Crocs keeps crushing it, but HeyDude isn’t stepping up

Crocs spent billions on HeyDude, but sales at the brand have gone backwards pretty much ever since

10/30/24 9:27AM

It’s been a good few years to be in the ugly-comfy shoe business. That’s particularly true if your company’s name is Crocs, Inc. — which saw sales boom over the last decade, giving it enough financial firepower to spend $2.5 billion acquiring one of its up and coming rivals, HeyDude, the start of a potential multi-brand shoe empire.

But, while Crocs keeps finding new customers to sell its foam clogs to, HeyDude continues to drag.

Like almost every quarter since its acquisition in 2022, Crocs Inc.’s earnings call, released Tuesday, revealed that HeyDude’s revenues had slipped by more than 17% to $204 million, whilst the Crocs original brand added another 7% in sales.

Beyond the $1.9 million FTC settlement that had thousands of customers demanding refunds for the already struggling brand, HeyDude has acquired a particular online reputation – that its shoes are not only a bit ugly (like Crocs), but also they're not even that comfortable (unlike Crocs). And splurging vast sums of marketing budget on signing stars like Sydney Sweeney, the new ambassador for the brand who can be seen jumping into lakes in a recent promotional video, doesn't seem to be helping yet.

Noting the weakness, Crocs, Inc. CEO Andrew Rees added in a press release that the company is now “resetting” its full-year outlook for the loafer brand – a clear shift from his previously “extremely bullish” expectations last quarter.

Meanwhile, Crocs sales continue to push higher, thanks to the brand’s loyal jibbitz-loving customer base and its experimental collaborations, ranging from luxury designers like Balenciaga to Pringles. Crocs shares fell ~19% on Tuesday after the results.

David Crowther, Claire Yubin Oh

TAKING PITCHES

Warren Buffett’s big cash pile just hit $382 billion — what could Berkshire buy?

Berkshire Hathaway is throwing off more money than ever before — but Buffett and co. are staying patient.

CEO Warren Buffett Attending Baseball Game

3d sketch poster trend collage image of healthy salad leaves nutrition rotten iceberg mouth smile lips food diet hand hold fork

The slop bowl recession just sent Chipotle’s stock cratering

Chipotle dropped 18% yesterday, and its woes weighed on the wider slop bowl complex, dragging Cava and Sweetgreen down, too.

Claire Yubin Oh10/31/25

J. Edward Moreno

10/30/25

Most health insurers beat estimates in Q3, but investors have mixed feelings

While generally in line with expectations, medical costs still haven’t come down.

Millie Giles10/30/25

eBay stock slumps on gloomy Q4 outlook despite solid Q3 earnings

Shares of eBay fell as much as 10.5% in premarket trading on Thursday morning after the company gave a lower-than-expected profit forecast for the important holiday shopping season.

The e-commerce giant reported solid numbers for the third quarter on Wednesday, with revenue up 9% as reported to $2.8 billion and gross merchandise volume rising 10% to $20.1 billion, topping the average analyst forecast of $19.4 billion, per Bloomberg.

However, concerns about the future somewhat overshadowed these results.

eBay outlined its profit outlook for the period ending in December to $1.31 to $1.36 a share, with revenue at $2.83 billion to $2.89 billion. According to Bloomberg-compiled data, this broadly matches Wall Street’s estimates for the top line, but misses on the bottom line, with analysts forecasting EPS to come in at $1.39 — suggesting the company expects some further margin pressure.

The company has been facing macroeconomic challenges since the US ended the de minimis tariff exemption in late August, with the online marketplace reliant on shipments. One small silver lining? CFO Peggy Alford highlighted a “less durable trend” on a post-earnings call: that as commodity prices for precious metals boomed, demand for bullion and collectible coins on eBay spiked.