Under Armour, Inc. (UAA): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

When you look at Under Armour, Inc. (UAA), are you seeing a brand in retreat or a strategic turnaround in action? The company closed its fiscal year 2025 with annual revenue of $5.16 billion, a 9.43% decrease year-over-year, alongside a net loss of $201.3 million, which defintely raises questions about its competitive footing against giants like Nike. Still, with a focused restructuring plan targeting a higher adjusted operating income of up to $195 million for FY2025 and a renewed emphasis on its core 'Sports House' identity, the real story is in how they plan to rebuild pricing power and relevance. To truly understand the investment thesis, you need to dissect the history and how this company actually makes its money in a rapidly changing athletic market.

Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) History

Under Armour's Founding Timeline

The story of Under Armour, Inc. is a classic American entrepreneurial tale, starting with a simple, unmet need identified by an athlete. Founder Kevin Plank, tired of sweat-soaked cotton shirts, created a moisture-wicking synthetic alternative that fundamentally changed the athletic base layer market. That single product-HeatGear-was the catalyst for a multi-billion dollar global brand.

Year established

The company was founded in 1996.

Original location

Operations began in the basement of founder Kevin Plank's grandmother's rowhouse in Washington, D.C., before the headquarters relocated to Baltimore, Maryland.

Founding team members

The company was founded by Kevin Plank, a former special teams captain for the University of Maryland football team. Early product testing and sales relied heavily on his network of former teammates who had moved on to the NFL.

Initial capital/funding

Plank launched the venture using approximately $17,000, which came from his personal savings and credit card debt. His first major sale, to the Georgia Tech football program, was for the same amount, $17,000, which helped keep the nascent company afloat.

Under Armour's Evolution Milestones

Under Armour's Transformative Moments

For a company to last two decades and still be a major force, it needs to make hard, transformative decisions. Under Armour has had a few of those, moving from a pure-play apparel innovator to a diversified, global brand, and then back to refocusing on its core strengths.

• Pioneering Performance Apparel: The initial breakthrough was recognizing the market gap for synthetic, moisture-wicking base layers, which Plank called HeatGear. This single innovation disrupted the traditional cotton-dominated athletic apparel industry and established the brand's performance-first identity.
• The Digital Fitness Bet: In the mid-2010s, the company made a massive push into digital health and fitness, investing over $700 million to acquire apps like MapMyFitness and MyFitnessPal. The goal was to build the world's largest digital fitness community, but the integrated ecosystem proved difficult to monetize effectively.
• The Strategic Divestiture: The decision to sell the MyFitnessPal business for $345 million was a clear, strategic pivot in 2020. This move streamlined operations, allowing the company to reinvest capital and focus resources back into its core product categories of apparel and footwear.
• The 2025 Financial Reality Check: The full fiscal year 2025 results, ending March 31, showed the challenge of the current environment: a total revenue of $5.2 billion and a reported net loss of $201 million. This data, including an operating loss of $185 million, underscores the urgency of the new leadership's plan to strengthen the product lineup, especially with a significantly strengthened product lineup anticipated in Fall 2025.

If you want to dive deeper into the current corporate strategy driving this turnaround, you can read about the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Under Armour, Inc. (UAA).

Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) Ownership Structure

Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) operates with a dual-class stock structure, which means founder Kevin Plank retains significant voting power despite a relatively small percentage of the total equity, maintaining his status as a controlling shareholder. This governance model centralizes strategic decision-making, distinguishing the company from those purely controlled by institutional investors.

Under Armour's Current Status

Under Armour is a publicly traded company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbols UAA (Class A Common Stock) and UA (Class C Common Stock). As of November 2025, the company is deeply engaged in a restructuring and turnaround strategy, reflected in its full fiscal year 2025 (FY2025) financial results, which reported a total revenue decrease of 9 percent to $5.2 billion. The company reported a net loss of $201 million for FY2025, or a diluted loss per share of $0.47, as it focuses on operational efficiency and core brand strength. For a deeper dive into the financial metrics driving this strategy, you can read Breaking Down Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Under Armour's Ownership Breakdown

The company's ownership is dominated by institutional funds and the general public, but the founder's insider stake holds disproportionate control through the stock structure. The institutional ownership percentage includes major asset managers like BlackRock, Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc. Here's the quick math on the shareholder breakdown:

Honestly, the founder's control is the biggest factor here, not just the percentage of shares. He steers the ship.

