Analysts have high expectations for Under Armour's Q3 earnings

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Marion Curtis

Under Armour is expected to post earnings of 40 cents per share for the third quarter of 2014.

Sarah Meehan

Reporter- Baltimore Business Journal

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Under Armour Inc. is expected to post profits of 40 cents per share when the company releases its third-quarter earnings Thursday.

If analysts' predictions are on target, the Baltimore sportswear maker will have brought in $925.8 million in revenue for the quarter.

Under Armour closed out the second quarter with $610 million in revenue, a 34 percent increase from the same period in 2013. The company posted a profit of $18 million, or 8 cents per share.

It was the 17th consecutive quarter Under Armour (NYSE: UA) grew revenue by more than 20 percent. The company is on pace to top $3 billion in revenue this year.

Footwear and women's apparel have continued to drive Under Armour's sales, and that much was evident during the past few months. The brand's running shoe sales were outpacing competitors' sales earlier this summer, and sales of kids' shoes helped Under Armour achieve strong back-to-school sales.

Under Armour's footwear sales grew more than a third in September, and its kids' shoe sales were up more than 80 percent last month, according to Princeton Retail analyst Matt Powell. The company had a 8 percent share of kids' running shoes — double its share of the total running shoe market — in September.

Overall, Under Armour grew its running shoe sales by nearly 50 percent in September. Adult running shoe sales grew 35 percent, and kids' running shoe sales were up 75 percent.

Kids' sportswear helped boost Under Armour's September apparel sales, while sales of women's apparel actually declined. Those losses came despite the launch of the brand's "I will what I want" campaign featuring female icons like supermodel Gisele Bündchen and ballerina Misty Copeland.

Sarah covers hospitality/tourism, minority business, marketing and new media