March 12 (Reuters) – Dick’s Sporting Goods on Thursday forecast its annual sales above Wall Street expectations after topping quarterly estimates, betting on resilient demand for the retailer’s athletic footwear and apparel. 

The Pennsylvania-based company’s shares were up about 5% in premarket trading.

Despite consumers cutting back on non-essential spending amid inflation and trade uncertainty, a growing emphasis on health, fitness and comfortable clothing is benefiting sporting goods retailers like Dick’s.

It is also benefiting from strong demand for popular brands such as On Running and Hoka, helping offset some weakness at legacy brands such as Puma and Nike. 

The company, which has been opening a number of new stores in recent months, plans to launch about 14 additional House of Sport locations and about 22 new DICK’S Field House locations in 2026.

The full-year adjusted comparable sales for the Foot Locker business, which Dick’s bought in a $2.4 billion deal last year, is expected to rise between 1% and 3%.

“We also look forward to returning the Foot Locker business to both top-line and bottom-line growth in 2026,” CEO Lauren Hobart said.

Dick’s Sporting now expects full-year net sales in the range of $22.1 billion to $22.4 billion, compared with analysts’ estimate of $21.98 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company forecast annual adjusted profit in the range of $13.50 per share to $14.50 per share, compared to estimates of $14.67 per share.

Sales for the quarter ended January 31, which includes Foot Locker revenue, grew about 60% compared to the previous year, reaching $6.23 billion and beating estimates of $6.07 billion.

Excluding items, the company reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.45, compared with estimates of $2.87.

(Reporting by Koyena Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)