Under Armour, Columbia Facing Headwinds

Under Armour and Columbia were downgraded by market analysts Stifel, highlighting the challenges facing the sports category.

Analyst Jim Duffy lowered the two brands from “Buy” to “Hold” — while lowering Nike’s price target but maintaining its “Buy” rating.

The analyst foresaw short-to-mid-term concerns limiting the upside of both brands.

• Under Armour may have elevated levels of inventory, which could encourage price cuts and promotions.
• Columbia could be impacted by warm weather and a shortened snow season.
• Both could be affected by an economy-wide drop in demand due to government stimulus money running out.

In-Person Retail Lagging

Both Nike and Under Armour have struggled to get foot traffic at their retail stores back to pre-pandemic levels. In November, both saw in-person visits fall 11.9% below the same period in 2019, according to Placer.ai, and Nike has not matched 2019 levels in any month since April.

Under Armour’s net revenues rose 7.8% year-over-year in the third quarter to $1.5 billion, with net income nearly tripling from $38.9 million the previous year to $113.4 million.

It remains to be seen if rising COVID cases in the U.S. lead to renewed interest in apparel and at-home fitness.

On Wednesday, California reimposed a mask mandate for all indoor businesses, including gyms, with certain exceptions in cases where everyone involved is vaccinated.