Samsonite Posts 0.6% Constant-Currency Growth, Launches $50 Million Buyback
Key Facts
Samsonite said on November 12, 2026, that net sales rose 0.6% year over year in constant currency in the third quarter, exceeding its previous outlook, and launched a new $50 million share buyback program. Chief Executive Kyle Gendreau said the improvement reflected sequential progress across all regions and both the Samsonite and Tumi brands. The company added that the new program comes on top of the $250 million it has used to repurchase shares since August 2024. Sales growth returns the company to quarterly expansion despite ongoing travel and inflation pressures and weak demand, particularly in the U.S. The results put improved sales alongside a decline in an adjusted operating earnings measure, presenting a mixed picture of quarterly performance.
Reported gross profit margin was 61.3%, compared with 59.6% in the third quarter of 2025. The company said, however, that the figure was affected by U.S. tariff refunds; excluding their impact, the margin was 59.8%, up 20 basis points year over year. Adjusted EBITDA, meanwhile, was $138.0 million, down 3.3% from $142.6 million a year earlier. The margin on this measure fell to 15.8% from 16.3%. The comparison shows that an improvement in adjusted gross margin did not prevent adjusted operating earnings and their margin from declining during the period.
Adjusted net income was $65.3 million, up 2.7% from $63.6 million in the same quarter a year earlier. On an attributable net income basis, the result moved in the opposite direction, falling 21.0% to $58.1 million from $73.5 million. These figures distinguish between an improvement in adjusted net income and a decline in earnings attributable to shareholders, two measures that gave different signals about the quarter’s results. The available facts provided no additional numerical explanation for this divergence. The increase in constant-currency sales alone also does not change the picture of declines in some profitability measures.
Regional performance varied in the third quarter: constant-currency sales rose 3.8% in Asia and 4.9% in Latin America, while remaining stable in the European Union. In North America, they fell 3.4% year over year. Gendreau said the company faced continued travel and inflation pressures linked to the conflict in the Middle East, along with a challenging demand environment, particularly in the U.S., and a tougher year-over-year comparison base. In its first-half results, the company had linked the pressures to weaker travel trends and consumer confidence stemming from conflict-related inflation. It also cited wholesale customers’ caution in managing inventory, particularly in the U.S. The gap between growth in Asia and Latin America and the decline in North America shows how demand pressures were concentrated in one region while others remained stable or grew.
E-commerce continued to gain a share of sales, with its total contribution reaching 22.5% in the third quarter, up 150 basis points year over year. Sales through the channel grew 7.3% in constant currency during the period, exceeding the overall sales growth rate of 0.6%. The digital channel’s performance offers a bright spot in results marked by a clear divergence among regions and earnings measures. The company’s outlook published with its first-half results had indicated that third-quarter net sales growth in constant currency would remain stable and within a range similar to the second quarter. In the second quarter itself, net sales were $851.5 million, down 1.6% from $865.0 million in the second quarter of 2025. Third-quarter constant-currency growth thus came in above the path the company had previously set, following a year-over-year decline in net sales in the prior quarter.