Deckers Cuts Fiscal 2027 Sales Outlook to $5.700 Billion to $5.725 Billion as Tariff Refunds Lift Its Earnings Guide

Deckers Brands reported fiscal second-quarter 2027 results on Thursday for the period ended Sept. 30, 2026, and cut its full-year fiscal 2027 sales outlook to $5.700 billion to $5.725 billion, while raising its full-year earnings guidance only because tariff refunds are now included in it.

The quarter split against the single published expectation tally used for every comparison in this article. That tally put expected net sales at $1.51 billion and expected earnings at $1.79 a share. Deckers reported net sales of $1.481 billion, up 3.5% from $1.431 billion a year earlier - a shortfall of about $29 million against the tally, calculated by TickerGrove - while diluted earnings were $2.31 a share, up from $1.82 a share, beating the tally by $0.52 a share on the same calculation. The earnings beat came with a disclosed assist: reported earnings include an approximate $0.28 a share benefit, net of tax, from tariff refunds received in the quarter, so the beat is not a clean read on underlying demand. Net income was $313.1 million, up from $268.2 million a year earlier.

The sales outlook fell, and the earnings outlook rose only on refunds

For the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, Deckers now expects net sales of $5.700 billion to $5.725 billion, down from the $5.86 billion to $5.91 billion range it maintained in July. HOKA sales are now expected to increase by a high-single-digit percentage, down from a low-double-digit percentage in the July outlook, and UGG sales are now expected to increase by a low-single-digit percentage, down from a mid-single-digit percentage. Diluted earnings guidance moved the other way, to $7.80 to $7.95 a share from $7.35 to $7.50 a share, but the release attributes the increase to refunds: the outlook includes an approximate $0.52 a share benefit, net of tax, from $87.9 million of tariff net refunds received through Oct. 8, 2026, and assumes no further refunds are collected. Stripping that benefit out gives a range of $7.28 to $7.43 a share, calculated by TickerGrove - below the July range - so the higher headline guidance does not signal stronger expected operations. Gross margin is now expected to be approximately 58.5%, with an operating margin of approximately 23% and an effective tax rate of approximately 23%.

HOKA and UGG both grew, but both missed the tally, and direct sales shrank

HOKA brand net sales increased 6.8% to $677.2 million, below the tally's $690.6 million projection, and UGG brand net sales increased 3.5% to $786.4 million, below the $800 million expectation. Other brands net sales fell 54.3% to $17.0 million as the Koolaburra standalone phase-out cut sales. Wholesale net sales increased 5.5% to $1.093 billion, but direct-to-consumer net sales decreased 1.8% to $387.5 million and direct-to-consumer comparable net sales decreased 6.4%, the softest channel read in the release. International net sales increased 9.0% to $644.7 million while domestic net sales decreased 0.4% to $835.8 million. On a constant currency basis, total net sales increased 2.8%.

Refunds lifted the reported margin, and the cash went to buybacks

Gross margin was 60.5%, up from 56.2% a year earlier, and the release says the refunds received in the quarter - $46.0 million of tariff net refunds plus $3.0 million of associated interest - added approximately 310 basis points to both gross margin and operating margin. Operating income was $389.5 million, up from $326.5 million, as selling, general and administrative expenses rose to $505.7 million from $477.3 million. Chief executive Stefano Caroti said the company "delivered earnings above our expectations in the second quarter by maintaining disciplined marketplace management and a focus on expense control in a challenging consumer environment." Cash and cash equivalents were $1.210 billion, inventories were $860.8 million and the company had no outstanding borrowings. Deckers repurchased approximately 3.2 million shares for $299.3 million in the quarter and approximately 6.5 million shares for $637.5 million in the fiscal year to date, leaving approximately $4.4 billion under its repurchase authorization.

What to watch next is whether direct-to-consumer comparable sales stabilize in the holiday quarter, whether HOKA growth can hold the new high-single-digit full-year guide after a quarter that missed the tally, and how the earnings guide performs with no further refunds assumed - the refund benefit is received cash, not a recurring source of earnings growth. The company reported results after the close on Thursday; no earnings-call statements are verified in this article.