Birkenstock Narrows Its Fiscal 2026 Revenue Guidance to the Top of the Range as Direct Sales Outrun Wholesale

by Clara Borresen · August 13, 2026

Senior Earnings Analyst, Earnings Dispatch

Birkenstock lifted the floor under its full-year guidance on Thursday morning after a fiscal third quarter in which its own stores and website grew faster than its wholesale channel. The German footwear company, incorporated in Ireland and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BIRK, reported revenue of 719.5 million euros for its fiscal third quarter, the three months ended June 30, 2026, up 13% as reported and 15% in constant currency. Shares closed at $41.00, up 11.59% on the day, according to market data site StockAnalysis.

The revenue figure came in ahead of expectations. Technology and markets outlet ts2.tech put the consensus at 713.54 million euros, and Techtimes reported a similar 713.4 million euro estimate, meaning Birkenstock beat by roughly six million euros. Adjusted EBITDA of 242 million euros landed at a 33.7% margin, which Techtimes said exceeded a 33.1% consensus, though the margin was down about 70 basis points from a year earlier.

The channel mix was the headline management chose to lead with. Direct-to-consumer revenue rose 14% as reported and 16% in constant currency, edging ahead of the business-to-business channel's 13% reported and 15% constant-currency growth. The release put direct sales at 38.6% of quarterly revenue, which Techtimes rounded to roughly 39%. Geographically, constant-currency growth ran at 14% in the Americas, 15% in EMEA and 23% in APAC, making Asia-Pacific the fastest-growing of the three segments by a wide margin.

Profitability moved the other way. Gross margin fell 140 basis points to 59.1%, which the company and coverage of the release attributed to unfavorable currency translation and to United States import tariffs running at roughly 15%. That is the recurring tension in Birkenstock's model: a manufacturer with a euro-denominated cost base selling heavily into a dollar market, where both the exchange rate and the tariff line work against reported margins even when unit demand holds up.

The bottom line reflected one-off items rather than operating weakness. GAAP net profit fell 15.2% to 109.6 million euros, or 0.60 euros per diluted share. Techtimes reported that the decline was driven by non-recurring, non-cash charges tied to the completion of an accelerated share repurchase program and to a debt refinancing. Adjusted earnings per share were 0.74 euros — up 19% year over year on the company's own reckoning, but a shade below the roughly 0.76 euro consensus that Techtimes cited and the 0.75 euros cited by ts2.tech. In other words, the beat was on revenue and EBITDA; the adjusted earnings line missed by a cent or two.

The market cared more about the guidance, though the change is narrower than the word "raise" suggests. Birkenstock now expects constant-currency revenue growth of 15% for fiscal 2026. That is the top of its prior 13% to 15% range — the ceiling did not move; the floor was lifted to meet it. Reported revenue is guided to 2,300 million to 2,350 million euros. The adjusted EBITDA line works the same way: a prior 690 million to 720 million euro range was replaced with a floor of at least 710 million euros, and the bottom of the adjusted EBITDA margin range moved to 30.2% from 30.0% while the 30.5% top was left alone. Adjusted earnings per share guidance was unchanged at 1.90 to 2.05 euros, held down in part by a tax rate now guided to 30% to 31% versus a prior 26% to 28%, which the company tied to non-deductible refinancing expenses. Net leverage guidance moved the other way, rising to 1.6 to 1.7 times from a prior 1.3 to 1.4 times.

That leverage guidance matters because the balance sheet moved during the quarter. Net leverage stood at 1.8 times as of June 30, 2026, up from 1.5 times at the end of the prior fiscal year. Cash and cash equivalents were 693.6 million euros against net debt of 1.227 billion euros. According to the results release, Birkenstock issued 900 million euros of new notes at 4.50% to refinance 428.5 million euros of more expensive 5.25% paper, and completed a 230 million euro accelerated share repurchase that Techtimes said retired roughly six million shares. The higher guided tax rate and the step-up in leverage sit in the same release as the revenue upgrade.

Chief executive Oliver Reichert framed the quarter, the guidance change and the channel shift in a single statement in the release. "We performed exceptionally well in the third quarter and once again demonstrated the strength of our brand," he said. "Given this continued momentum, we raise our Fiscal 2026 guidance for revenue growth to 15% and Adjusted EBITDA to at least EUR 710 million. We continue to execute as planned across the business. Direct-to-consumer growth accelerated, outpacing B2B growth in the quarter, supported by the investments we are making in both own-retail and our digital business. EMEA delivered strong results and APAC remains on track to grow at twice the pace of the other segments for the full year. Our closed-toe share of business continues to expand led by newness in both clogs and shoes."

He closed on margins and on the capital actions. "Importantly, we are accomplishing all of this while maintaining our very strong margin profile and cash generation. As a sign of our confidence in our durable growth, during the quarter we repurchased EUR 230 million of shares, and refinanced and up-sized our senior notes at very favorable rates. The additional cash gives us the liquidity to buy back additional shares." Reichert's line about closed-toe styles is as close as the release comes to a product-mix disclosure; the company did not break out sales by category. A Reuters report carried by Global Banking & Finance said demand for the company's high-end sandals, clogs and closed-toe shoes had remained resilient.

The reaction stood in sharp contrast to what happened elsewhere in consumer discretionary on the same day. Tapestry beat on its fiscal fourth quarter and closed down 16.49% because its forward revenue guidance merely matched expectations; Birkenstock missed slightly on adjusted earnings and rose double digits because it lifted the floor under its own. StockAnalysis lists a 52-week range for BIRK of $31.12 to $53.53, so Thursday's close leaves the stock in the middle of that band rather than at an extreme.

The broader session was constructive. The S&P 500 closed at a record 7,798.99, up 0.65%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.81% to 26,803.03, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.13% to 53,839.99 and the Russell 2000 closed at a record 3,052.85. On the data side, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the producer price index for final demand was unchanged in July and up 4.7% over the previous 12 months, down from 5.5% in the 12 months through June, while the Labor Department reported initial jobless claims of 209,000 for the week ended August 8, an increase of 9,000 from the prior week's revised 200,000, with the four-week moving average at 199,000 and continuing claims for the week ended August 1 at 1,777,000. This article reports results and market reaction and is not investment advice.