Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank’s turnaround effort may have hit a wall this year following the latest earnings report. Reports that he is selling personal assets, including his racehorse farm and his stake in an exclusive Baltimore hotel, have raised new concerns about Plank’s financial health as UA continues to struggle. However, one UBS analyst sees light at the end of the tunnel, suggesting that sentiment around the athleisure brand could finally shift from negative to positive by 2027.
UA stock is down 34.5% year-to-date as of late Monday’s cash trading session in New York. Shares are now trading at 2010 levels, marking a collapse from the 2015 peak and extending what has become a decade-long bear market.
However, not everyone believes UA is headed for delisting from the New York Stock Exchange or spiraling into insolvency.
UBS analyst Jay Sole told clients earlier on Monday:
We think sentiment will turn positive in FY27, driving stock outperformance:
We believe the Under Armour brand name remains an important asset, and we expect the company to better leverage it going forward than it has over the past few years. The presentations we saw at our 2nd annual Athletic Training & Lifestyle Innovation Day & 5K reinforce our conviction in this view. While tariffs will likely have a pronounced negative impact on sales and margins in FY26, we believe UAA is poised for a strong FY27 turnaround. As this inflection takes place, we expect sentiment around UAA to flip to positive from negative. This is why we continue to rate UAA Buy.
Sole outlined three key takeaways from his meeting with UA executives:
We think UAA is successfully executing on its innovation plan. Last year during our conference, UAA unveiled its Velociti Elite 3 performance running shoe, along with a new fiber technology, dubbed NEOLAST. Since then, Sharon Lokedi won the Boston Marathon in May 2025 and set women’s course record, while running in the Velociti Elite 3 shoes. The company plans to launch 3 versions of the Velociti shoe this fall, along with other footwear products over the next year. Plus, at our event this year, UAA showcased the first commercial use-cases of its NEOLAST fiber in new performance tees, which are expected to launch next year.
UAA has a solid strategy to “premiumize” the brand, in our view. First, the company is tightening its strategic focus on its top 10 or so volume products. This is already in the works with the company’s ongoing efforts to reduce its SKU count by 25%. Second, UAA is implementing a tiered product pricing strategy by establishing “good, better, and best” products. For example, UAA mgmt. mentioned the company was over indexed to lower-priced “good” products, given they were significant volume drivers. Under Kevin Plank’s leadership, the company plans on introducing more product at higher price points. Importantly, we believe the company’s strong upcoming innovation and revamped marketing approach give the brand permission to play in the premium athleticwear market.
We believe UAA’s redefined storytelling will help drive brand heat. Mgmt. mentioned the company of the past had missed many opportunities to build greater momentum out of its product innovation due to incohesive brand support. The company now is emphasizing creating compelling storytelling which closely tie its products to the UAA brand. For example, the company presented several upcoming marketing campaigns during our conference which we felt were high impact and clearly conveyed UAA as a leader in sports.
Bearish mood on Wall Street desks.
Then again, the turnaround plan could fail. Why doesn’t the rest of Wall Street share Sole’s bullish outlook?