Start here if you're new
what it is
It sells outdoor clothes, shoes, and gear under Columbia, SOREL, prAna, and Mountain Hardwear.
how it gets paid
Last year Columbia Sportswr made $3.4B in revenue. Columbia was the main engine at $2.96B, or 87% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 0.9% last year. Revenue was $2.3B, up 147% vs. prior year, and gross margin, the profit left after product costs, was 50.1%.
what just happened
Columbia beat by 21%: $1.73 in EPS versus $1.43 expected.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
50/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
16.1x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
13.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 56/100 — below average
What they do
It sells outdoor clothes, shoes, and gear under Columbia, SOREL, prAna, and Mountain Hardwear.
You are buying a brand that drives 87% of sales. That is the Columbia logo doing most of the work. It sells in about 90 countries, and 60% of sales land in the second half of the year. That reach helps, but it also means your stock lives and dies by cold-weather buying and holiday timing.
How they make money
$3.4B
annual revenue · their business grew +0.9% last year
Columbia
$2.96B
SOREL
$0.24B
prAna
$0.10B
Mountain Hardwear
$0.10B
The products that matter
core apparel and gear
Apparel, Accessories & Equipment
$2.7B · 79.4% of revenue
it's the $2.7B core business. when almost four-fifths of revenue comes from one bucket, that's the number you start with.
core revenue engine
boots and shoes
Footwear
$0.7B · 20.6% of revenue
footwear brings in $0.7B. that's enough to matter, but not enough to offset a weak apparel season on its own.
secondary growth lever
flagship brand platform
Columbia Brand
51.6% gross margin · +44 bps
the company-wide gross margin reached 51.6% and improved 44 basis points. that tells you the brand still has pricing power, even if top-line growth is only 1%.
margin story
Key numbers
9.0%
operating margin
You keep $9 before taxes for every $100 of sales. A 1-point slip is about $34M on $3.4B of revenue.
16.1x
trailing p/e
You are paying 16.1 times trailing earnings for 1.0% projected earnings growth. That is a slow-grower price tag.
2.2%
dividend yield
You get $2.20 a year for every $100 at the current price. That cushions a flat stock, not a bad year.
13.5%
return on capital
The business earns $13.50 for every $100 tied up in it. That is decent, but not enough to ignore weak growth.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 70 / 100
- net profit margin 6.1% — keeps 6 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 14% — $0.14 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in COLM 3 years ago → it's now worth $6,390.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Columbia beat by 21%: $1.73 in EPS versus $1.43 expected.
Revenue was $2.3B, up 147% vs. prior year, and gross margin, the profit left after product costs, was 50.1%. The beat came from profit control as much as sales.
$2.3B
revenue
$1.73
eps
50.1%
gross margin
the number that mattered
50.1% gross margin kept half the sales dollar after product costs. That is why EPS beat by 21%.
-
columbia sportswear reported mixed results in the september interim.
-
sales of $943 million grew by about 1% from the prior-year level, and maintained the pace of vs. prior year advances for the fourth straight quarter.
-
however, the operating margin fell by two percentage points, to 11.5%, even after adjusting for significant asset impairments (discussed below).
-
adjusted earnings of $1.41 per share fell about 10% from last year's $1.56, but was above our $1.19 call.
-
recent charges for product lines reflect continued weak demand.in the third quarter, columbia marked down the asset values of prana and mountain hardwear units following multiple years of languishing results. of the total $29 million in non-cash charges, intangible assets associated with prana were reduced by $17 million (including $8 million for the trade name) and Mountain Hardwear's assets were written down by around $12 million. although the expenses have little direct impact on cash flow, the reduction in future amortization charges related to the prana trade name ought to provide a modest benefit to bottom-line results.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is discretionary demand for outdoor apparel and footwear.
high
consumer demand slowdown
100% of COLM's $3.4B revenue comes from discretionary apparel, footwear, and gear. if consumers pull back, there is no defensive segment hiding underneath.
revenue exposure: the full $3.4B business
med
tariffs and sourcing pressure
management said Q4 2025 included $20M in incremental U.S. tariffs, and 2026 guidance already assumes about 70 basis points of gross margin contraction. that's a real cost headwind, not a theoretical one.
margin pressure: 70 bps guided for 2026
med
inventory misread
last year's 44-basis-point gross margin improvement came from better inventory management. if demand softens or orders miss, markdowns can give that back quickly.
baseline at risk: 51.6% gross margin
low
brand execution stays ordinary
a 16.6x earnings multiple and a $65 street target tell you the market already views COLM as competent but unspectacular. if the brands stay steady without accelerating, the stock can stay cheap for a long time.
valuation ceiling: upside remains tied to a modest $65 average target
all four risks hit the same place: a company guiding just 1–3% sales growth while trying to defend a 51.6% gross margin against 70 basis points of expected pressure.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
calendar
Q1 2026 earnings report
scheduled for april 30, 2026. street expectations are $0.34 EPS on $772M revenue. the key question is whether management keeps the 1–3% full-year sales guide intact.
metric
gross margin versus 51.6%
51.6% was the proof that inventory got healthier. if that starts slipping while sales stay slow, the whole margin-recovery story weakens fast.
trend
whether 1–3% growth becomes the ceiling
a low-growth guide can be acceptable for one year. it becomes a problem if it starts looking structural. two straight muted updates would change how you value the stock.
risk
tariffs and sourcing costs
the company already cited $20M of incremental tariffs in Q4 2025 and about 70 basis points of margin pressure for 2026. if that number grows, price increases or lower profits have to absorb it.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — in human-speak, analysts think COLM is behaving like a middle-of-the-pack stock over the next year.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — neither especially safe nor especially volatile. you own a normal retail risk profile.
chart momentum
below average
technical score 4 — the chart is not doing the stock any favors right now.
earnings predictability
50 / 100
50 / 100 means the earnings path is only moderately reliable. expect more variance than you would get from a steadier consumer staple.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 3 consecutive quarters — 134 buyers vs. 174 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 28.4M shares. net selling for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$42
$93
$55
current price
$68
target midpoint · +24% from current · 3-5yr high: $100 (+80% · 18% ann'l return)
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