Puma at historic low: stock plunge, layoffs and dividend cut

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 03. 12. 10:38

German sportswear manufacturer Puma is struggling financially due to weak markets in the US and China and global geopolitical tensions. The company announced 500 job cuts and a dividend cut, while its share price fell by a quarter on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Heavy stock market losses and gloomy outlook

Puma experienced one of its worst stock market days in history on March 12, when its share price fell by 25% due to investor confidence. The fall was the result of the company issuing a weaker-than-expected profit forecast for 2025.

CEO Arne Freundt announced that the company expects adjusted operating profit (EBIT) for the 2025 financial year to be in the range of 520-600 million euros, while revenues are expected to show only low single-digit growth. This is significantly below the market’s previous EBIT expectation of 693 million euros.

Layoffs and cost cuts

Due to the deteriorating financial situation, Puma will shed 500 employees worldwide, 150 of whom will be laid off at its headquarters in Herzogenaurach. The company currently employs 21,000 people globally, so the layoffs affect around 2.4% of its workforce.

The dividend payment will also be reduced: instead of last year’s dividend of 82 euro cents per share, the management proposes only 61 cents this year. At the same time, the company announced that it will spend 100 million euros on own share buybacks between March 6 and May 6.

Last year’s results and current challenges

Although Puma delivered improved results in the last quarter of 2024, the long-term outlook remains gloomy:

2024 operating profit (EBIT): €622 million
EBIT margin: 7.1%
Fx-adjusted revenue growth: 4.4%

In the last quarter of the year, profit after tax increased to €24.5 million from €800 million in the previous year. Operating profit rose by 15.3% to €108.9 million, while the operating margin remained at 4.8%. Quarterly revenues increased by 15.5% to €2.29 billion.