Strong sales from Saucony and Merrell pushed Wolverine Worldwide to an 11 percent jump over the same period last year in the first quarter on $458 million in revenue, according to the company on Thursday.
The company revealed in its Q1 earnings report that solid performance during the period helped beat Wall Street estimates as international sales soared 20.1 percent to $249.6 million. Analysts predicted net sales between $445.1 million and $454 million.
Wolverine was propelled in the quarter by the brands in its Active Group, which includes Saucony and Merrell, and rose 13.7 percent to $371.6 million over the previous year.
“The team delivered a solid start to 2026, with first quarter revenue, gross margin, and earnings per share all exceeding our expectations,” Wolverine Worldwide president and CEO Chris Hufnagel said. “I believe we’re better brand builders today – led by Merrell and Saucony – with encouraging progress now evident across our broader portfolio. We’re executing our strategies with pace, navigating a dynamic operating environment by leaning into what we do best – building awesome products, telling amazing stories, and driving the business forward each day.”
At the same point in 2025, Wolverine reported $412.3 million and rolled into the new year riding the momentum of its performance products.
Merrell pulled in $169.7 million in sales on a 12.7 percent boots from $150.6 million last year, while Saucony is up 20.1 percent to $155.9 million over its $129.8 million total from the time just 12 months ago.
Wolverine’s lineup is spread across 11 label that include Bates, Cat, Chaco, Harley-Davidson, Hush Puppies, Hytest, Merrell, Saucony, Stride Rite, Sweaty Betty and the name sake Wolverine label. The brand stretches into several categories like running and hiking shoes, apparel, sandals, motorcycle boots, military, women’s fitness clothing and safety work footwear.
Within other areas, Wolverine saw growth as its Work Group sales inched up 1.2 percent to $75.7 million, while overall domestic sales had a slight 1.6 percent rise to to $208.0 million.
The company boosted its full year outlook and now expects revenue to be around $1.96 to $1.985 billion — or 4.6 to .9 percent compared to 2025, which is in line with its earlier projections as diluted earnings per share for 2026 will be between $1.39 to $1.54, up from $1.31 to $1.46.
