On Friday morning Under Armour (UA 0.85%) (UAA 0.91%) revealed operating results for the second quarter, which captured the deepest impact on the retailing business from COVID-19 shutdowns.
Sales dove 41% as most of its athletic apparel stores were closed to customers for much of the period, the company said. This slump generated an adjusted operating loss of $131 million.
As bad as those headline numbers were, investors were bracing for even bigger sales and profit declines.
Image source: Getty Images.
Under Armour notched some wins in the period, including by boosting e-commerce sales and bulking up its cash holdings. But the chain still risks some major pricing pressures over the next few quarters as it works through elevated inventory in a potentially shrinking market. Inventory holdings jumped 24%, in fact, to $1.2 billion after having risen 7% in the previous quarter.
"We remain appropriately cautious," CEO Patrik Frisk said in a press release, "due to continued uncertainty related to consumer shopping dynamics, the potential for a highly promotional environment, and proactive decisions to reduce inventory." Under Armour declined to issue a new outlook for the year but noted that it expects customer retailing traffic to remain lower for the rest of 2020.
