After a full year of the outdoor industry talking about tariff anxiety and cautious consumers, the first quarter earnings for publicly traded outdoor and footwear companies tell a story of surprising growth as innovation won the consumer dollar.

The numbers paint a clear picture of brands that have invested in technical innovation doing better than brands aimed at the average consumer.

“For the first time in over a year, American backpackers are spending again, but they’re spending differently,” says Gear Analytica Chief Technical Officer Patrick McCluskey. “The brands investing in technical innovation are pulling away from the rest of the industry while brands appealing to casual users are stalling.”

The bottom line is that after a several-quarter-decline in the U.S. hiking category, the index returned to growth for the first time in more than a year. 

We examined earnings across eight publicly traded outdoor and footwear companies that reported in late April and mid-May. Brands who build gear for backpackers are doing well. Amer Sports, the Finnish-headquartered, Anta Sports-backed conglomerate behind Arc’teryx and Salomon, posted 32 percent revenue growth and raised guidance for the rest of the year. 

The North Face posted its strongest Americas quarter in years, with regional revenue up 16 percent. And Altra, the zero-drop trail brand that has become a thru-hiking standard on the PCT and Appalachian Trail, grew 45 percent.

On, the Swiss running brand whose Cloudvista and Cloudsurfer Trail shoes have been gaining in the trail-running category, cleared 800 million Swiss francs in quarterly sales for the first time in company history. Roger Federer, who owns a share of the company, must be pleased. 

Wolverine Worldwide’s Saucony brand hit a record quarter, and Merrell — the most backpacker-relevant footwear brand in the public markets — grew 13 percent.

The hike category is back

From the vantage point of outdoor industry watchers, Wolverine CEO Chris Hufnagel buried the lead on his earnings call. 

Toward the end of the call, the executive said sales of footwear specific to hiking was flat in Q4 2025, but grew 6 percent in the latest quarter. Merrell, which has gained market share in 12 of the last 13 quarters in that category, rode the recovery to a 13 percent revenue jump in the quarter. Saucony, sitting in the adjacent performance-running space, posted its highest quarterly revenue ever at $156 million on the strength of new launches like the Endorphin Azura.

The signal extends beyond Wolverine. Altra grew 45 percent in its most recent quarter on new launches and geographic expansion, finishing its fiscal year above $270 million in revenue. The North Face’s Americas business jumped 16 percent, capping five consecutive quarters of double-digit footwear growth.

“This is the first concrete signal in 18 months that American backpackers and hikers are spending again,” said Gear Analytica CTO Patrick McCluskey.

While the spending was concentrated in international markets in 2025, the most recent quarter marks a return of the U.S. consumer to the outdoor market. 

Premium is winning. Everything else is flat.

A noteworthy pattern in Q1 is a split between premium technical brands and more mainstream outdoor purveyors. Amer Sports led every meaningful category, with Arc’teryx growing 33 percent, Salomon’s outdoor performance segment growing 42 percent, and the company raising full-year revenue guidance to 20-22 percent growth. The North Face followed close behind, with global revenue up 7 percent and Americas up 16 percent, capping a fiscal year of 5 percent growth on $4 billion in revenue.  On’s gross margin climbed to 64.2 percent, which is an extraordinary number for a footwear brand, despite U.S. tariffs affecting their Vietnam-sourced shoes. Net income jumped 82 percent.

The real story is The North Face, with CEO Bracken Darrell telling analysts that the brand’s path to doubling its business is through technical elevation of existing product lines. 

“There’s so many ways we can grow this brand,” Darrell said on his earnings call. “Category growth, market share growth, new categories we can expand into, and finally, elevation to more premium versions of the products we already sell at higher price points.”

The strategy of creating premiums within categories is what drove Arc’teryx’s pricing power, Yeti’s category extensions, and On’s superfoam platform launches.

Compare that to Columbia Sportswear, which reported flat sales of $779 million with U.S. revenue down 10 percent, which was offset by international growth of 16 percent. Yeti grew 8 percent overall, with coolers and equipment up 11 percent but drinkware up only 5. Both companies absorbed real tariff damage. It’s bad news for consumers as both will respond with price increases.

Premium brands with pricing power and technical credibility are growing with expanding margins. Mainstream brands are absorbing tariff costs, struggling to reach the American consumer while international growth keeps them afloat. 

Innovation is the only U.S. growth lever working

Across the entire reporting cycle, one theme cuts through: the brands moving units in the United States are the ones launching genuinely new products. Yeti’s growth came from category extensions – Daytrip and Camino bags, stackable cups, the Yonder Shaker Bottle – not from refreshes of existing products.  Saucony’s record quarter was anchored by the February launch of the Endorphin Azura, a lightweight running shoe. On is rolling out its SURREAL superfoam platform across its everyday running line in 2027. 

Johnson Outdoors posted 15.5 percent revenue growth in its fiscal second quarter, though the gains were driven by its fishing segment rather than its camping division. Nevertheless, it still touted its outdoor innovation, launching the Jetboil TrailCook, which is the company’s most significant camping-segment product debut in years, 

“I would expect these numbers will mean aggressive new-product cycles for the next 18 months,” McCluskey says. “Brands are learning incremental updates don’t move inventory in the U.S. and will respond with new product launches.” 

What backpackers should watch for

The public earnings provide a window into an industry that is largely private, but that window does give an idea of where the broader market is headed. Columbia Sportswear CFO Jim Swanson, for instance, telegraphed it will hike spring and fall merchandise prices by a  “high single-digit percent.”

Tariff rates are lower than it previously projected, meaning prices could remain lower than what was anticipated, according to Yeti. Premium brands like Arc’teryx and On look poised to use their pricing power to escape tariff impacts, while the mid-tier may have to continue to pass along costs. 

“The most interesting place for backpackers to hunt value right now is in the gap between premium brands and mid-tier mainstream brands,” McCluskey says. “Mainstream players that have to raise prices will probably provide some closeout deals, especially as retailers clear pre-tariff inventory through the back half of 2026.”

Merrell’s category-leading position is another early indicator, as its growth serves as a useful proxy for the hike category specifically and the broader backpacking economy including tents, sleeping pads and sleeping bags.

Finally, the split between premium product makers and those attempting to appeal to mid-tier buyers is real and it means consumers can expect to pay more for backpacking gear in 2026, but the products are likely to be more innovative. 

“The companies setting the pace right now are the ones spending money on product, not the ones cutting it,” McCluskey says.