Steve Madden won't give profit guidance as planned due to Supreme Court tariff ruling

By Bill Peters

The shoe designer's CEO said the Supreme Court's decision created too much uncertainty to provide an earnings outlook for the year

Steve Madden reported fourth-quarter results on Wednesday.

Shoe designer Steve Madden on Wednesday said it was not yet ready to provide a profit outlook for this year, after the Supreme Court last week struck down President Donald Trump's use of emergency-powers tariffs that upended planning for many businesses last year.

During Steve Madden's (SHOO) earnings call, CEO Edward Rosenfeld said that before Friday, the company had planned to offer a full financial forecast based on where trade policy stood at that time. The court's ruling, however, put those plans on hold.

"Obviously, over the last few days, there's been an enormous amount that's changed and a number of important questions remain unanswered," he said. "And there's genuine uncertainty about where things go from here.

"And obviously, we're talking about tariffs, which are a factor that have a significant impact on our earnings," he continued.

Given all the questions raised and left unanswered by the ruling, Rosenfeld said it wasn't prudent to provide an outlook for profit at this time.

Steve Madden, in its fourth-quarter earnings release, said it expects a 9% to 11% year-over-year sales gain for 2026. But it said it wouldn't yet offer an outlook for earnings per share because of the uncertainty surrounding tariff policy.

Shares fell 4.1% on Wednesday. The stock was still up 7.8% over the past 12 months.

The impact of the Supreme Court's ruling was expected to be in focus for retailers reporting results this week, including Home Depot (HD), Lowe's (LOW), TJX (TJX) and Urban Outfitters (URBN). After Trump announced a vast new tariff regime last year, some retail chains warned of possible price increases as they grappled with the extra costs of those import taxes and shifting tariff rates.

However, the court's ruling on Friday has left businesses wondering whether they'll be refunded for the tariffs they had to pay, and what might be next in the U.S.-led trade war. Trump has since imposed a 15% baseline tariff.

Shortly after Trump's election victory in 2024, Steve Madden said it planned to shuffle around its production in anticipation of steeper tariffs. The shoe maker that year still relied heavily on China - the main target of Trump's trade war - for production, as 76.6% of its total purchases at the time were products manufactured in the country, according to a filing. Management has said they expect that figure to drop significantly in 2026, when factoring out last year's acquisition of Kurt Geiger, which makes handbags, footwear and other accessories.

Last year, Steve Madden himself criticized Trump's tariffs, saying they would damage the economy. The White House, in response to those remarks, said Madden should "stick to pontificating about pump-and-dump fraud schemes instead of international trade," as MarketWatch reported last year. Madden served 21/2 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering in 2001, and later said he'd "screwed up" and paid the price.

Madden founded the company that bears his name in 1990, but is no longer on its executive team or board. The company has tried to maintain the fashion relevance it had in the 1990s and 2000s. On Wednesday, executives cited gains in women's footwear, efforts to improve quality and moves to connect with Gen Z and millennial consumers online.

Steve Madden's fourth-quarter earnings per share beat expectations, while sales missed. Sales to retailers and department stores rose 7.5% year over year during that period, but fell 2.6% when factoring out the acquisition of Kurt Geiger.

-Bill Peters

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-25-26 1745ET