near-term tilt is clearly back toward wholesale.

Consumer framing moved from "under pressure with signs of progress" to explicit caution. Stefano's commentary — "we are anticipating a more cautious consumer as the full impact of tariffs and price increases will be felt here in the US" — pre-conditions for further US softness through holiday. Steve added that the back half assumes "more pressure in Q3 with more growth in Q4," conditional on how the consumer shows up Thanksgiving through holiday.

Recurring themes management leaned on this quarter:

Tariff mitigation and margin management in uncertain policy environmentWholesale-to-DTC rebalancing as multi-year strategic initiativeInternational outpacing U.S. as structural growth driverPremium brand pricing power and full-price selling disciplineProduct innovation cycles (Clifton, Bondi, Arahi, Mafate families) driving market share gainsLong-term brand building over short-term sales chasing

Risks management surfaced:

Further updates to imposed tariffs or other global trade policy changesChanges in consumer confidence and recessionary pressuresInflationary pressures impacting consumer discretionary spendingFluctuation in foreign currency exchange ratesSupply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Q2 gross margin landing relative to the 53.5–54% guide. Gross margin came in at 56.2% — 220–270bps above the high end of the guide. Per Steve, the beat was "largely driven by favorable timing of tariff related variables unique to the second quarter, with benefits of our pricing actions flowing through in advance of the full burden from increased tariffs." Importantly, he flagged this is "unique to the second quarter" and that the expected H2 tariff headwind is "largely unchanged." The full-year guide of ~56% therefore implies a step-down in H2 gross margin. Status: Resolved positively for Q2, but H2 gross margin pressure is explicit.
Whether the FY26 outlook is reinstated on the Q2 call. Yes — reinstated at $5.35B revenue, $6.30–6.39 GAAP EPS, ~56% gross margin, and ~21.5% operating margin. Management explicitly framed reinstatement as "a demonstration of our confidence of how well our brands are performing in the marketplace." This is the single most important forward signal in the release. Status: Resolved positively
HOKA Q2 growth landing at or above the ~10% guide. HOKA grew 11.1% in Q2, beating the ~10% guide by ~110bps. The FY26 framework was simultaneously cut to "low-teens" from the prior mid-teens, indicating H2 deceleration is baked in. Status: Resolved positively (Q2 print), with the caveat that the framework cut tempers the read.
DTC comparable net sales trajectory. DTC comparable sales were -2.9% in Q2, with overall DTC revenue down 0.8% versus wholesale up 13.4%. Management's explicit FY26 framing that wholesale will outpace DTC institutionalizes the channel mix — though Steve guided to sequential DTC improvement in Q3 and Q4 as wholesale shipment timing normalizes. Status: Mixed — institutionalized in the FY guide, but forward improvement claimed.
Unmitigated tariff exposure. Now quantified at ~$150M for FY26, with $75–95M of mitigation through pricing and factory cost sharing. Combined with the FY26 reinstatement, this is the operational pivot point that unlocked the guide. Status: Resolved positively

What to watch into next quarter

Q3 FY2026 implied performance against the FY26 guide. No explicit Q3 guide was issued. With FY26 revenue at $5.35B and H1 totaling $2.395B, the implied H2 is ~$2.955B — Q3 being the UGG seasonal anchor. Steve explicitly characterized H2 as "more pressure in Q3 with more growth in Q4," which sets a lower bar for Q3 and a higher one for Q4. A Q3 print materially below the implied trajectory would force a Q3-on-Q3 cut to the just-reinstated FY guide.

HOKA Q3 growth landing in the low-teens range. The FY26 framework cut from mid-teens to low-teens puts the bar lower, but Q3 with holiday demand is the cleanest read on underlying brand velocity. A miss below low-teens would suggest the framework reset itself is optimistic.

DTC comparable net sales trajectory. Management has guided to sequential DTC improvement in Q3 and further in Q4 as wholesale shipment timing normalizes. If the comp does not inflect, the "timing" framing breaks down and the channel-reversal narrative hardens.

H2 gross margin tracking versus the ~56% FY guide. Q2's 56.2% benefited from tariff-cost timing that Steve explicitly described as unique. The FY guide of ~56% combined with H1's run-rate implies a meaningful H2 step-down. Any further slippage re-opens the operating margin reset question.

Operating margin tracking versus the ~21.5% FY26 guide. Q1 and Q2 operating margins were 17.1% and 22.8% respectively (implied from H1 financials). H2 needs to deliver in line with the FY math to hit 21.5%. Any slippage re-opens the question of whether 23.6% was a cyclical peak being permanently reset lower.

Tariff exposure holding at ~$150M unmitigated. With H2 carrying the bulk of the net tariff impact and Steve flagging further FY27 carry-over, any upward revision would re-introduce the binding uncertainty that drove prior guide withdrawal.

UGG full-year growth landing in the low-to-mid-single-digit range. UGG grew 10.1% in Q2 — well ahead of the FY26 low-to-mid-single-digit framework, which implies a sharp Q3/Q4 deceleration. Either the framework is conservative and gets raised, or H2 UGG underperforms H1 by a wide margin; the Q3 print will determine which.

Sources

  1. Deckers Brands Q2 FY2026 press release, filed with SEC, October 23, 2025: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/910521/000091052125000041/deckex991pressrelease-9302.htm
  2. Deckers Brands Q2 FY2026 earnings conference call, October 23, 2025 (prepared remarks).

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