2 Must-Buy Outdoor Industry Stocks Flying High Year to Date

The outdoor industry spans recreation, wellness, and lifestyle experiences centered around nature and activity away from home. This theme includes brands involved in outdoor gear, apparel, recreational vehicles, and equipment and services that support activities such as hiking, camping, boating, and off-roading. 

Driven by shifting consumer values toward health, sustainability, and experience-driven living, the industry benefits from steady demand across various age groups and regions. Many companies in this space leverage brand loyalty, product innovation, and direct-to-consumer strategies to drive recurring sales and maintain premium positioning.

Here, we recommend two outdoor industry stocks with top a Zacks Rank to enhance your portfolio returns. These companies have reported strong earnings results in the last reported quarter. Their stocks have provided double-digit returns year to date.

These are: Deckers Outdoor Corp. DECK and Columbia Sportswear Co. COLM. Each of these stocks currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The chart below shows the price performance of our two picks year to date.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Deckers Outdoor Corp.

Deckers Outdoor came up with quarterly earnings of $3.33 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.77 per share. The company posted revenues of $1.96 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.27%.

DECK continues to demonstrate solid momentum, driven by strong execution across its HOKA and UGG brands. HOKA remains the key growth engine, supported by expanding global demand, balanced channel performance and continued market share gains, while UGG is delivering steady growth off a larger base through disciplined marketplace management and brand relevance. 

DECK’s international markets are accelerating growth and diversification, strengthening long-term earnings visibility beyond the United States. At the same time, pricing discipline, cost controls and supply-chain efficiencies are supporting margin resilience despite external pressures. 

With a strong balance sheet, ongoing share repurchases and continued investment in product innovation and brand building, DECK is well-positioned to sustain growth, and create long-term shareholder value.

Deckers Outdoor has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 8.5% and 7.9%, respectively, for the current fiscal year (ending March 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.9% over the last seven days.

Columbia Sportswear Co.

Columbia Sportswear reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings of $1.73 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.22. The company generated net sales of $1,070.2 million, which exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,037 million.

COLM shows momentum driven by its ACCELERATE strategy, which targets younger consumers through refreshed branding and strong digital marketing. Product innovation and brand elevation, alongside contributions from the prAna brand in the fourth quarter of 2025, support healthier demand and long-term growth potential. 

COLM’s Profit Improvement Program is focused on improving operational efficiency and cost discipline while sustaining investment in brand building. COLM’s financial health remains solid with no debt, strong cash levels, share repurchases and dividends.

Columbia Sportswear has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 2.1% and -10.6%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 6.8% over the last seven days.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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