Puma Q2 Beat Estimates on Tariff Refunds, but Analyst Remains Cautious as Demand Stays Soft

Puma SE posted second-quarter results on Friday that came in slightly ahead of expectations, but analysts at mwb Research are maintaining a Hold rating and a €25.00 price target on the German sportswear giant, citing persistently weak underlying demand and a 11.3% downside to the current share price of €28.20.

The company reported sales of €1.69 billion, down 9.4% on a currency-adjusted basis, alongside a gross margin of 48.0% and reported EBIT of -€53.1 million — all modestly better than mwb’s forecasts.

However, analyst Alexander Zienkowicz noted that much of the upside stemmed from €11.5 million in tariff refunds rather than genuine operational improvement. Stripping out this benefit, underlying gross margin would have been roughly in line with estimates, while adjusted EBIT actually deteriorated to -€41.9 million from -€24.5 million a year earlier, reflecting negative operating leverage.

Regional performance remained uneven: EMEA sales fell 12.9% and the Americas dropped 15.4%, while Asia/Pacific grew 8.6%, helped by strong Speedcat demand. Running and Training categories continued to outperform, but not enough to offset broader softness.

On the positive side, inventories fell 15.3% and free cash flow more than tripled to €328.8 million, though most strategic investment spending is still expected in the second half.

With FY26 guidance confirmed and recovery visibility improving only gradually, mwb Research left its price target and rating unchanged, citing an unproven path to stronger commercial momentum.