●
◆ FilingTX · LINE 87
The Swiss running brand closed its fiscal year strong but issued conservative guidance. Co-founder David Allemann walked the line between momentum and caution.
March 6. On reported 30 percent sales growth for its 2025 fiscal year and immediately guided flat for 2026. The contrast landed hard in the earnings call.
Co-founder David Allemann framed the caution as operational, not pessimistic. The brand is holding distribution tight, refusing to flood retail channels, and planning slower rollouts in new categories. Growth at that clip draws attention from wholesale partners looking to load shelves. On's stance: no.
The Cloudmonster sold through faster than expected in Q4. Retail partners asked for more allocations. The brand said no again. Allemann's position, per the call: overexposure kills momentum faster than undershipping. The math supports it. Resale spread on the Cloudmonster stayed positive through the quarter, a rare hold in performance footwear.
The brand's 2026 guidance assumes flat revenue despite adding two new franchise models and expanding into apparel. That's either real discipline or a low bar set to clear easily. Likely both. The market read it as caution. Stock dipped 4 percent in after-hours.
On's posture is rare in the category. Most performance brands guide optimistic and miss. On guided flat after a 30 percent year. The only honest move available, or the setup for a beat in Q2. Either way, the brand refused the victory lap.
The Swiss running brand's gross margin runs closer to Hermès than Nike. Growth usually drags that number down.
dispatchThe Boston house filed strong 2025 numbers. The contrast with Beaverton is getting harder to ignore.
dispatchBimma Williams releases annual review of 2025's brand collaborations. Business of Fashion runs the interview, paywalled.