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NEW YORK, United States — Under Armour Inc. tumbled in early trading after fourth-quarter sales missed analysts' estimates, reinforcing investors' doubts that the sports-apparel maker can maintain its rapid growth.
Revenue rose 12 percent to $1.31 billion, the Baltimore-based company said in a statement Tuesday. Analysts estimated $1.41 billion, on average.
The results support skepticism that Under Amour — which has doubled its sales about every three years — can maintain such a rapid pace of growth. In October, lower-than-expected annual sales forecasts for this year and 2018 shook investors’ confidence in the company. That led to a 30 percent drop in the shares in 2016, the first annual decline in eight years. The stock is the most shorted in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The company’s class A shares fell 18 percent to $23.65 at 7:12 a.m. in early trading in New York.
By Matt Townsend; editors: Nick Turner, Kevin Orland and Molly Schuetz.
