Puma (1K) | Hold | Still execution risk of brand healing process

Research evidence excerpt

Puma (1K) | Hold | Still execution risk of brand healing process

Puma Hold | Target Price: EUR25.50

 At the same time, it has to promote those products which are selling better (low profile shoes,

especially in Asia, football category, running segment).

In Q1 26, Puma’s net debt increased by EUR256m YOY to EUR2,566m, which was mainly due to a

negative free cash flow of EUR-201m; however, it improved from EUR-738m in Q1 25 due to better

working capital management. Even though Puma’s liquidity position is somewhat more stressed,

it has enough headroom (c. EUR1.1bn of which c. EUR880m stems from unused debt facilities) to

manage the deterioration of the liquidity position.

2026 is a transition year in a promotional environment with little transparency

Our investment case for Puma rests on four pillars:

 Solid brand visibility in the performance category: Unlike previous restructuring phases, like

in the late 90s and 2011, Puma benefits from a much better brand positioning and brand

visibility in the performance category, especially in football. Moreover, it has improved its

running shoe product range but still misses the distribution power to gain market share. This

is a solid base to improve its positioning in the lifestyle category; however, this takes time to

achieve, we believe.

 Macro and political headwinds: Macroeconomic and geopolitical developments reduce

transparency about consumers' shopping behaviour and will likely lead to higher costs.

Together with a very crowded space in the performance and fashion athletic segments may

cause a delay in when tangible improvements of its realignment programme become visible.

 Shareholders: The acquisition of Artemis’ 29.1% stake in Puma by Anta still requires the

approval of the authorities.