Cramer picks two ‘winning’ footwear stocks in a ‘nightmare’ athletic apparel market

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday picked two footwear stocks he thinks are headed for success: On Holding and Deckers Outdoor, which owns a number of footwear brands including Hoka, Uggs and Tevas.

“Even when the footwear and athletic apparel space is a nightmare for most of the industry, you can still find great brands that are winning, like the ones that belong to On Holding and Deckers Outdoor,” Craner said. “I bet they keep winning.”

Cramer pointed out that it’s not been easy lately for some of the big names in the athletic apparel space. Shares of Nike and Lululemon have seen steep declines since the beginning of 2024. Cramer attributed these losses in part to fears of cash-strapped consumers, but also to stiff competition from smaller, fast-growing sneaker and athleisure brands.

But Deckers and On are two promising growth stocks, Cramer said. On reported a solid quarter Tuesday that sent shares climbing, and the stock has been able to build on those gains so far. He was especially impressed with the growth in On’s direct-to-consumer channel, which includes online and in-store retail sales.

Deckers hasn’t reported yet, so Cramer said he would advise against buying ahead of earnings. However, he said he expects strong results form the company because of the growing popularity of Hoka, its running shoe line. The company has seen its stock surge more than 500% over the past five years, according to FactSet. Like On, Deckers’ direct-to-consumer business is expanding, and the company is starting to see success in international markets like Europe and China.

To Cramer, the only catch with these stocks is that they’re expensive.

“But you know what? You have to pay up for outsized growth, and these companies can deliver it,” he said. “More important, this market values growth again, which means their stocks can work.”

On Holding and Deckers Outdoor did not respond immediately to requests for comment.