Top line: Columbia Sportswear beat its own third-quarter guidance and Wall Street's. Sales rose 2% to $962.6M and EPS came in at $1.66 against a $1.28 consensus, and the company raised its 2026 outlook to $3.46B–$3.50B in sales and $4.65–$4.90 in EPS. Management said a spring 2027 order book that has kept improving points to mid-single-digit wholesale growth in the first half of 2027, including low to mid-single-digit growth in the U.S. Shares rose 4.6% in the regular session and about 1.9% more after hours. (Columbia, CFO commentary, Investing.com transcript)

Bike

  • Thule acquired Aeroe, the New Zealand maker of rack-based bikepacking bags for mountain and gravel bikes. Aeroe products will be relaunched under the Thule name in Q2 2027 alongside its Tour Rack line; terms were not disclosed. It is Thule's second bolt-on after Quad Lock in late 2024. (Cycling Industry News, Bike Europe)
  • LiveWire, the Harley-Davidson spinoff that owns kids' electric balance-bike maker STACYC, issued a going-concern warning. STACYC revenue rose 9% to $5.2M on 6,992 units, up 20%, but its operating loss widened to $0.6M on higher freight, and STACYC out-earned LiveWire's own motorcycle business in the quarter. Shares fell more than 35% to about $1.02. (LiveWire, Axios)
  • Zwift is raising its price ceiling with Zwift+, a $29.99-a-month tier ($299 a year) against the $19 base plan, bundling adaptive coaching with newly filmed real-world video routes that look a lot like Rouvy, the rival it bought in April and still runs separately. (DC Rainmaker, Bikerumor)
  • USWE's first-half sales fell 11% to SEK 62.8M as the Swedish hydration-pack maker moves from distributors to selling direct to dealers, though second-quarter sales rose 14%. (Bicycle Retailer)
  • Trek priced the first North American bike with Bosch's new Active Line Plus motor, the Marlin+ 6 Gen 2 e-MTB, at $2,999. (Electrek)
  • A federal judge dismissed a suit against Walmart over a Ridstar e-bike whose front wheel detached, finding no facts showing Walmart knew of the defect before the crash; the CPSC's two Ridstar warnings came later. The dismissal is without prejudice. (Bicycle Retailer)
  • Litespeed entered e-bikes with two titanium road and two gravel models on Mahle's X20 hub motor, priced $9,995 to $12,495. (Cycling Electric)

Ski & Snow

  • Keystone opens today and Wolf Creek opens Saturday, Oct. 31, joining A-Basin. Wolf Creek, which got 20 inches from the Oct. 23–24 storm, will run about 30% of the mountain through Nov. 3, then weekends only until more snow arrives. (Vail Resorts, SnowBrains)
  • Breckenridge, Copper and Utah's Brian Head are a week from their Nov. 6 openers. In Canada, Alberta and B.C. won't turn their clocks back on Nov. 1, so most resorts there plan to start lifts at 9:30 a.m. instead of 8:30 and run an hour later. (Snow-Forecast)
  • Columbia isn't hedging on winter: CEO Tim Boyle said retailers came into the season "exceptionally clean" on inventory and the company expects a normal winter. Columbia's inventory is up 11%, mostly goods in transit and spring 2027 product it is producing early. (Investing.com transcript)

Outdoor

  • Columbia's brands split: the Columbia brand grew 3% and Sorel 2%, prAna fell 1% on late fall inventory, and Mountain Hardwear dropped 17% on weaker fall orders and closeouts. Longtime Columbia executive Peter Rauch is now Mountain Hardwear's president. (Investing.com transcript, SGB Media)
  • Columbia's U.S. business is turning on e-commerce: U.S. sales fell 1%, but U.S. e-commerce grew mid-single digits on fewer promotions, international sales rose 9%, and about $30M of wholesale shipments moved from Q3 into Q4. (Columbia)
  • Tariff refunds are carrying Columbia's 2026 margin. It says IEEPA refunds, net of payments to factory partners, add about 180 basis points this year, and it called 2027 margins uncertain with possible new tariffs and rising input costs. (Investing.com transcript)

Upcoming

Wolf Creek opens Oct. 31; Western storm window Oct. 31 to Nov. 3; Fox Factory and Clarus report Nov. 5 after the close; Breckenridge, Copper and Brian Head open Nov. 6; bike helmet and trailer tariff exclusions expire Nov. 9; YETI Nov. 12; Youngone (Scott Sports' parent) Q3 expected around Nov. 13 per market-data listings, not yet confirmed by the company; Epic Pass prices rise after Nov. 15; Amer Sports Nov. 17.

The Outdoor Pulse is published weekday mornings. Weekly deep dives on Mondays.