Steven Madden faced a difficult second quarter as tariff-related disruptions significantly impacted its wholesale business, leading to missed revenue and earnings expectations. Management pointed to widespread order cancellations and shipment delays, particularly in value-priced channels such as mass and off-price retailers, as key reasons for the underperformance. CEO Edward Rosenfeld described the quarter as “extremely challenging” and acknowledged that higher landed costs and organic gross margin declines put substantial pressure on profitability.

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While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.

Our Top 5 Analyst Questions From Steven Madden’s Q2 Earnings Call

• Paul Lejuez (Citi) asked about the concentration of wholesale order cancellations and margin pressure from tariffs. CEO Edward Rosenfeld confirmed that mass and off-price channels drove most of the shortfall and that tariff-related gross margin pressure would persist in the near term.
• Aubrey Tianello (BNP Paribas) questioned the sustainability of price increases and consumer response by product category. Rosenfeld noted 10% average price hikes, with strong acceptance in new fashion items but limited flexibility in sandals and sneakers.
• Marni Shapiro (The Retail Tracker) inquired about apparel and boot performance as well as channel-specific cancellations. Rosenfeld highlighted apparel as a bright spot and boots as a growing, less seasonal category, while mass and off-price channels faced the most cancellations.
• Samuel Poser (Williams Trading) asked about sourcing shifts and the impact of tariffs on countries like Brazil and Mexico. Rosenfeld said the company continues to diversify but must react to evolving tariff regimes and uncertainty in sourcing markets.
• Ethan Saghi (BTIG, for Janine Stichter) sought details on Kurt Geiger’s post-acquisition performance and sourcing mix. Rosenfeld reported strong U.S. digital and retail growth for Kurt Geiger and a current China sourcing mix in the low 60% range.

Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters

In upcoming quarters, the StockStory team will closely watch (1) the pace and effectiveness of Steven Madden’s sourcing diversification and how further tariff changes influence costs, (2) the consumer response to higher prices, especially in the critical fall selling season, and (3) the integration progress and market expansion of the Kurt Geiger brand. Monitoring inventory management and any additional disruptions in the wholesale channel will also be critical signposts of operational resilience.

Steven Madden currently trades at $26.10, in line with $26.31 just before the earnings. Is the company at an inflection point that warrants a buy or sell? Find out in our full research report (it’s free).

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