Under Armour's Leadership

The company is led by its founder and a seasoned board, reflecting a blend of entrepreneurial vision and financial rigor, especially critical during the current restructuring efforts, which have expanded the total estimated pre-tax charges for the fiscal 2025 plan to up to $255 million.

• Kevin Plank: Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He returned to the CEO role effective April 1, 2024, to lead the turnaround.
• Dr. Mohamed A. El-Erian: Non-executive Chair of the Board. He is a globally recognized economist and financial advisor, providing independent oversight to the board.
• David Bergman: Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He is the current CFO as of November 2025, but is scheduled to transition out.
• Reza Taleghani: Incoming Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He is set to succeed David Bergman, with his transition planned for February 2026.

This leadership structure is defintely focused on a return to core profitability and operational discipline, which is a near-term necessity given the recent separation from the Curry Brand and the challenging North American market.

Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) Mission and Values

Under Armour's mission is fundamentally about performance and empowerment, moving beyond just selling gear to actually making athletes better. This core purpose, coupled with a set of values focused on fighting through adversity, defines the company's cultural DNA and its long-term strategy to become a premier global Sports House.

Under Armour's Core Purpose

You need to know what a company stands for, especially when its fiscal 2025 overall revenue saw a 9% decrease to $5.2 billion; the mission is the anchor during that kind of turbulence. Under Armour, Inc.'s core purpose is to elevate the athlete, not just outfit them. They are in the business of enhancing human performance, which is a powerful, defintely sticky brand promise.

Official mission statement

The company's formal mission statement is concise and athlete-centric. It's a clear mandate for every product line and marketing campaign, focusing the entire organization on its end-user.

• Under Armour Makes Athletes Better.

For a deeper dive, the company elaborates that this mission is achieved through three core components: passion, design, and the relentless pursuit of innovation. Here's the quick math: if your product doesn't make the user better, it fails the mission test.

Vision statement

The vision statement maps out their ambitious future, aiming to create products that become indispensable to the user. This focus on 'solutions you never knew you needed' is a commitment to continuous, disruptive innovation (innovative technology that significantly changes the market).

• To inspire you with performance solutions you never knew you needed and can't imagine living without.

This vision is the driver behind their strategic goal to become a 'global Sports House,' capable of equipping athletes from head-to-toe, worldwide. This strategy is critical as the company works to deliver an adjusted operating income expected to be between $165 million and $185 million for the remainder of the 2025 financial year.

• Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Under Armour, Inc. (UAA).

Under Armour's Core Values

The core values are the cultural pillars that guide every decision, from product development to corporate social responsibility. They are rallying cries for the team, not just corporate jargon.

• Love Athletes: Put the focused performer at the center of everything.
• Stand for Equality: Believe sport is the great unifier and speak up for fairness and equity.
• Fight On Together: Build strength through tackling adversity and act with an enterprise mindset.
• Act Sustainably: Work ethically and efficiently to perfect performance while reusing the Earth's resources.
• Celebrate the Wins: Believe victories, big and small, bring the team together.

These values show that the company's focus isn't solely on the bottom line; it's on a culture of grit, innovation, and social impact. The 'Fight On Together' value, for instance, is a direct reflection of the underdog mentality that founded the brand.

Under Armour slogan/tagline

While the mission is 'Under Armour Makes Athletes Better,' the most recognizable and enduring catchword that encapsulates the brand's ethos is a simpler, direct call to action.

• Under Armour Makes You Better.

The classic rallying cry, 'I WILL,' which often follows the older motto 'Protect This House,' still embodies the brand's commitment to the athlete's personal resolve. It's a powerful, two-word commitment to self-improvement that resonates deeply with the target audience.

Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) How It Works

Under Armour operates by inventing and distributing branded, high-performance athletic gear globally, focusing on technical innovation to enhance athlete performance rather than just casual style.

