By
Bloomberg
Published
May 13, 2025
On Holding AG nudged its sales growth forecast higher after a robust first quarter that saw strong demand for the Swiss sneaker maker’s high-priced footwear in spite of growing uncertainty in the global economy.
The Roger Federer-backed company now sees 2025 revenue growing by at least 28% to 2.86 billion Swiss francs ($3.4 billion) on a constant currency basis, On said Tuesday, a percentage point higher than the previous target. That’s slightly behind the average of analyst estimates.
Zurich-based On has become one of the top performers in the sneaker world, expanding from its core running shoes to other areas like tennis, training and apparel. Founded in 2010, the brand has grown rapidly in recent years, eating into market share of bigger players including Nike Inc. and Puma SE.
The company’s sales rose more than analysts expected in the first quarter to 727 million Swiss francs, up 40% from a year ago in constant currency terms.
On’s higher forecast assumes current levels of US tariffs remain in place. President Donald Trump initially set trade-sapping rates on countries including Vietnam and Indonesia — key production hubs for the sports footwear industry — before significantly reducing them for a 90-day window that expires in July.
While it’s unclear how exactly the trade war will play out now, On’s leaders said the company can handle whatever comes.
“Come hell or high water, On is in a good place to weather any storm right now,” co-founder Caspar Coppetti said in an interview. “The brand is extremely strong, the demand is there and the new product innovations are sticking.”
On has the most expensive running shoes in the industry on average and is already moving to edge prices higher in the US starting in July — and potentially elsewhere heading into next year. That approach hasn’t scared off consumers so far, with no drop in demand for the Cloud 6 model when it hit shelves this year for about $10 more than the previous iteration at about $160, Coppetti said.
The company’s gross profit margin ticked up in the first quarter to 59.9%, slightly ahead of estimates. Revenue in the period jumped 33% in the Americas, 130% in Asia-Pacific and 34% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“We’ve had a great start to the year and we see that demand remains strong,” said co-Chief Executive Officer Martin Hoffmann, adding that April was a record month for sales.
Despite the sales momentum, On trimmed the lower end of its gross profit margin target range for the year, saying it will probably wind up between 60% and 60.5%. The previous guidance was 60.5%.
On’s shares are up about 65% in the past year in New York, outperforming rivals Nike, Puma and Adidas AG, though they’ve dropped about 6% so far in 2025.
