Key Highlights

● Fiscal third-quarter revenue rose 13 per cent year over year to €720 million.

● Adjusted earnings per share rose 19 per cent to €0.74 from €0.62.

● Asia-Pacific revenue grew 18 per cent reported, the fastest of any region.

● Net leverage rose to 1.8 times from 1.5 times after a €230 million share buyback.

Birkenstock Holding plc (NYSE:BIRK), the footwear group whose ordinary shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BIRK, reported fiscal third-quarter 2026 results on 13 August 2026. The quarter ended on 30 June 2026, and the company reports in euros. Revenue was €720 million, up 13 per cent as reported and 15 per cent at constant currency. Adjusted EBITDA rose 11 per cent to €242 million, but the adjusted EBITDA margin eased to 33.7 per cent from 34.4 per cent. Gross margin was 59.1 per cent, down 140 basis points from 60.5 per cent a year earlier; adjusted gross margin was 59.2 per cent.

Regions and channels

By region, the Americas grew 11 per cent reported and 14 per cent at constant currency. EMEA grew 15 per cent on both measures. Asia-Pacific grew 18 per cent reported and 23 per cent at constant currency. By channel, direct-to-consumer sales grew 14 per cent reported and 16 per cent at constant currency, while business-to-business sales grew 13 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. Secondary market data adds that China revenue grew by more than 50 per cent and that profitability was pressured by currency, United States tariffs and higher freight costs. We treat those as reported by a third party rather than verified against the primary release.

Guidance and capital allocation

Management raised its fiscal 2026 outlook for constant-currency revenue growth to 15 per cent, and guided adjusted EBITDA to at least €710 million, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 30.2 to 30.5 per cent. Adjusted earnings per share guidance was unchanged at €1.90 to €2.05. The tax rate outlook rose to 30 to 31 per cent from 26 to 28 per cent, and net leverage guidance rose to 1.6 to 1.7 times from 1.3 to 1.4 times. Reported revenue is expected at the high end of €2,300 million to €2,350 million, with adjusted gross margin of 57.0 to 57.5 per cent and capital expenditure of €110 million to €130 million, both unchanged. Capital allocation explains part of that shift. The company completed a €230 million accelerated share repurchase on 30 June 2026, retiring about six million shares. It said further repurchases of up to $500 million are possible, subject to market conditions, debt repayment and general corporate purposes. Net leverage was 1.8 times at the quarter end, compared with 1.5 times at 30 September 2025, and cash was €694 million.

A Buyback Funded the Leverage Increase

Birkenstock's regional growth was broad, led by Asia-Pacific, but reported net profit actually fell 15 per cent even as adjusted profit rose, a gap the company attributes to items it defines in its own filing. The completed €230 million accelerated share repurchase explains much of the jump in net leverage and tax-rate guidance, and with currency, US tariffs and freight costs already pressuring margins, the raised full-year outlook assumes those headwinds don't deepen further.