The US clothing group VF Corporation was able to once again exceed expectations in the third quarter of the 2025/26 financial year. The parent company of brands like The North Face, Vans and Timberland posted surprising gains in sales and profit. This emerges from current results that the company presented on Wednesday.
In the three months to December 27th, group sales amounted to 2.88 billion US dollars (2.40 billion euros). This corresponded to an increase of one percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Adjusted for exchange rate changes, revenue fell by one percent, but was above the most recent forecasts. The analysts had also expected significantly higher losses in advance. According to the company, without contributions from the Dickies brand, which was sold in the fall, group sales rose by four percent (+2 percent adjusted for currency effects).
The North Face and Timberland brands are driving sales development
The surprisingly positive sales development was once again due to strong growth for the brands The North Face and Timberland, which each increased their sales by eight percent. Sales at the Vans label, which has been struggling for a long time, were eight percent below the level of the previous year’s quarter, but were therefore in line with expectations. Total sales of the group’s smaller brands fell by twelve percent due to the separation from Dickies.
The group also made unexpectedly strong progress in terms of earnings. Operating profit rose by 28 percent to $289.1 million, not least thanks to a higher gross margin. In the same period last year, however, higher one-off expenses as part of the “Reinvent” restructuring program had a negative impact on earnings. The reported net profit reached 300.8 million US dollars (251.4 million euros), exceeding the level of the previous year’s quarter by 79 percent.
CEO Darrell sees the group on track
CEO Bracken Darrell was satisfied with the current results. “In the third quarter, with the Christmas season being particularly profitable for us, we were able to achieve growth and exceed the forecasts for sales and operating results,” he explained in a statement.
The CEO emphasized that “the strongest result in over three years” was achieved in the Americas region and that sales in its own retail sector had returned to growth. In view of the latest developments, the group “remains on track to achieve its medium-term financial goals,” emphasized Darrell.
