Rocky Brands, Inc. announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, with net sales increasing 1.1% to $114.1 million compared to $112.9 million in the first quarter of 2024. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) surged 88.5% to $0.66, up from $0.34 in the prior-year period, with adjusted diluted EPS at $0.73.
The Retail segment was a significant growth driver, with sales climbing 20.4% to $36.6 million, fueled by strong gains in direct-to-consumer sales and the Lehigh safety shoe business. This robust performance, combined with increased Wholesale margins, led to a 210-basis point expansion in gross margin to 41.2% of net sales.
Income from operations increased 8.8% to $8.7 million, and interest expense decreased to $2.4 million from $4.5 million due to lower debt levels and interest rates from the April 2024 debt refinancing. Total debt, net of unamortized debt issuance costs, decreased 17.5% year-over-year to $128.6 million.
The company confirmed plans to implement price increases on most footwear styles later in the second quarter of 2025 to mitigate the impact of higher tariffs. Rocky Brands is also accelerating efforts to reduce product sourcing from China, leveraging its owned manufacturing facilities in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico to protect profitability and achieve financial targets for the year.
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