The company creates value by tightly controlling its product development-from proprietary fabric technology to connected footwear-and then distributing it through a focused, multi-channel network to performance-driven consumers.

Under Armour's Product/Service Portfolio

The product portfolio is segmented into three core categories, with Apparel remaining the largest revenue driver, generating approximately $3.5 billion in revenue for the 2025 fiscal year, despite an 8.9% decrease year-over-year.

Under Armour's Operational Framework

The operational framework is currently undergoing a significant strategic reset, shifting from broad growth to disciplined efficiency, which is defintely necessary given total net revenues decreased by 9.4% to approximately $5.1 billion in fiscal year 2025.

The focus is on operational precision and brand intent, guided by CEO Kevin Plank's return and a push to simplify the business using principles like the 80-20 rule-focusing resources on the 20% of efforts that drive 80% of results.

• Supply Chain Diversification: The company actively mitigates geopolitical and cost risks by diversifying its global sourcing footprint. For instance, as of 2025, the brand sources a significant portion of its goods from Vietnam (30%), Jordan (20%), and Indonesia (15%).
• Product Streamlining: A major initiative is the reduction of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) by up to 25% to eliminate complexity, tighten inventory, and focus on fewer, higher-quality products.
• Distribution Overhaul: The company is executing a multi-year distribution logistics initiative, including the planned exit of a major distribution facility in Rialto, California, by March 2026, to enhance cross-channel capabilities and drive cost efficiency.
• Channel Management: Revenue is generated through wholesale (approximately $3.0 billion in FY2025) and direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels (approximately $2.1 billion in FY2025), with the strategic goal of reducing promotional activities to elevate brand perception and pricing power.

Under Armour's Strategic Advantages

Under Armour's market success is rooted in its foundational commitment to performance innovation and a strategic repositioning to reclaim its premium brand status.

• Performance Innovation DNA: The company's core strength is its proprietary fabric technology, such as HeatGear and ColdGear, which created the modern performance apparel category and differentiates it from lifestyle-focused competitors.
• Gross Margin Improvement: Despite revenue decline, the gross margin increased by 180 basis points to 47.9% in fiscal 2025, a critical indicator of brand health driven by reduced discounting and better product costing.
• Targeted Athlete Endorsements: Strategic partnerships with elite athletes, like Stephen Curry for footwear, reinforce the brand's credibility and focus on high-performance sports, directly appealing to its core target market of young, competitive athletes.
• Operational Discipline: The current restructuring plan, with anticipated charges of $140 million to $160 million, is a clear, decisive action to streamline operations, reduce complexity, and position the business for sustainable, profitable growth.

You can learn more about the foundational principles driving these decisions here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Under Armour, Inc. (UAA).

Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) How It Makes Money

Under Armour, Inc. primarily makes money by designing, sourcing, and marketing high-performance athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories, selling these products through a mix of wholesale partners and its own direct-to-consumer channels like Brand Houses and e-commerce.

You need to understand that despite a strategic shift toward premium positioning, the company's revenue engine faced headwinds in fiscal year 2025 (FY2025), with total revenue declining 9% to approximately $5.2 billion.

Given Company's Revenue Breakdown

The core of Under Armour's financial model is its Apparel segment, which drives the majority of sales, but the company's push into Footwear and Accessories is what provides diversification. Here is the breakdown of the $5.2 billion in net revenue for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025.

The geographic split is also critical: North America accounted for roughly 60% of net revenues, but this segment saw an 11% decline in FY2025, which is a major drag on overall performance.

Business Economics

The company is currently executing a significant strategic reset, moving away from a discount-heavy model to a premium-focused brand positioning. This shift is the biggest near-term lever for margin improvement, but it means accepting lower sales volume in the short term. It's a tough but necessary trade-off.

