Under Armour Inc. posted better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter, a sign that an overhaul of the sports brand might be starting to pay off.

Adjusted earnings amounted to 25 cents a share, beating the 13-cent estimate of analysts. Sales also slightly outpaced projections.

Key Insights

• The results back up executives’ pledge to show improvement in the second half of 2018. The company is trying to get a grip on a glut of inventory that weighed down margins and led to discounted prices. Inventories were down 1 per cent to US$1.17 billion, a better result than the company projected.
• Revenue in Under Armour’s all-important domestic market decreased 2 per cent to US$1.1 billion. Though those sales losses were offset by international gains, Under Armour is more dependent than rivals Skechers USA Inc., Adidas AG and Nike Inc. on its home market.
• One the back of the strong earnings, Under Armour boosted its EPS forecast for the full year to as much as 22 cents from as much as 19 cents. Full-year revenue-growth expectations remained flat.

Market Reaction

• Under Armour shares rose as much as 8.9 per cent in premarket trading. The shares had been up 26 per cent this year, though they’d declined from a high in June.