Finance
Swatch flags positive sales momentum, lifting shares
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 30, 2026
3 min readLast updated: January 30, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 30, 2026
3 min readLast updated: January 30, 2026
Swatch's sales rose 4.7% in H2 2025, with strong Q4 growth, reaching 6.28 billion Swiss francs, surpassing analyst expectations.
By Bernadette Hogg and Alessandro Parodi
Jan 30 (Reuters) - Swatch Group said on Friday its sales momentum was picking up in the last quarter of 2025 and into 2026, sending its shares up over 7% despite its full-year operating profit missing market expectations.
The Swiss watchmaker said its sales grew by 4.7% at constant exchange rates in the second half of last year, and accelerated in all price segments in January leading to expectations of positive sales and volume developments this year.
Including currency movements, sales were down 6.8%
The strong underlying sales figures, alongside a decision to maintain a stable dividend, bumped the Zurich-listed shares in early Friday trade, with a Bernstein analyst pointing to hopes of recovery for the stock which is trading near 17-year lows.
Shares in the company pared some of their initial gains to trade up 6% at 1000GMT.
"As we had hoped, Swatch Group was thus able to benefit from a recovery in the watch industry," an analyst at Zuercher Kantonalbank said.
Swiss watch exports fell year-on-year in 2025 but were up in December, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said on Thursday.
The company added that its sales decline in China, Hong Kong and Macau was lower in the second half, with momentum picking up.
Excluding those regions and the production segment, sales were up 3.4% for the year and 8.2% in the second half. Its Americas region delivered almost 20% sales growth in 2025, expanding steadily despite U.S. tariffs.
Swiss exports to the U.S. faced a 39% tariff from August 7 until November 14, when the rate dropped to 15%, easing pressure on Swiss businesses that had faced Europe's highest U.S. duties.
"We believe that the CEO's bullish tone on current trends is likely to be taken well by the market, despite providing likely little read for 2026 profits", UBS analysts said in a note to clients.
Swatch delivered full-year earnings before interest and tax of 135 million Swiss francs ($176 million), missing the 201 million francs forecast by analysts polled by LSEG. Operating margin declined to 2.1% from 4.5% in 2024, well below the 3.4% analysts had expected.
The company said earnings were held back by low capacity utilisation and its decision to keep factories running to prepare for future demand.
($1 = 0.7688 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Bernadette Hogg and Alessandro Parodi. Editing by Matt Scuffham and Mark Potter)
Sales growth refers to the increase in sales revenue over a specific period, often expressed as a percentage. It indicates how well a company is performing in generating sales.
A financial summary is a concise overview of a company's financial performance, including key metrics such as revenue, expenses, and profit over a specific period.
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