Do we like them?

Do we like Under Armour?

Sports apparel, footwear and accessories brand, based in Baltimore, Maryland, US.

Our score: 4 out of 10. Not one we'd back with our money yet. It has a record of misleading investors and weak supply-chain ratings, though it has some labour programmes. The turnaround is unproven.

Kevin Plank started Under Armour in 1996 after graduating from the University of Maryland. He began with a sweat-wicking shirt, selling from his grandmother's basement, and went on to build a Nike rival. He took the company public in 2005.

The big drama was the 'pull forward' scandal. The SEC said Under Armour moved $408 million of orders into earlier quarters to hit analysts' targets without telling investors. It paid a $9 million penalty in 2021 and neither admitted nor denied the charges.

Shareholders then sued, and in 2024 the company settled the investor class action for $434 million. Their lawyers say the deal includes a three-year split of the Chair and CEO roles.

Plank came back as CEO in April 2024, replacing Stephanie Linnartz. He has been simplifying the product range and cutting back on discounting. WWD reported that the company lowered its fiscal 2027 outlook, citing a tough demand environment.

On supply chains it's mixed. The Fair Labor Association accredited its social compliance programme. Good On You still rates it 'Not Good Enough' and says it found no evidence of living wages across most of the supply chain. That, plus the investor-misleading history, is why we land below the middle.