VF Corp. beats the street for Q2 as Vans finds its footing. VF Corp. topped expectations in its fiscal second quarter, announced on Wednesday. Steady gains at The North Face and Timberland, a breakout quarter for Altra and early signs of life at Vans outweighed the gap left by last year's sale of Dickies. For the three months that ended Sept. 26, revenue slipped 4 percent to $2.7 billion, ahead of the $2.67 billion analysts expected. Excluding Dickies, which VF sold to Bluestar Alliance for $600 million last November, sales rose 1 percent. That beat the company's own forecast of a flat quarter. Net income climbed 50 percent to $285.3 million, or 71 cents a diluted share, from $189.8 million, or 48 cents, a year ago. Adjusted earnings came in at 70 cents a share, well above the 54-cent consensus. Most of the improvement came from margins. Gross margin widened 290 basis points to 55.4 percent on lower product costs, selective price increases and favorable currency. Adjusted operating income of $364 million landed about $50 million above guidance. The North Face grew 4 percent to $1.21 billion, with the Americas up 8 percent. CFO Abhishek Dalmia credited bottoms, transitional jackets and double-digit growth in footwear. A reversible Nuptse and a new U.S. Ski & Snowboard partnership are next up for the brand. Timberland also rose 4 percent, to $525.9 million, on a 15 percent jump in the Americas. CEO Bracken Darrell said the brand no longer depends on the 6-inch boot alone, with the Field Boot, Euro Hiker and boat shoes now growing faster than the icon. VF opened five more full-price Timberland stores in the Americas during the quarter, bringing the total to 19. Altra, the company's running label, grew more than 40 percent. Vans is still the brand that will decide VF's trajectory. Revenue fell 9.8 percent to $547.6 million, slightly below management's plan, as wholesale stayed soft and partners worked through inventory. Even so, global direct-to-consumer sales grew for the first time in nearly five years, which Darrell cited as evidence the brand's reset "is working." The Old Skool and Authentic models are growing alongside newer styles like the Super Lowpro, mules and loafers. A pearlized Old Skool Yacht Club sold out in the Americas in less than a day. VF expects wholesale to follow DTC on a six- to nine-month lag. Darrell said the lift is coming mainly from existing accounts adding space and product rather than from new doors. VF reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 outlook: revenue up 2 percent or better, an adjusted operating margin of about 8 percent and free cash flow of at least $515 million. For the third quarter, it expects revenue to rise about 3 percent. It sees The North Face and Timberland each growing 4 percent or more and Vans declining no more than 4 percent. The company also plans to pay off its April 2027 debt early, in March.

VF is upbeat about Vans' prospects, giving wall street hope. Vans' global DTC sales rose for the first time in five years, while the smaller Altra brand's footwear growth likely helped to offset shoe declines at Vans. October 28, 2026, 4:43pm When it comes to Vans' long-awaited turnaround, VF Corp. believes there's a lot to be positive about. "Vans continues to be recognized for the innovation and excitement that's happening," said VF's chief executive officer Bracken Darrell during the firm's second-quarter earnings conference call Wednesday. He cited to the Piper Jaffray teen survey, which indicated that Vans is one of the top brands of its targeted consumer base, and a recent AlixPartners Consumer Sentiment Index that noted Vans as the number-two fashion footwear brand. While the brand was down 9.8 percent in the second quarter, Darrell emphasized that global direct-to-consumer sales were "positive for the first time in almost five years as our product engine shows up in our channels first." You may also like. Darrell reminded analysts on the call that the company started with improved performance in U.S. e-commerce a few quarters ago, and then in Americas DTC in total, followed by global DTC in the second quarter ended Sept. 26. "We're introducing new ideas first with small batches in e-comm as well as with appropriate partners and cultural platforms and quickly introducing a few of these ideas into limited stores, our own, then scaling a subset of those products into the wider fleet," Darrell said, adding that product flows into wholesale after that, or about six to nine months behind DTC. "We have a lot of confidence in the wholesale channel for [the third quarter], and especially [the fourth quarter], based on a strong response from our partners to our increased product newness," the CEO said. Darrell also spoke about refreshing icons - like the Pearlized Old Skool - and offering new silhouettes. New styles include the Super Lowpro sneaker, mules and loafers. Even better, the brand is "three months closer to what we told you would happen in wholesale, and we're reconfirming it," Darrell said. "Our direction at Vans is clear, and I'm confident we'll see the acceleration." Darrell also said the brand's distribution is more limited than that of the traditional athletic shoe at the typical sporting goods retailers, which leaves runway growth in lifestyle as one of Vans' biggest opportunities. "We're looking at order books, and we're feeling good about them," he noted. At its Timberland shoe brand, Darrell said it "continues to build strong brand heat and relevance with new consumers," adding that the diversification strategy at Timberland is beginning to take hold. "What's even more exciting is the growth potential we see beyond our core footwear franchises. Sneakers and apparel represent significant white space for Timberland," the CEO said. "You won't see a meaningful contribution in the near-term numbers yet, but there's a lot happening behind the scenes, and we see substantial opportunity as we invest into those categories." And at the smaller - but fastest-growing - Altra brand, which posted growth at more than 40 percent in the quarter and was up in every region and channel, a robust product innovation pipeline and stronger storytelling has been resonating with consumers. "Road and trail both grew strongly in the quarter," Darrell said. "We already lead in trail, and the market for road running is 10 times bigger." He noted that Altra's Torin 9 launch was the biggest launch of the season with strong sell-through, while the new Vanish Carbon 3 and Tempo 2 elevated the brand's pinnacle race offerings. VF reported a net income jump of 50.3 percent to $285.3 million for the quarter ended Sept. 26, on a 3.8 percent decline in revenue to $2.7 billion. Needham's Tom Nikic said choppiness at Vans - and the glacial pace of the turnaround - represented another "frustrating quarter." But he does have a "buy" rating on shares of VF as guidance is for trends to improve "significantly" in the fiscal second half. "Overall, Vans is expected to get less bad in [the third quarter], down 4 percent or less, and is implied roughly flattish for fiscal [fourth quarter], which could signal growth in fiscal year '28," the Needham analyst said. And given the challenging marketplace and Altra's growth of more than 40 percent, he concluded that the "brand is growing so fast that the growth in Altra footwear this year is expected to full offset declines in Vans footwear." Truist analyst Joseph Civello also has a "buy" rating on shares of VF, noting that with management's greater visibility into Vans wholesale orders for spring 2027, "We continue to believe Vans is well positioned for a wholesale inflection, especially given the shift in fashion trends away from legacy athletic lifestyle silhouettes plus a meaningful gap in shelf space created by Nike's pullback of lifestyle product." Separately, Lyst on Wednesday disclosed its list of the 10 hottest products in the third quarter, with Vans Premium Authentic ranked at number four. Lyst said demand for Vans is up 29 percent year-over-year. Daily Headlines