By the time CEO Kevin Plank started his quarterly report to investors Friday morning, Under Armour’s stock had already dropped 20% in pre-market trading. Revenue is down. Shoe sales are plummeting. And tariffs are about to pummel the Baltimore-based sports apparel company

Plank didn’t dodge the numbers. But he had a simple message for investors: Stick with Under Armour because the company is doing something much more important than making money — it’s rediscovering its swagger.

The first step, the firm’s founder said, is remembering that Under Armour isn’t a company; it’s a brand.

Under Armour forgot that mantra about eight years ago, he said. The brand had been on a meteoric trajectory until around 2017, when it hit a prolonged period of financial turbulence from which it has never fully recovered.

Plank, who stepped down as CEO in 2020, returned to the driver’s seat in early 2024, eager to ditch Under Armour’s image as a discount workout brand.

“My hands are firmly on the wheel,” Plank told investors. “And we’re in the process of flipping that script.”

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Plank said every decision at the company today is made by asking: “Is this the best decision for our brand?”

“Our current numbers don’t yet tell the whole story, but the signs are there,” Plank said. “Brand health is starting to gain traction, cultural relevance is returning, and our phone is ringing from talent that wants to join us.”

In the meantime, however, the company is expecting further declines in revenue and profits, thanks in large part to tariffs levied by the Trump administration. Under Armour slashed its expected fiscal year 2026 profits in half compared to the prior year.

Regardless of tariffs or other macroeconomic trends, Plank reiterated his plan for the company since returning as CEO: to reduce production costs by paring down its offerings, then double down on its core product line by selling more of those items at higher prices.

But this plan hinges on restoring Under Armour’s brand, he said.

“The only way we win is by creating a brand that people can’t ignore.”