• Pricing Strategy: Management is focusing on full-price selling and tightening distribution, which means less product flowing into the off-price and promotional channels. This is defintely the right long-term move to elevate brand equity, but it caused e-commerce revenue to drop 23% in FY2025 as promotions were reduced.
• Cost Structure Optimization: A restructuring plan, announced in May 2024, is in full swing to improve operational efficiency. This includes an aggressive plan to reduce the total number of product styles (SKUs) by 25%, which simplifies the supply chain and lowers costs.
• Margin Improvement: The disciplined approach to pricing and supply chain efficiencies helped the Gross Margin increase by 180 basis points to 47.9% for the full fiscal year 2025. This is a clear sign the premium strategy is starting to work on the cost side.
• Channel Mix: Wholesale revenue still accounts for the largest portion of sales, at $3.0 billion, but the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) channel, at $2.1 billion, is where the company captures higher margins. The DTC decline of 11% in FY2025 is a risk to watch, as it offsets the margin benefits.

Given Company's Financial Performance

Looking past the top-line revenue decline, the health of the balance sheet and the profitability trends tell a more nuanced story of a company in transition. The immediate risk is the lack of profitability, but the underlying margin improvement is a positive sign.

• Net Loss: For the full fiscal year 2025, Under Armour reported a GAAP Net Loss of $201.27 million. This contrasts sharply with the prior year's net income and reflects the costs of the restructuring plan and the revenue decline.
• Inventory Management: Inventory levels were managed well, decreasing 1% year-over-year to $946 million by the end of FY2025. This shows management is avoiding the trap of holding too much excess stock, which forces future discounting.
• Restructuring Savings: The restructuring plan generated $35 million in savings in fiscal 2025, with more expected in the following year. This is the concrete financial benefit of streamlining operations.
• Cash Position: The company maintained a solid cash position, ending the fiscal year with $501 million in cash and cash equivalents, and no outstanding borrowings on its $1.1 billion revolving credit facility. Liquidity is not an immediate concern.

You can see a deeper dive into who is buying into this turnaround story by Exploring Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) Market Position & Future Outlook

Under Armour, Inc. is in a critical turnaround phase as of late 2025, prioritizing brand premiumization and operational discipline over volume growth to stabilize its market position. The company's goal is to reignite brand relevance by focusing on its performance-first heritage, following a fiscal 2025 where total net revenues declined by 9% to approximately $5.2 billion, resulting in a net loss of $201 million. The entire strategy hinges on successfully executing a comprehensive restructuring plan while navigating intense competition in a slowing North American market.

This strategic reset, spearheaded by the return of CEO Kevin Plank, is a calculated risk to move the brand upmarket and away from heavy discounting, which had eroded its profit margins. The near-term focus is on strengthening the gross margin, which improved by 180 basis points to 47.9% in fiscal 2025, a clear sign of progress in regaining pricing power.

Competitive Landscape

Under Armour operates in a highly concentrated global athletic market, where it is significantly outpaced by the two largest players, Nike and Adidas. The competitive pressure is particularly acute in the premium athleisure (athletic leisure) segment, where Lululemon Athletica commands superior brand loyalty and pricing power. Under Armour's strategy is to leverage its core strength in technical, performance-driven gear to differentiate itself from the lifestyle focus of many rivals.

Here's the quick math: Under Armour's FY2025 revenue of $5.2 billion relative to the projected 2025 Global Sportswear Market size of $404.8 billion, which shows its relative size in the overall market.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's future performance is tied to its ability to execute its 'Product, Story, Service, and Team' strategy without further revenue erosion. This is defintely a high-stakes moment for the brand, as evidenced by the expanded restructuring costs.

Industry Position

Under Armour's industry standing is defined by its position as a major performance brand that is currently struggling to translate that heritage into profitable growth, especially against lifestyle-focused competitors. The company's market capitalization of approximately $2.84 billion as of July 2025 places it significantly behind rivals like Nike ($107.03 billion) and Adidas ($43.42 billion).

The company is making a clear pivot to regain its footing:

• Focusing on Core Apparel: The separation from the Curry Brand, while notable, is a move to reduce exposure to the flagging footwear category and refocus on the core apparel business.
• Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Discipline: Reducing discounting in the DTC channel to strengthen the brand's premium image, even if it means sacrificing low-margin sales volume in the short term.
• Volatility: The stock exhibits high volatility, with a Beta of 1.77, indicating it is significantly more volatile than the S&P 500.

To truly understand the institutional view on this turnaround, you should read Exploring Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?