Here's How V.F. Corp. Stock is Poised Ahead of Q3 Earnings

V.F. Corporation VFC is likely to register year-over-year bottom and top-line declines when it posts third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on Jan. 28, before the opening bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $2.77 billion, indicating a 2.4% dip from the prior-year quarter’s figure.

The consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at 43 cents per share, which indicates a plunge of more than 30% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The metric has also fallen a couple of cents in the past 30 days.

V.F. Corp. delivered an earnings surprise of 23.8% in the last reported quarter. In the trailing four quarters, the company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 37.7%.

Key Factors to Influence VFC’s Q3 Results

V.F. Corp. is likely to report a year-over-year revenue decline in its upcoming-quarter fiscal 2026 results, reflecting persistent brand-specific and structural challenges. The company’s Americas region remains under pressure, primarily due to continued weakness at the Vans brand in the US. Additionally, strategic actions such as value-channel rationalization and store closures are likely to have weighed on Vans’ revenues during the to-be-reported quarter.

The fiscal third quarter is expected to reflect the impact of earlier store closures, value-channel exits and inventory reductions, which have been undertaken as part of a deliberate strategy to clean up the marketplace and reposition the brands for growth. Consequently, we expect revenues at Vans and Timberland to decline 3.9% and 4.9%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis in the fiscal third quarter.

Macroeconomic pressures, including inflation, consumer uncertainty and weaker discretionary spending, further exacerbate these challenges. VFC’s profitability has been strained by margin compression stemming from elevated promotions, tariffs and higher input and logistics costs. SG&A costs are also adding up to costs owing to demand-creation investments, and restructuring and transformation-related costs. 

On its last earnings call, management had expected gross margin to decline in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, highlighting the tariff impacts, which have been somewhat offset from lower discounts. It had projected adjusted operating income to be $275-$305 million, down from $324 million recorded last year. Management had anticipated SG&A dollars to increase slightly year over year and remain broadly flat in constant-currency. Our model predicts adjusted operating income to decline 15% year over year and SG&A expense to be up 0.7% in the third quarter of fiscal 2026.

On the flip side, the company’s transformation program, Reinvent, which targets enhancing focus on brand-building and improving the operating performance, appears encouraging. The plan focuses on objectives, including enhancing the North America performance, Vans’ turnaround, reducing costs and strengthening the balance sheet. Ongoing investments in digital and supply-chain capabilities further enhance efficiency.

What the Zacks Model Unveils for VFC

Our proven model conclusively predicts an earnings beat for V.F. Corp. this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chance of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

V.F. Corp. currently has an Earnings ESP of +4.05% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Valuation Picture of VFC Stock

Going by the price/earnings ratio, VFC stock is currently trading at 21.13 on a forward 12-month basis, higher than 16.41 of the Textile - Apparel industry. The stock is trading lower than its high of 32.49.

The recent market movements show that VFC’s shares have gained 22.3% in the past three months compared with the industry's 3.2% growth.

More Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates

Here are some companies, which according to our model, also have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:

Carter's, Inc. CRI currently has an Earnings ESP of +3.93% and sports a Zacks Rank of 1. CRI is likely to register top-line growth when it reports fourth-quarter 2025 results. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its quarterly revenues is pegged at $866.8 million, indicating a 0.8% increase from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. The consensus estimate for CRI’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.66 per share, implying a 30.5% decline from the year-ago quarter’s actual. The consensus mark has risen 12.2% in the past 30 days.

Birkenstock Holding plc BIRK currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.42% and a Zacks Rank of 3. BIRK is likely to register top and bottom-line growth when it reports first-quarter fiscal 2026 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its quarterly revenues is pegged at $467.6 million, indicating 21.2% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

The consensus estimate for Birkenstock’s fiscal second-quarter earnings is pegged at 27 cents a share, implying 42.1% growth from the year-earlier quarter. The consensus mark has moved up a penny in the past 30 days.

Crocs, Inc. CROX currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.57% and a Zacks Rank of 3. CROX is likely to register a top and bottom-line declines when it reports fourth-quarter 2025 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its quarterly revenues is pegged at $918.5 million, indicating a 7.2% decline from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

The consensus estimate for Crocs’ fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.91 a share, implying 24.2% decline from the year-earlier quarter. The consensus mark has risen a penny in the past seven days.

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

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