PUMA SE

Puma reported a 9.4% decline in currency-adjusted sales for the second quarter of 2026, driven by reduced mass-merchant and promotional business, weaker consumer demand, and a 14% drop in wholesale revenue. Direct-to-consumer sales edged up 0.4%, with e-commerce rising 1.8% and its share of total sales exceeding 35%. Asia-Pacific sales grew 8.6%, while EMEA, the Americas, and Latin America all declined. Despite a negative adjusted EBIT of €41.9 million, gross margin improved to 48.0%, free cash flow reached €329 million, and inventory fell 15.3%. The company maintained its full-year outlook for a low- to mid-single-digit currency-adjusted sales decline and EBIT between negative €50 million and negative €150 million.

Kangaroo-skin soccer cleats have effectively vanished from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with only one player on the official tournament rosters indicating he may use a shoe model made from kangaroo skin. The Center for a Humane Economy and Animal Wellness Action announced that every major athletic shoe manufacturer has now committed to ending the use of kangaroo skins, following a six-year campaign. In 2025-26 alone, Adidas, ASICS, and Umbro joined Nike, Puma, New Balance, and Sokito in abandoning kangaroo parts, while Mizuno announced its intention to stop. These companies had until recently sold dozens of models of kangaroo-skin shoes to hundreds of millions of players in more than 190 nations, driving the commercial killing of two million kangaroos across their native range in Australia. The organizations called the shift one of the most consequential corporate animal-welfare victories in professional sports history.