Garmin continues to soar in 2026 and on Wednesday the company said in its third quarter earnings report that revenue rose 12 percent at $1.99 billion, prompting a boost in its full-year forecast.
Fitness products continue to lead the way, with the Fenix 9 smartwatch series and Cirqa tracking band arriving as major releases during the period.
Gross margin increased to a record 63.3 percent over 59.1 percent from the same point last year, while the company’s operating income soared 34 percent at $612 million, which is also a third quarter record.
“We achieved another quarter of record operating results driven by strength across markets and product categories, with meaningful contributions from recently launched products,” Garmin president and chief executive officer Cliff Pemble said. “Our results were further enhanced by strong operational execution resulting in record consolidated gross margin and impressive operating profit leverage. We are raising our 2026 outlook based on the results we have achieved so far and the momentum we are experiencing as we enter the important holiday selling season.”
Garmin said it would push its yearly guidance to around $8.15 billion, which is up from its second quarter projection, with its operating margin raised to 29 percent, a two percent rise over previous estimates. The company also noted that it took on $33 million in a one-time tariff refund, which also contributed to the quarterly revenue total.
Wearables helped push Garmin’s fitness segment to $694 million for the period, a 16 percent jump as customers flocked to a revised product line that saw a noticeable refresh with the release of Forerunner 70 and 170 models, while the Forerunner 570 and 970 watches were introduced a year ago as flagships that have redefined the franchise.
Even with the fitness category slowing in 2026, Garmin said the segment will still be the biggest factor in its growth for the year.
The outdoor category went up 20 percent at $597 million in what Garmin said was attributed to adventure watches, a revamped Fenix 9 and the launch of the new Drive GPS navigators with ultrawide displays.
Aviation saw a modest 5 percent rise on $253 million in revenue that was largely attributed to OEM products, with the company introducing the G2000 PRIME flight deck, its third-generation deck built for high-performance Class I and II piston and electric aircraft.
In the marine segment, the LiveScope 2 sonar scanner arrived in July and was joined by strong sales of the GMI 40 sailing instrument, the SmartDrive steering actuator, new JL Audio A60 audio head units along with M200 watercraft speakers.
Meanwhile, the auto OEM category took a 20 percent loss in the quater due to what Garmin said were supply chain and component constraints on domain controllers. The company said the segment would see another loss in the fourth quarter while the domain controller program is reengaged next year.
