Skechers (SKX) became the latest U.S. company to pull its 2025 outlook, citing “macroeconomic uncertainty stemming from global trade policies” in its Q1 earnings report on Thursday.
Airlines like American (AAL), Delta (DAL), and Southwest (LUV) have already withdrawn their forecasts because of uncertainty over President Trump’s tariffs.
Even Tesla — despite Elon Musk’s ties to the Trump administration — has done the same.
Barring the lack of guidance, Skechers actually turned in a fairly solid quarter.
Sales totaled $2.41 billion, just shy of the $2.43 billion Wall Street estimate, according to FactSet data. Earnings per share came in at $1.17, which was in line with expectations.
Regionally, Skechers posted 14% sales growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and 8% growth in the Americas.
In Asia-Pacific (APAC), sales rose 3%, but excluding China, growth was a much stronger 12%. Nearly two-thirds of Skechers’ total sales now come from the EMEA and APAC regions.
The trade war hasn’t chased Skechers out of China
Despite the trade war, Skechers said it remains committed to China.
“We believe Skechers has significant growth opportunities in China, and we will continue to invest in product, marketing and infrastructure to expand and support our presence,” COO David Weinberg said.
On the earnings call, CFO John Vandemore said Skechers pulled its forecast because the “U.S. environment is simply too dynamic to forecast.”
He compared today’s tariff-driven uncertainty to Covid’s economic disruption.
Skechers’ supply chain — which includes manufacturing partners in Asia, such as Vietnam — is already feeling the pressure. Vietnam was hit by a 46% tariff, and even with Trump’s 90-day pause, a baseline 10% tariff remains in place.
The company is bracing for the possibility that tariffs could rise again.
“I would say, quite frankly, the more inventory we have under the prior tariff regime in the United States, the better off we would have been,” Vandemore said.
Skechers is weighing several options to blunt the impact — from renegotiating payment terms with suppliers to sourcing from different regions, as Barron’s reported.
For now, Skechers has no plans to raise prices outside the U.S., but if higher tariffs are reinstated, American customers could see higher costs.
Vandemore said the company might “absorb some short-term pain” to shield consumers if necessary. He expects Skechers to start feeling the full tariff impact by the end of the current quarter.
Shares of Skechers fell 5.4% on Friday. The stock is now down 28.9% year to date.
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