Crocs shares slide as weak outlook draws focus from earnings beat

Crocs shares slide as weak outlook draws focus from earnings beat

Thu, July 30, 2026 at 8:05 PM GMT+3 2 min read

• CROX -8.91%

Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) shares fell almost 10% on Thursday after the footwear company issued a weaker-than-expected third quarter outlook, as tariff pressures and continued weakness at its HEYDUDE brand weighed on sentiment, despite a second-quarter earnings and revenue beat.

The company forecast Q3 adjusted earnings per share of $3.20 to $3.30 on roughly flat revenue, below Wall Street expectations for adjusted EPS of around $3.53 to $3.55 and revenue of about $1 billion. Crocs attributed the outlook to ongoing tariff impacts and product mix pressures.

For the second quarter of 2026, Crocs reported adjusted earnings per share of $4.55, above analyst estimates of $4.32 to $4.35.

Revenue came in at $1.18 billion, topping expectations of $1.15 billion and rising 2.6% from the prior year.

The company's core Crocs brand surpassed $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, with sales increasing 4.3% year over year to $1 billion. Direct-to-consumer revenue for the brand rose 12.9%, while wholesale revenue declined 5%.

HEYDUDE continued to face challenges, with quarterly revenue falling 5.7% to $179 million. Direct-to-consumer sales increased 7.2%, but wholesale revenue declined 17.2%.

Overall gross margin declined to 59.4% from 61.7% a year earlier, while adjusted gross margin fell 170 basis points to 60% as tariff-related costs affected profitability. Adjusted operating income declined 4.5% to $296 million, with adjusted operating margin narrowing to 25.1% from 26.9%.

Crocs raised its full-year 2026 outlook, now expecting revenue growth of approximately 1% to 2%, compared with its previous forecast of down 1% to up 1%. Adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance was increased to a range of $13.70 to $14, up from the prior range of $13.20 to $13.75.

"Our results reflect broad consumer demand across both brands, healthy direct-to-consumer growth, and strong consumer response to new product innovation," Crocs CEO Andrew Rees said in a statement.

The company also announced that its board increased its share repurchase authorization by $1.5 billion, leaving approximately $2 billion available for future buybacks. During the quarter, Crocs repurchased about 2.3 million shares for $251 million.