Watch News: Fossil and Watches of Switzerland Keen on Earnings

By Karen Dybis | May 14, 2026

Two watch brands, Fossil Group and Watches of Switzerland, expressed cautious optimism when reporting financial results on Wednesday, adding a dose of positivity to a watch world still busy debating the impact of the Swatch x Audemars Piguet collaboration.

In its report for the fiscal year ended May 2, Watches of Switzerland (WoS) said revenue increased 13%, to £1.83 billion ($2.47 billion), compared with the previous year. The company’s stock price rose 15% following announcement of the results.

Watches of Switzerland’s U.S. revenue soared 24%, to $1.24 billion, year-over-year. On the WoS earnings call, CEO Brian Duffy said the U.S. now accounts for half the company’s sales, which he called “a major milestone,” as the brand just entered the U.S. market eight years ago.

“The U.S. luxury watch market is the largest and fastest-growing major market globally, and we continue to see the market as underdeveloped,” said Duffy. “The high-income segment in the U.S. has benefited from significant increases in wealth, due mainly to the appreciation of financial assets, and the luxury watch market in the U.S. is booming.”

In Fossil’s first-quarter results, released after market close, the group reported “strong execution against our turnaround and healthy watch industry trends,” although net sales dropped 3.6% (6.5% in “constant currency”), to $224.8 million, compared with the period in 2025.

“Our turnaround pillars are delivering results today while advancing our path to long-term profitable growth,” Fossil CEO Franco Fogliato said during the Q1 earnings call. “Our strong start to 2026 reinforces the effectiveness and durability of our turnaround plan. The impact of simplification and focus is clear. Our brand-led consumer-focused model is enabling us to build a smaller, more profitable business that is positioned to return to growth in the fourth quarter of this year.”

The Texas-based company reaffirmed its full-year earnings guidance despite challenging worldwide economic factors, such as the war in Iran.

Fogliato said Fossil displayed “broad-based strength” in revenues in both the United States and India during the quarter. A turnaround plan he initiated after joining Fossil in September 2024 has involved shifting focus from the competitive smartwatch sector toward traditional timepieces, including a revival of Fossil’s Big Tic model.

“The storytelling around Big Tic has generated tremendous visibility from global lifestyle media and leading watch industry publications,” Fogliato said yesterday. “Experiential seedings of the products drove a nostalgic excitement and placed Big Tic in the hands of media, influencers, and celebrities early on.… We will be carrying this momentum forward with additional Big Tic animation launching throughout the year.”

Upcoming releases for Father’s Day and a new Marvel collaboration rolling out in the third quarter should “drive brand heat and new customer acquisition, and we are amplifying our messaging around important times of the year,” Fogliato said.

He reported that Fossil closed seven stores in the first quarter and is on track to close up to 15 total locations in 2026. The brand is testing a “refined store model,” said Fogliato, and offering new selling tools to its store associates to help boost full-price sales.

“It is worth noting that we have significantly scaled back our plans to downsize the portfolio as a result of improving performance in our full-price stores,” Fogliato said.

Elsewhere in the watch universe, the Royal Pop release from Swatch in partnership with Audemars Piguet (AP) continues to make news, with some observers defending it, some predicting it will be the Labubu of the watch world—an accessory on people’s bags and soon forgotten—and others worrying it will hurt AP, diminishing its iconic Royal Oak watch on which the Royal Pop is based. Still, resellers on eBay have already priced Royal Pop pieces at double and triple their original prices.

Top: One of the new iterations of Fossil Group’s Big Tic watch (photo courtesy of Fossil)