In 2014, a not-quite-yet-the-real-deal Steph Curry famously signed with Under Armour, which at the time owned a measley 0.35 percent of the basketball retail market and whose trademark signing had previously been Brandon Jennings (now averaging and underwhelming 7 points, 3.5 assists per game for Orlando).
Fast forward two years and Steph Curry has captained a team that is statistically the best regular season team of all-time, shattering records, and selling out arenas. That translates in a big way endorsement sales, evident in the earnings report Under Armour just released for the first quarter of 2016.
According to Forbes, Under Armour raked in $1.047 billion in the first quarter, surpassing analyst predictions of $1.036 billion. Under Armour’s earnings per share also managed to double expectations at $0.04.
Although there are concerns regarding UA’s growth, particularly in the women’s apparel sector of the business, footwear has absolutely skyrocketed, almost entirely credited to Steph Curry’s success. UA amassed $264 million in net revenues for Q1, a substantial 64 percent increase from the same time last year when it reported $161 million in footwear earnings.
This is excellent short-term news, but Forbes points out that at some point, Under Armour will need to diversify beyond Curry to become truly competitive against market giants like Nike and Adidas.
[h/t Forbes]