VF Corp Beats Q2 Estimates as North Face, Timberland Grow and Vans Nears Turn

VF Corp. posted net income of $285.3 million for its second quarter, up 50.3 percent from $189.8 million a year ago, beating Wall Street's earnings estimate by 17 cents. Shares still fell in pre-market trading on Wednesday, a reminder that a beat is not the same as a turnaround.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 26 declined 3.8 percent to $2.7 billion from $2.80 billion. Analysts expected $2.67 billion in revenue and adjusted diluted EPS (earnings per share) of 54 cents. VF delivered 71 cents a diluted share, versus 48 cents in the year-ago period.

What drove the beat?

Two outdoor brands carried the quarter. The North Face revenue rose 4 percent to $1.21 billion. Timberland also grew 4 percent, to $525.9 million. Altra, the running footwear label, grew more than 40 percent and remains one of VF's biggest growth stories.

Vans did not carry the quarter. Its revenue fell 10 percent to $547.6 million. The Other Brands segment dropped 22 percent to $414.3 million, though that comparison is distorted by the Dickies sale. VF completed the divestiture of Dickies to Bluestar Alliance LLC for $600 million on Nov. 12, 2025. Excluding Dickies, revenue for the quarter was up 1 percent — ahead of VF's own guidance of flat versus year-ago levels.

Is the Vans recovery real?

CEO Bracken Darrell framed the quarter as proof. "Our plan to reignite Vans is working — global [direct-to-consumer] is growing again for the first time in almost five years, and strong orders from wholesale partners continue to give us confidence of a second half improvement," he said in a statement.

The claim deserves scrutiny. VF has repeatedly signaled Vans would turn first in DTC (the company-owned retail and e-commerce channel), followed by wholesale. Wholesale orders are forward-looking data, but they are orders, not sell-through. Third-party signals ahead of the report showed web and foot traffic recovering for Vans, particularly among male teens, while Timberland resonated with upper-income teens. Traffic is not conversion.

Darrell also said: "We are delivering sustainable and profitable growth on our path to achieve our full-year guidance and medium-term targets, as the upside potential in our business becomes even more evident." A 3.8 percent revenue decline sits uneasily beside the word "growth"; the adjusted picture depends on the Dickies carve-out.

How did regions and channels perform?

The regional split shows where demand is holding:

• Americas: down 2 percent to $1.32 billion, the smallest decline.
• EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa): down 6 percent to $1.01 billion.
• APAC (Asia Pacific): down 7 percent to $361.0 million.

By channel, wholesale revenue including royalties fell 6 percent to $1.78 billion, while DTC inched up 1 percent to $915.2 million. For sourcing teams, the channel mix matters: growing DTC with shrinking wholesale shifts order sizes, delivery cadence and replenishment requirements toward VF's own retail network.

For the six months, VF reported net income of $188.1 million, or 47 cents a diluted share, on revenue of $4.36 billion.

What comes next?

VF reaffirmed its Fiscal Year 2027 guidance of revenue up 2 percent or better. That target was first disclosed in July with first-quarter results, when it landed at the top of the previously given 1-to-2-percent range. The second-half Vans wholesale recovery that Darrell cites remains a forecast; the proof arrives when those orders ship and sell.