Here's How Saucony & Merrell Are Driving Wolverine's Growth in 2025

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. WWW closed the third quarter of 2025 with renewed strength, fueled by the outstanding performance of its two flagship brands, Saucony and Merrell. Together, these brands account for nearly two-thirds of the company’s revenues and form the cornerstone of its growth strategy. In the third quarter, Wolverine surpassed estimates with 6.8% revenue growth and record margins, driven by double-digit gains from its Active Group, led by Saucony and Merrell.

Saucony has emerged as the standout performer, posting a remarkable 27% year-over-year increase in revenues and achieving record profitability. Its unique ability to combine performance running with lifestyle appeal has positioned it among the fastest-growing footwear brands.

Signature models like the Endorphin series and heritage-inspired designs such as the ProGrid Omni 9 continue to broaden Saucony’s presence across both athletic and fashion markets. Collaborations and campaigns celebrating individuality and culture have strengthened its global identity, particularly among younger consumers.

Merrell, long celebrated as a leader in hiking, is redefining itself as a modern outdoor lifestyle brand. Its 5.1% quarterly revenue growth reflects strong demand for performance-oriented products, such as the Moab 3 and Agility Peak 5, alongside lifestyle icons like the Jungle Moc and Wrapt Collection. By blending trail performance with everyday versatility, Merrell is attracting audiences while preserving its authenticity in outdoor innovation.

Both brands are expanding their global footprint through Wolverine’s city-focused strategy, targeting influential markets, including Tokyo, London and Paris. This approach combines digital engagement with localized storytelling, strengthening connections with consumers worldwide. With Saucony leading in running culture and Merrell modernizing outdoor style, Wolverine’s portfolio demonstrates that performance, innovation and lifestyle can move in perfect stride.

For fourth-quarter 2025, Wolverine expects revenues between $498 million and $513 million, indicating 2.2% year-over-year growth at the midpoint, or 0.5% on a constant-currency basis. For the year, revenues are projected between $1.86 billion and $1.87 billion, suggesting year-over-year growth of 6-6.8%, with constant-currency growth of 5.1-6%.

With Saucony and Merrell at the forefront, Wolverine is not just keeping pace — it is setting the standard for innovation, performance and lifestyle in the footwear industry.

How DECK, TPR & URBN Stack Up Against WWW

Deckers Outdoor Corporation DECK, Tapestry, Inc. TPR and Urban Outfitters Inc. URBN are the key footwear companies competing with Wolverine in brand innovation.

Deckers maintained its strong momentum into the second quarter of fiscal 2026, driven by continued strength from its flagship brands — HOKA and UGG. Quarterly revenues grew 9% year over year to $1.43 billion, with HOKA sales rising 11% and UGG up 10%.

For fiscal 2026, Deckers projects record annual revenues of $5.35 billion, with HOKA expected to grow in the low-teens range and UGG in the low-to-mid-single digits, supported by operational excellence, innovation and balanced global distribution.

Tapestry’s brand portfolio sustained robust momentum in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, fueled by exceptional results at Coach. Total revenues grew 13.1% year over year to $1.70 billion, led by a 21% jump at Coach, reflecting broad-based double-digit gains across North America, China and Europe. Kate Spade’s sales declined 9%, showing sequential improvement as its turnaround strategy gained traction.

Meanwhile, the divestiture of Stuart Weitzman supported overall margin expansion. Growth remained anchored by Coach’s powerful performance, innovation pipeline, and expanding global resonance, reaffirming its position as Tapestry’s key growth driver.

URBN’s brand portfolio, comprising Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, FP Movement and Nuuly, showcased a robust performance in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, marking another period of broad-based strength. Total revenues rose 11.3% year over year to $1.5 billion. Urban Outfitters grew 5%, while Anthropologie and Free People sustained solid gains. Nuuly remained the standout performer, with sales soaring 53% and active subscribers increasing 48%, achieving its most profitable quarter yet.

Wolverine’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

WWW shares lost 29.6% year to date as compared with the industry’s decline of 16.7%.

From a valuation standpoint, Wolverine trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53X, well below the industry’s average of 27.17X. It has a Value Score of A.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WWW’s financial 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 47.3%, whereas the same for 2026 indicates an uptick of 1.5%. Estimates for  2025 and 2026 have been raised by 2 cents and kept unchanged, respectively, in the past seven days.

WWW currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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