Outdoor Stocks Update: October Surprised Us with an Upswing

October’s stock performance in the outdoor industry was far less scary than in previous months, with most companies on our list posting overall gains. In September, all of the 28 companies we track lost ground; this month, 18 saw upticks. The trend matches other major indexes—the Dow had its best October since 1976, after clawing back nearly 14 percent of its value to end the month with a 4 percent gain. Our index, similarly, rose 13 percent, finishing at 2.53 percent over September.

The picture wasn’t without dark spots. Adidas made international headlines when it dropped a certain performer—and took a $246 million hit in doing so. Its stock dropped 15 percent by month-end as a result.

A growing GDP, measures to tamp down inflation, and a slight increase in consumer spending have given the volatile economy a little relief, and as the country enters into the major holiday spending months, there’s reason to hope that 2022 will end on a staid uptick.

Here’s a closer look at what happened in October.

Outdoor Index Compared to Other Indices: October 2022

Of the 28 public companies we track, most saw much better numbers in October. These are the companies that saw the largest leaps:

1. Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE: VSTO): 19.41%
2. Compass Diversified (NYSE: CODI): 17.83%
3. Fenix Outdoor International AG (STO: FOI-B): 14.98%

And here are the companies that saw the biggest declines last month:

1. ANTA Sports Products Ltd. (OTC: ANPDY): -16.64%
2. Adidas AG (OTC: ADDYY): -15.07%
3. Clarus Corp. (Nasdaq: CLAR): -10.10%

Tracking Our Monthly Outdoor Index

Below is our Outdoor Index for October 2022. The index shows how 28 public corporations—mostly parent companies of outdoor brands, with a couple of retailers, a ski resort giant, and a trade show operator included as well—performed in the calendar month.

The chart includes the companies’ share prices at the close of the last business day of the previous month (Sept. 30), their share price at the close of the last business day of the tracked month (Oct. 31), and the percent change during that period.
The Outdoor Index, unlike other indices such as the Dow, doesn’t use a market-cap weighting system.

Foreign companies’ shares are presented here in U.S. dollars and designated as OTC (over-the-counter) securities since they aren’t listed on U.S. stock exchanges. Two exceptions are Dometic Group AB and Fenix Outdoor International Group, whose share prices can be found only on Nasdaq Stockholm and are represented as U.S. currency converted from the Swedish krona.
Underneath the stock chart are capsules on each of the companies of the Outdoor Index, including headquarters location, connections to the outdoor industry (if not immediately obvious), key executives, and recent editorial coverage in Outside, where applicable.

Outdoor Index: October 2022

*Currency converted from Swedish krona

OBJ Outdoor Index: Company Guide

Adidas AG (OTC: ADDYY)

• Headquarters: Herzogenaurach, Germany (U.S. operation is based in Portland, Oregon)
• Outdoor connection: While Adidas might be known for its athletic apparel, the company also possesses some core outdoor DNA through its Portland, Oregon-based Adidas Terrex and Five Ten brands.
• Key executives: Kasper Rorsted, CEO; Carla Murphy, GM, Adidas Outdoor

ANTA Sports Products Ltd. (OTC: ANPDY)

• Headquarters: Xiamen, China (subsidiary Amer Sports is based in Helsinki, Finland, and its U.S. operation is based in Ogden, Utah)
• Outdoor connection: ANTA is the owner of Amer Sports and its portfolio of outdoor and snow sports brands — Salomon, Arc’teryx, Armada Skis, and Atomic.
• Key executives: Jie Zheng, CEO, Amer Sports

Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. (NYSE: MODG)

• Headquarters: Carlsbad, California
• Outdoor connection: Though primarily a golf manufacturer and now the owner of Topgolf, the company made a big play in the outdoor space in late 2018 with the acquisition of European outdoor brand Jack Wolfskin.
• Key executives: Oliver Brewer, President and CEO, Callaway; Richard Collier, CEO, Jack Wolfskin; Diana Seung, GM, Jack Wolfskin North America

Camping World Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CWH)

• Headquarters: Lincolnshire, Illinois
• Key executives: Marcus Lemonis, CEO

Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GOOS)

• Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
• Outdoor connection: In addition to its eponymous apparel brand, Canada Goose owns and operates footwear brand Baffin.
• Key executives: Dani Reiss, CEO

Canadian Tire Corp. (OTC: CDNAF)

• Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
• Outdoor connection: CTC boasts an iconic outdoor brand, Helly Hansen, in its portfolio. (It also operates a chain of sporting goods retail stores throughout Canada.)
• Key executives: Paul Stoneham, CEO, Helly Hansen (departing)

Clarus Corp. (Nasdaq: CLAR)

• Headquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah
• Outdoor connection: Clarus is a holding company whose flagship outdoor brand is Black Diamond Equipment. Clarus also owns Rhino-Rack, Pieps, SKINourishment plus two bullet manufacturers.
• Key executives: John Walbrecht, President

Columbia Sportswear Co. (Nasdaq: COLM)

• Headquarters: Portland, Oregon
• Outdoor connection: In addition to the Columbia brand, the Portland-based apparel and footwear giant includes Mountain Hardwear, prAna, and SOREL in its portfolio.
• Key executives: Timothy Boyle, CEO

Compass Diversified (NYSE: CODI)

• Headquarters: Westport, Connecticut
• Outdoor connection: Long known for its hook-and-bullet assets, CODI added a big outdoor name in the fall of 2020 with the acquisition of BOA Technology Inc.
• Key executives: Shawn Neville, CEO, BOA Technology

Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NYSE: DECK)

• Headquarters: Goleta, California
• Outdoor connection: Deckers is a major player in outdoor and active footwear with such brands as Hoka One One, Teva, Sanuk, and Ugg.
• Key executives: Wendy Yang, President, performance lifestyle brands

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS)

• Headquarters: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Outdoor connection: The sporting goods retail giant recently launched an outdoor store concept called Public Lands, led by industry veteran Todd Spaletto.
• Key executives: Lauren Hobart, President and CEO; Todd Spaletto, President, Public Lands

Dometic Group AB (STO: DOM.ST)

• Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden
• Outdoor connection: The Swedish-based company manufactures accessories for mobile-living end markets such as campers and RVs, and it recently acquired Igloo Products Corp.
• Key executives: Juan Vargues, President and CEO

Emerald Holding Inc. (NYSE: EEX)

• Headquarters: San Juan Capistrano, California
• Outdoor connection: Emerald is the owner and operator of the twice-annual Outdoor Retailer and Surf Expo trade shows
• Key executives: Hervé Sedky, CEO

Fenix Outdoor International AG (OTC: FNXTF) 

• Headquarters: Zug, Switzerland (U.S. headquarters in Louisville, Colorado)
• Outdoor connection: The Swiss company’s outdoor brands include Fjallraven, Royal Robbins, and Primus.
• Key executives: Martin Nordin, CEO; Nathan Dopp, CEO Americas

Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN)

• Headquarters: Schaffhausen, Switzerland (U.S. headquarters in Olathe, Kansas)
• Key executives: Clifton Pemble, President and CEO

GoPro (Nasdaq: GPRO)

• Headquarters: San Mateo, California
• Key executives: Nick Woodman, CEO

Helen of Troy Ltd. (Nasdaq: HELE)

• Headquarters: El Paso, Texas
• Outdoor connection: Among its many consumer brands is Hydro Flask, the maker of insulated and stainless steel drinkware, and Osprey.
• Key executives: Julien Mininberg, CEO

Johnson Outdoors Inc. (Nasdaq: JOUT)

• Headquarters: Racine, Wisconsin
• Outdoor connection: The company owns two outdoor brands (Eureka and Jetboil) and two watercraft brands (Old Town and Ocean Kayak).
• Key executives: Helen P. Johnson-Leipold, Chairman and CEO

On Holding AG (NYSE: ONON)

• Headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland
• Outdoor connection: The running shoe brand recently went public, pricing its IPO of 31.1 million shares at $24 a share—up from its initial expectations—for an initial raise of $746 million.
• Key executives: Martin Hoffmann, Co-CEO and CFO, Marc Maurer, Co-CEO, and Olivier Bernhard, Co-Founder and Executive Director

Newell Brands Inc. (Nasdaq: NWL)

• Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia
• Outdoor connection: The company’s core outdoor brands are Marmot and Coleman (and there is some crossover into outdoor with its other consumer brands Contigo, Ex Officio, and Stearns)
• Key executives: Ravi Saligram, CEO

Samsonite International SA (OTC: SMSEY)

• Headquarters: Hong Kong
• Outdoor connection: The luggage giant owns outdoor pack and bag brands Gregory Mountain Products and High Sierra
• Key executives: John Sears, VP, Gregory

Solo Brands, Inc. (NYSE: DTC)

• Headquarters: Southlake, TX
• Outdoor Connection: The growing specialty company owns Solo Stove, Oru Kayak, Chubbies and water sports company Isle.
• Key Executives: John Merris, CEO; Samuel Simmons, CFO

Thule Group AB (OTC: THUPY) 

• Headquarters: Malmö, Sweden
• Outdoor connection: The Swedish maker of Thule car racks, luggage, and baby strollers recently got into car-top campers with its purchase of Tepui.
• Key executives: Magnus Welander, CEO; Hilary Hartley, President Americas

Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN)

• Headquarters: Broomfield, Colorado
• Outdoor connection: In addition to being the largest ski resort operator in the world, Vail also operates massive lodging and retail operations.
• Key executives: Kirsten Lynch, CEO

VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC)

• Headquarters: Denver, Colorado
• Outdoor connection: One of the biggest, most influential corporations in the outdoor industry, VF Corporation owns and operates an “outdoor” portfolio of The North Face, Altra, Icebreaker, Smartwool, Timberland, and an “active” portfolio of Eastpak, JanSport, and Vans.
• Key executives: Steve Rendle, CEO

Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE: VSTO)

• Headquarters: Anoka, Minnesota
• Outdoor connection: Vista did some rightsizing of its portfolio in recent years by shedding its firearms assets and acquiring new brands in the outdoor and shooting sports spaces. Its outdoor portfolio now consists of CamelBak, Camp Chef, Bell, Giro, QuietKat, Stone Glacier, and Venor.
• Key executives: Christopher Metz, CEO
• Recent OBJ coverage: Vista Outdoor to Split Into Two Companies

Wolverine World Wide Inc. (NYSE: WWW)

• Headquarters: Rockford, Michigan
• Outdoor connection: Another of the big footwear players, Wolverine owns and operates such outdoor brands as Merrell and Chaco, while other brands include Wolverine, Saucony, and Cat Footwear.
• Key executives: Blake Krueger, CEO

Yeti Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YETI) 

• Headquarters: Austin, Texas
• Key executives: Matthew Reintjes, President and CEO