LEVI

Levi Strauss delivered a clean turnaround in fiscal 2025. Reported revenue grew 4.1% to $6.28B, but organic revenue — which strips out the 53rd-week effect and the Denizen/footwear wind-downs — rose a healthier 7.2%, led by direct-to-consumer (DTC up 9.5% to $3,076.8M) across all three regions. Crucially, the business is structurally healthier: operating income jumped 157.9% to $677.6M and operating margin expanded to 10.8% from 4.4%, as the prior year's $185.6M of restructuring and $116.9M of impairment charges fell away (restructuring was just $24.5M in FY2025). Gross margin expanded to 61.7% from 60.6%. Net income rose 174.5% to $578.1M with diluted EPS of $1.45, and ROE reached an attractive 25.4%.

The quality of the growth matters. The shift toward higher-margin DTC and the strength of the core Levi's brand (revenue up 4.3% to $5,882.7M) plus the fast-growing Beyond Yoga (up 15.4%) point to a brand executing a deliberate channel and category pivot rather than relying on wholesale. Pricing power is evident — management cites higher average revenue per unit and price increases — and growth was broad across the Americas, Europe and Asia. The balance sheet is acceptable for an apparel company: $758M cash, $1.04B long-term debt, and equity up 15.6% to $2.28B, though liabilities/equity sits at 2.01x.