What happened

Investors weren't particularly eager to hold on to On Holding (ONON -1.30%) Wednesday. They traded the shares of the ambitious athletic footwear maker down by nearly 9% on the back of fresh quarterly results that obviously fell short of expectations.

So what

This, despite the fact that On Holding characterized its third quarter as the strongest quarter in its history. That's because the company notched all-time-high sales of 328 million Swiss francs ($348 million) for the period, which was over 50% higher than in the same time frame one year ago.

On the bottom line, net income also saw notable improvement, rising by almost 60% to 20.6 million Swiss francs ($21.8 million), or 0.06 Swiss francs ($0.06) per share.

At the moment, few analysts track On Holding stock, so outside estimates for the quarter were unavailable. 

The company attributed its growth to its recently introduced lines of running and trail-running shoes, among other factors. Of these lines, On Holding quoted co-CEO Martin Hoffman as saing that they are "extremely hot and win market share globally."

The company also said it benefited from the launch of Onward, its digital reselling platform, and the opening of a retail store in the ever-busy Los Angeles market.

Now what

With those tailwinds behind it, On Holding raised its full-year 2022 guidance. The company now expects to earn just over 1.12 billion Swiss francs ($1.19 billion) for the year and post earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of 148 million Swiss francs ($157 million). It did not provide guidance for net income.

So On Holding posted strong growth on the back of favorable developments, plus it raised its guidance. Why the negative market reaction, then?

Perhaps investors are concerned that even with those growth rates, On Holding remains a tiny fish compared to the likes of a powerhouse like Nike. Also, the company is operating from Europe, whose currencies have weakened considerably against the dollar. Finally, the macroeconomic challenges facing all global businesses might have an outsized impact on a relatively small player like this one.