May 21 (Reuters) - Shares of Birkenstock surged nearly 17% on Thursday after the German sandal maker said it would buy back $250 million of its stock through an accelerated share repurchase agreement, following a recent selloff.
The move comes days after a sharp decline triggered by slower quarterly growth and an unchanged full-year outlook, fuelling questions about the company’s positioning between luxury and mass market.
CEO Oliver Reichert said the decision to repurchase shares reflected management's
view that the stock did not fully reflect the company's fundamentals.
"Short-term market dynamics have resulted in what we believe is a strong disconnect between our share price and the strength of our underlying fundamentals," he said in a statement, adding that deploying cash toward share repurchases was the "most attractive use of capital" in the current environment.
Shares were trading at $38.66, putting them on track for their best day since the company's 2023 listing, but still well below their record high of $64.70 in August 2024.
Birkenstock had said it intended to repurchase about $200 million worth of stock in fiscal 2026 and CFO Ivica Krolo noted last week that the company was weighing how best to deploy that capital after missing an opportunity to execute a buyback alongside a secondary share sale, as it had done in 2025.
The company reiterated its annual revenue growth forecast of 13% to 15% in constant currency.
The accelerated share repurchase agreement is expected to be completed before June 30
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
