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(Sharecast News) - Crocs shares surged on Thursday after the footwear group reported fourth-quarter results that beat expectations and issued full-year guidance ahead of Wall Street forecasts, despite a decline in revenue and profit.
Adjusted earnings per share for the holiday quarter came in at $2.29, well above consensus estimates of around $1.91 to $1.92.
Revenue fell 3.2% year on year to $957.6m, or 4.2% on a constant currency basis, but still topped analyst forecasts of roughly $917m to $918m.
Net income dropped to $105.2m, or $2.03 per share, from $368.9m, or $6.36 per share, a year earlier.
Operating income declined 26.8% to $146m, with operating margins contracting to 15.3%.
Gross margins narrowed to 54.7% from 57.9%, with adjusted gross margin down 320 basis points.
Performance was mixed across channels and brands.
Direct-to-consumer sales rose 4.7%, while wholesale revenue fell 14.5%, reflecting continued weakness in traditional retail channels.
Revenue from the core Crocs brand edged up 0.8% to $768m, supported by direct-to-consumer growth and international expansion, though North America sales declined.
The 'Heydude' brand reported a 16.9% drop in revenue to $189m, weighed by a sharp fall in wholesale sales.
During the quarter, the company repurchased about 2.2 million shares for $180m and repaid $90m of debt.
Full-year revenue exceeded $4bn, management said.
Chief executive Andrew Rees described the holiday quarter as "better-than-expected" and said the company was entering 2026 "with greater confidence around our growth engines which are diversified across channels, geographies, brands, and product categories."
He added that Crocs had identified and actioned $100m in cost savings for 2026 to drive efficiency while continuing to invest in its brands.
For the first quarter of 2026, Crocs said it expected revenue to decline 3.5% to 5.5% year-on-year, with the Crocs brand down low single digits and Heydude down 15% to 18%.
Adjusted earnings were forecast at $2.67 to $2.77 per share, above analyst expectations.
For the full year, the company guided for revenue to be roughly flat to slightly higher and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $12.88 to $13.35, compared with market estimates of about $11.89.
At 1225 ET (1705 GMT), shares in Crocs were up 21.65% in New York at $100.64.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.