With the holiday season in the rearview, the winners of the crucial shopping period — and frontrunners for a strong 2025 performance — are coming into focus.
According to a Monday note from Needham analyst Tom Nikic, Hoka and Ugg had a strong holiday shopping season, which has positioned parent company Deckers to become a top stock pick for 2025.
“We are encouraged by ongoing strength of the Hoka brand, which continues to gain brand awareness among consumers and shelf space at the biggest and best sneaker retailers in the world,” wrote Nikic, citing Bloomberg credit and debit card data in the U.S. that showed that “Hoka had a very strong holiday season,” especially between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Nikic added that Hoka was consistently a best seller at Dick’s Sporting Goods, a key wholesale partner, and that new iterations in the Bondi and the Clifton franchises will continue to drive momentum throughout 2025.
Nikic also cited Ugg as “one of the hottest brands in footwear today” and said popular styles like the Lowmel and Goldenstar sold out for the holidays without a lot of discounting seen across the brand in general.
“Deckers has been one of the strongest fundamental names in our coverage for years, and given momentum at both key brands (Hoka and UGG) and highly conservative fiscal second half of the year guidance, we think the beat-and-raise story remains firmly intact,” Nikic said, citing the stock as a top pick in the footwear sector. Other analysts have cited brands like Skechers, On and Birkenstock as their top footwear stock picks for 2025.
Hoka and Ugg have consistently led the way for the Deckers this fiscal year. In October, the Goleta, Calif.-based footwear company reported net sales in its Q2 of fiscal 2025 increased 20.1 percent to $1.3 billion, compared with $1.1 billion the same time last year. By brand, Hoka saw the largest increase in sales in the second quarter, reporting a 34.7 percent rise to $570.9 million, up from $424 million in Q2 2024. What’s more, Hoka eclipsed $2 billion in revenue over the trailing 12-month period for the very first time.
Ugg also continued its winning streak in the period, posting net sales of $689.9 million, a 13 percent increase from $610.5 million last year.
“Hoka and Ugg produced outstanding second-quarter results driven by strong consumer demand for our innovative and unique products,” Stefano Caroti, president and chief executive officer of Deckers Brands, said in a statement in October.
