Vans lands a 900, turns its parent company’s stock around

Incipient indications of progress in a corporate turnaround at apparel company VF Corp. generated a massive response in the market on Tuesday, as the company shares posted their largest-ever daily percentage increase.

The more than 20% surge came after the Denver-based VF reported a profit for the first time since late 2022, aided by stabilization at its youth-oriented Vans brand.

VF, also the owner of brands such as Dickies, The North Face, and Timberland, has struggled in recent years as its offerings appeared to lose favor with buyers. As part of its turnaround plans, the company sold off the Supreme brand in July to EssilorLuxottica for $1.5 billion, a loss from the $2.1 billion it paid in 2021 to acquire the brand.

Importantly, VF’s Vans brand, which had seen a collapse in sales last year, showed signs of stablizing. Vans posted a sequential sales rise of 15% to $667 million for the first time in a year. Vans brand revenue is still down 30% from its level two years ago.

As recently as July, VF Corp. shares were down by more than 30% in 2024. But the market has reacted well to turnaround efforts since then, and the stock price is now up more than 12% on the year.