Employee Mo Soto sets up a shelf at a Birkenstock store on October 10, 2023 in Venice, California.
Ethan Swope | Getty Images
Birkenstocks beat expectations for holiday quarter revenue on Thursday, jumping 26% year-over-year, as the German sandal company benefited from higher prices and growing U.S. demand.
Here’s how the shoemaker performed in its first fiscal quarter compared to what Wall Street expected, based on a survey conducted by analysts at LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: 4 euro cents versus the expected 9 euro cents
- Revenues: 303 million euros against the 288.7 million euros expected.
The newly listed shoemaker, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “BIRK” in October, saw a muted debut when it first hit public markets, with shares falling by more than 12% on its first day as a public company. . Shares have since rebounded and are up more than 5% this year, as of Wednesday’s close.
In January, the company reported fiscal 2023 results and said it was the most successful year in the company’s nearly 250-year history. Sales grew 20%, and the retailer has made strides in growing its direct-to-consumer business, which brings better profits and more customer insights than relying on wholesale partners.
As other retailers like it Nike, Under armour and owner of Timberland VF Corp To address weak demand in North America, Birkenstock reported outsized strength in the region with sales rising 21% during fiscal 2023.
The recent growth comes several years after powerful private equity firm L Catterton acquired a majority stake in Birkenstock in 2021, ending nearly 250 years of family ownership that began when German shoemaker Johann Adam Birkenstock founded the company in 1774 .
Birkenstock’s new owners have embarked on an aggressive growth strategy focused on increasing direct-to-consumer sales, exiting some wholesale partnerships and promoting sales of higher-priced items. In the space of a few years, its sales have nearly doubled and its market capitalization is now about $9.7 billion, double its 2021 valuation of $4.85 billion.
Since going public, Birkenstock has used some of its earnings to pay off debt. In the fall, it made debt payments that reduced its net leverage below 2.5 times EBITDA.