Companies

Caleres softens year-end outlook amid margin pressures

Dec 11, 2025 United States

The US-based company reported better-than-expected third-quarter sales. However, margin pressures and dilution from Stuart Weitzman have led Caleres to forecast a fourth-quarter loss

“Caleres delivered third quarter sales results that were ahead of our internal expectations, highlighted by organic sales growth in our Brand Portfolio segment, strong Lead Brands performance, sequential improvement in trends at Famous Footwear, and accelerated eCommerce momentum in both segments of our business,” said Jay Schmidt, president and chief executive officer.

Third Quarter Results

In the third quarter of this financial year, which ended on the 2^ndof November, Caleres reported net sales of 790.1 million US dollars. This represents an increase of 6.6%, on a comparable basis to the same period in the financial year 2024.

During this period, net sales in the Famous Footwear segment fell by 2.2% year-on-year, with comparable sales down by 1.2%. By contrast, net sales in the Brand Portfolio segment rose by 18.8%, or 4.6% excluding Stuart Weitzman, which contributed 45.8 million US dollars. Direct-to-consumer revenue accounted for around 71% of total net sales.

“With the recent addition of Stuart Weitzman, our Brand Portfolio now drives nearly half our sales and more than half our operating earnings”, highlighted Schmidt.

In the third quarter of 2025, the company’s gross profit totalled 329.9 million US dollars, with the gross margin showing a 230-basis-point contraction, as compared to the same quarter last year. The adjusted gross margin was 42.7%, which was down by 140 basis points compared to last year.

Caleres reported third quarter GAAP net earnings of 2.4 million US dollars, or 0.07 US dollars per diluted share, as compared to 41.4 million US dollars, or 1.19 US dollars per share, in the same period a year ago. Adjusted net earnings were 13.1 million US dollars, or 0.38 US dollars per diluted share, as compared to 42.6 million US dollars, or 1.23 per US dollars. Excluding Stuart Weitzman, adjusted earnings per diluted share were 0.67 US dollars.

Outlook

Given the “continued tariff pressure on gross margin and earnings dilution from Stuart Weitzman”, the company anticipates reporting a loss per diluted share for the fourth quarter, both on a GAAP and an adjusted basis.

For the full year, the company anticipates a GAAP loss per diluted share of between 0.13 and 0.18 US dollars, and an adjusted earnings per diluted share of between 0.55 and 0.60 US dollars. This includes a dilution of between 0.60 and 0.65 US dollars from Stuart Weitzman.

Image Credits: fibre2fashion.com

United States Caleres Companies Footwear Quarter Results Results