WOLVERINE WORLD WIDE INC /DE/ has recently released its 10-Q report. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. designs, manufactures, sources, markets, licenses and distributes footwear, apparel and accessories across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America. Its business is organized into two segments, Active Group and Work Group, and it also runs an Other category that includes Hush Puppies, sourcing services, direct-to-consumer retail and the Stride Rite licensed business.
In Item 2, management said the company’s brands were sold in about 170 countries and territories as of July 4, 2026, with owned operations in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and parts of continental Europe and Asia Pacific, and third-party distributors, licensees and joint ventures covering other regions. The company operated 123 retail stores and 38 direct-to-consumer eCommerce sites at quarter-end.
Revenue in the second quarter of 2026 rose 6.8% to $506.4 million from $474.2 million a year earlier, while year-to-date revenue increased 8.7% to $964.0 million from $886.5 million. Active Group drove most of the growth, with quarterly revenue up $32.9 million to $388.4 million and year-to-date revenue up $77.8 million to $760.0 million. Merrell added $17.6 million in quarterly sales and $36.7 million year to date, while Saucony added $14.3 million in the quarter and $40.4 million year to date.
Work Group revenue slipped 1.6% in the quarter to $105.8 million and 0.4% year to date to $181.6 million. Cat revenue fell $2.3 million in the quarter and $1.9 million year to date, Harley-Davidson revenue declined $1.9 million in the quarter, and Wolverine revenue increased $2.5 million in the quarter and $1.5 million year to date. Other revenue rose to $12.2 million in the quarter and $22.4 million year to date, helped by higher Hush Puppies royalty revenue.
Gross margin narrowed to 46.5% in the quarter from 47.2% a year earlier and to 47.0% year to date from 47.4%. Management tied the decline mainly to higher tariff costs, partly offset by price increases and other mitigation actions. Operating profit increased 16.2% in the quarter to $47.3 million and 31.6% year to date to $81.2 million, even as selling, general and administrative expenses climbed to $187.4 million in the quarter and $370.1 million year to date.
Net earnings attributable to Wolverine World Wide rose to $31.2 million in the quarter from $26.8 million a year earlier, and to $51.4 million year to date from $38.9 million. Diluted earnings per share increased to $0.37 from $0.32 in the quarter and to $0.61 from $0.47 year to date. The effective tax rate was 19.5% in the quarter and 19.2% year to date, up from 13.7% and 12.3% in the prior-year periods.
Operating cash flow improved to $3.4 million for the first two quarters of 2026 from a use of $39.2 million in the same period of 2025. Inventory at quarter-end was down $55.2 million, or 17.0%, from the prior-year second quarter.
Management also disclosed tariff-related developments. The company said it had paid $35.9 million in IEEPA tariffs as of the Supreme Court ruling, submitted refund claims for $34.0 million excluding interest, and had received $6.9 million in cash beginning July 20, 2026 for part of those claims. It had not recognized any tariff refunds as of July 4, 2026. The company said revenue from the Middle East was about 1% of total revenue and that it was monitoring the conflict there for possible effects on distributor revenue, input costs and transportation costs. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved 11.02% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $20.05. If you want to know more, read the company's complete 10-Q report here.
