Earned & PaidUnder Armour
Under Armour spent $502M on advertising and marketing in fiscal 2026, down 8.7% on the year before. That's 10.1% of revenue.
Marketing spend by year
Bars: advertising and marketing expense, $B (10-K). Line: spend as a share of revenue.
What they told investors
“Our marketing reset is not only about how much we spend, but how effectively we spend it and what the return ultimately is.”Kevin Plank · 2027 Q1 · transcript
“It's that balance between brand marketing and product marketing.”management · 2027 Q1 · transcript
“But as Kevin said, and I do want to just reemphasize this point, even the marketing spend, as we've gone through it, if we're looking at what is actually reaching ultimate consumers and eyeballs, we are being very disciplined around making sure that we don't end up cutting that…”Reza Taleghani · 2027 Q1 · transcript
“So the e-commerce with less promotions, better visuals and content, we're focused on retail elevation, inventory management is something that you want to be smart about right now. but we're really shifting from chasing revenue to real disciplined marketplace execution and…”Kevin Plank · 2027 Q1 · transcript
“And so we're looking at it and saying, what are those initiatives that are going to drive full price sales?”Reza Taleghani · 2027 Q1 · transcript
“So we feel very confident that we're not impacting the marketing spend that's really driving revenues, but we're just being much more efficient in terms of how we go to market.”Reza Taleghani · 2027 Q1 · transcript
What the 10-K says about marketing
- investing in brand “We currently focus on marketing our products to consumers primarily for use in athletics, fitness and training activities, as well as casual use through sportswear products, emphasizing our ability to support the needs of our athletes throughout all moments of their day. We seek…” 10-K, May 19, 2026
- investing in brand “Our marketing strategy centers on athletes and teams across multiple levels of competition as well as brand ambassadors and influencers. We provide and sell our products to high school, collegiate and professional level athletes and organizations. We execute this strategy…” 10-K, May 19, 2026
- investing in brand “We are the official outfitter of teams in several high-profile collegiate conferences and professional sport organizations, supporting the athletes on and off the field. For example, we are an official supplier of footwear and gloves to the National Football League ("NFL"). We…” 10-K, May 19, 2026
- investing in brand “We promote our products through a range of digital, broadcast and print media outlets. As part of our marketing strategy, we utilize social media and other digital platforms to enhance brand awareness, strengthen consumer engagement and support our direct to consumer…” 10-K, May 19, 2026
- measurement “The costs and return on our investments for our sports marketing sponsorships may become more challenging and this could impact the value of our brand image.” 10-K, May 19, 2026
Say vs do
Under Armour has made 1 statement about its marketing budget for a year that isn't filed yet; the verdict comes with that 10-K.
What they said
“Our marketing reset is not only about how much we spend, but how effectively we spend it and what the return ultimately is.”
Kevin Plank on the 2027 Q1 earnings call, Aug 7, 2026 · transcript
Too early to check FY2027 isn't filed yet.
“And so we're looking at it and saying, what are those initiatives that are going to drive full price sales?”
Reza Taleghani on the 2027 Q1 earnings call, Aug 7, 2026 · transcript
Can't tell from annual filings The period isn't clear.
“we have a big budget to work with, including more than $600 million marketing dollars. And we do not feel as if we've optimized this.”
Kevin Plank, Executive Chairman and Brand Chief on the 2023 Q1 earnings call, Aug 3, 2022 · transcript
Can't tell from annual filings It's about part of a year; filings report full years.
“Our marketing spend in the first quarter was 11% of revenue.”
Dave Bergman, Chief Financial Officer on the 2023 Q1 earnings call, Aug 3, 2022 · transcript
Can't tell from annual filings It's about part of a year; filings report full years.
What they did
| Year | Marketing spend | Change | Share of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $502M | -8.7% | 10.1% |
| FY2025 | $550M | -3.3% | 10.7% |
| FY2024 | $569M | -8.2% | 10.0% |
Against its peers. Compared with the 4 other Apparel advertisers we track (Nike, Lululemon, Levi Strauss, Ralph Lauren): last year -8.7% (median +7.9%).
In interviews, its leaders made 84 statements about marketing: 7 argued for investing in brand and 0 for cutting.
How we check: a statement gets a verdict only when it's clearly about the size of the whole company's marketing budget over a full fiscal year; we compare it with the advertising and marketing expense in that year's 10-K. Statements about one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix between brand and performance can't be checked against annual filings.
What they say about media
The marketing channels it talks about using for itself on earnings calls and in its 10-Ks and 10-Qs, since 2019; counts are statements, not spending.
- Sponsorships & athletes “An example is 2 womenswear daily covers just this week featuring UA brand ambassadors, Wednesday with Francois Arnaud of Heated Rivalry theme wearing UA HeatGear.” Kevin Plank on the earnings call · Aug 7, 2026 · source
- Creative campaigns “We followed that up with Fern starring in our restless campaign that launched in Europe immediately following World Cup with what footballers do in the off-season.” Kevin Plank on the earnings call · Aug 7, 2026 · source
- Experiential & events “While activations like We Are Football and Run Club events with recording artist, Gunna, are evolving into community led platforms that generate authentic energy and momentum for the brand.” David Bergman on the earnings call · Feb 6, 2026 · source
- Organic social & content “Organic engagements surpassed expectations by promoting our heat cure base layer story, and increasing its share of ua.com franchise visits from 6% to 31%.” Kevin Plank on the earnings call · Nov 6, 2025 · source
- Measurement “And the opportunity for us to really optimize those is really what we kind of make sure we need to do, making sure we're leveraging those and engaging that appropriately and making sure that we are -- making sure we're driving the right ROMI with regards to how we are investing…” Colin Browne on the earnings call · Aug 3, 2022 · source
What they see in the market
What its leaders and filings say about the ad market: its own ad business, or the channels advertisers use, since 2019; counts are statements, not spending.
- Sponsorships & athletes “We're moving up with greater purpose, connecting the right products to real sports moments meeting athletes where they are and driving higher engagement per dollar.” David Bergman on the earnings call · Feb 6, 2026 · source
- CRM, loyalty & first-party data “We offer digital fitness subscriptions, along with digital advertising through our MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal and Endomondo platforms.” 10-K · Feb 25, 2019 · source
In the news
- Under Armour folds plant-based UNLESS into UA.com Sporting Goods Intelligence Europe · Sep 29, 2026 · brand strategy