Key takeaways:
- Dick’s Sporting Goods delivered core comparable sales growth of 6% and consolidated net sales reaching $5.16 billion, prompting management to raise the low end of its full-year sales guidance.
- Foot Locker showed early signs of recovery, with positive comparable sales and strong results from remodeled stores under the Fast Break strategy.
- Dick’s consumers remain resilient across income groups, with continued demand for premium athletic products and growing confidence tied to upcoming major sports events.
Dick’s Sporting Goods reported a 6% comparable sales increase for its core business and a return to positive comparable sales for Foot Locker, which Dick’s acquired in the second half of 2025.
Overall, the retailer generated $5.16 billion in consolidated net sales during the quarter, which ended May 2, 2026, reflecting steady consumer spending in the sporting goods sector.
The company’s ability to maintain a connection with the consumer across performance, lifestyle and culture through the retailer’s House of Sport and Field House stores, Golf Galaxy and now Foot Locker is what sets it apart, said Dick’s Chairman Ed Stack on the company’s Wednesday morning earnings call.
“That’s why the best and most exciting sports brands in the world want to partner with us — not just to sell product, but to launch ideas, tell stories and scale concepts globally during the most important moments in sports,” Stack said.
Dick’s raised the low end of its full-year sales guidance for both the Dick’s and Foot Locker banners.
Stack, along with Dick’s President and CEO Lauren Hobart and CFO Navdeep Gupta shared details about:
- How the company is working to return the Foot Locker business to growth by optimizing physical store layout and adjusting inventory strategies;
- How they plan to continue momentum at Dick’s through cost-efficient remodels and store growth, unique assortments and new brands;
- The health of the consumer and lack of evidence of trade downs or reining in spending; and
- Expansion of Golf Galaxy.
Foot Locker’s ‘Fast Break’ Transformation Strategy
The Foot Locker business contributed $1.79 billion to consolidated net sales. Global pro forma comparable sales for Foot Locker increased by 0.6%, breaking a streak of negative comparable sales quarters. North American locations reported a 1.4% comparable sales increase, while the U.S. Foot Locker banner specifically saw a 6.4% increase. The Foot Locker business generated an operating income of $17.5 million for the quarter.
Foot Locker’s improvement in the U.S. correlates with the rollout of Dick’s “Fast Break” initiative, which is a capital-light store remodel program focused on simplifying visual merchandising.
“During the first quarter, we expanded Fast Break by approximately 90 stores, bringing the total to approximately 100 across that expanded footprint,” Stack said. “Our Fast Break stores delivered double-digit comps in Q1 and meaningful merchandise margin improvement. By back-to-school, we plan to have approximately 250 Fast Break stores across Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker and Champs globally, with further expansion ahead of the holiday season.”
The Fast Break strategy involves removing clutter from the footwear walls and reducing the total number of SKUs by roughly 30%, allowing stores to highlight key styles and colors more prominently.
Notably, the sales increase in these remodeled stores was achieved using existing legacy inventory, with the locations featuring cleaner presentations of available products rather than new merchandise. The company also reintroduced complementary apparel options to these stores to drive additional sales.
Sporting goods industry experts are already noticing the ripple effects of the acquisition on the sales floor.
Commenting on the earnings report, Matt Powell, Senior Advisor at BCE Consulting, highlighted how the operational overhaul is directly translating to a better customer experience.
“The new Foot Locker team has really cleaned up the assortments and presentation,” he said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “Foot Locker stores are much more shoppable now.”
The upcoming back-to-school season represents a critical test for the Foot Locker segment. It will be the first quarter when the current merchandising team has full control over product buys. The new inventory will launch alongside a significant marketing campaign designed to reintroduce the Foot Locker brand to consumers.
Dick’s Store Expansion and Remodel Plans
Comp store sales growth at Dick’s was driven by a 5.5% increase in average ticket size alongside a 0.5% increase in total transactions. The company reported broad-based sales strength across multiple categories, including footwear, apparel and hardlines.
“We saw more athletes purchase from us with more frequent purchases, and they spent more each trip compared to the prior year,” Hobart said.
Store expansion and format updates continue to serve as primary growth drivers. During the first quarter, the company opened one large-scale House of Sport location and two Field House locations. Dick’s plans to open approximately 13 additional House of Sport and 20 additional Field House locations before the end of the year.
Golf Galaxy will also be expanding, with plans to open 15 performance centers in 2026.
Earlier this month Dick’s opened a rotating pop-up in East Hampton, N.Y. that will showcase its owned brands, including Walter Hagen, Maxfli and CALIA.
Digital engagement also contributed to the quarter’s performance. The company’s GameChanger youth sports application reported that approximately 50% of all games covered on the platform during the quarter were streamed live, setting a record for the software.
Consumers Remain Resilient
Despite broader macroeconomic pressures and prolonged inflation, Dick’s executives said that the sporting goods consumer remains financially healthy across various income demographics.
Shoppers are continuing to purchase premium athletic products, and the company reported no observable trading down between price tiers.
“We haven’t seen trade down again this quarter,” Hobart said. “We didn’t see trade down from best to better or better to good. We saw growth again this quarter of all income demographics, and we added 1.5 million new athletes to our database.”
Executives pointed to a cultural momentum surrounding sports as a structural driver for the business. With major events such as the 2026 World Cup, hosted largely in the United States, and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the company expects sustained consumer interest in athletic apparel, footwear and equipment over the next several years.
Categories such as performance running, women’s basketball and retro running shoes showed particular strength during the quarter.
Updated Financial Outlook
Based on the first-quarter performance, Dick’s Sporting Goods adjusted its full-year financial guidance upward.
For the core Dick’s business, the company now expects comparable sales growth in the range of 2.5% to 4%, up from the prior guidance of 2% to 4%. For the Foot Locker business, management increased the comparable sales growth expectation to a range of 1.5% to 3%, up from 1% to 3%.
The retailer updated its full-year 2026 consolidated earnings per diluted share guidance to a range of $13.27 to $14.27. It maintained its expectation for full-year non-GAAP earnings per diluted share to land between $13.50 and $14.50.
Capital expenditures for the year are projected at approximately $1.4 billion on a net basis. This capital will be split, with about $1 billion allocated to the Dick’s business for new stores, relocations and supply chain technology. The remaining $400 million is designated for the Foot Locker business, heavily focused on re-energizing the store fleet through the Fast Break initiative.
For a deeper dive into what Dick’s ownership means for the future of Foot Locker, including a breakdown of the retail execution strategies driving this turnaround, listen to the full discussion on the Retail Remix podcast.
Listen Now: What Leaders Can Learn from Dick’s, Target & the Athleisure Boom
