Shoe and apparel company Steven Madden (NASDAQ: SHOO) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q4 CY2025, with sales up 29.4% year on year to $753.7 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.48 per share was in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.

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Edward Rosenfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are pleased to have delivered above‑guidance earnings results for the fourth quarter, driven by improved performance in our core Steve Madden footwear business as well as a strong contribution from the newly acquired Kurt Geiger. Looking to 2026, we are encouraged by the momentum building in our flagship Steve Madden brand and the opportunity for growth in Kurt Geiger London. That said, we expect pressure on our private label business as well as higher SG&A driven by the normalization of incentive compensation and the restoration of senior executive salaries. While we continue to face uncertainty related to tariffs, the fundamentals of our business are strong. Our product assortments and marketing campaigns are resonating with consumers, our brands are powerful and gaining relevance, and we have a sound strategy for long‑term value creation with multiple levers for growth.”

Company Overview

As seen in the infamous Wolf of Wall Street movie, Steven Madden (NASDAQ: SHOO) is a fashion brand famous for its trendy and innovative footwear, appealing to a young and style-conscious audience.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term sales performance can indicate its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Over the last five years, Steven Madden grew its sales at a 16.1% compounded annual growth rate. Though this growth is acceptable on an absolute basis, we need to see more than just topline growth for the consumer discretionary sector, which can display significant earnings volatility. This means our bar for the sector is particularly high, reflecting the non-essential and hit-driven nature of the products and services offered. Additionally, five-year CAGR starts around Covid, when revenue was depressed then rebounded.

Long-term growth is the most important, but within consumer discretionary, product cycles are short and revenue can be hit-driven due to rapidly changing trends and consumer preferences. Steven Madden’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its annualized revenue growth of 13.1% over the last two years was below its five-year trend. We’re wary when companies in the sector see decelerations in revenue growth, as it could signal changing consumer tastes aided by low switching costs.

We can dig further into the company’s revenue dynamics by analyzing its most important segments, Wholesale and Retail, which are 57.5% and 42% of revenue. Over the last two years, Steven Madden’s Wholesale revenue (sales to retailers) averaged 3.1% year-on-year growth while its Retail revenue (direct sales to consumers) averaged 36% growth.

This quarter, Steven Madden’s year-on-year revenue growth of 29.4% was excellent, and its $753.7 million of revenue was in line with Wall Street’s estimates.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 9.5% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. This projection is underwhelming and suggests its products and services will face some demand challenges.

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Operating Margin

Operating margin is a key measure of profitability. Think of it as net income - the bottom line - excluding the impact of taxes and interest on debt, which are less connected to business fundamentals.

Steven Madden’s operating margin has been trending down over the last 12 months and averaged 6.3% over the last two years. The company’s profitability was mediocre for a consumer discretionary business and shows it couldn’t pass its higher operating expenses onto its customers.

This quarter, Steven Madden generated an operating margin profit margin of 4.8%, down 3.2 percentage points year on year. This contraction shows it was less efficient because its expenses grew faster than its revenue.

Earnings Per Share

We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.

Steven Madden’s EPS grew at a weak 22.1% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This performance was better than its flat revenue but doesn’t tell us much about its business quality because its operating margin didn’t improve.

In Q4, Steven Madden reported adjusted EPS of $0.48, down from $0.55 in the same quarter last year. Despite falling year on year, this print beat analysts’ estimates by 1.4%. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Steven Madden’s full-year EPS of $1.71 to grow 27.1%.

Key Takeaways from Steven Madden’s Q4 Results

We were impressed by how significantly Steven Madden blew past analysts’ EBITDA expectations this quarter. On the other hand, its revenue was in line. Overall, we think this was a decent quarter with some key metrics above expectations. Investors were likely hoping for more, and shares traded down 2.2% to $36.53 immediately following the results.

Is Steven Madden an attractive investment opportunity right now? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).