Garmin Earnings Boosted By Smartwatch Popularity

With the demand for watches by outdoor adventurers bolstering earnings, Garmin’s stock reached its highest point in 11 years, rising 17 percent. The company’s revenue from its outdoor segment jumped by 25 percent during the fourth quarter, Bloomberg reported.

At the same time, the company is predicting revenue of roughly $3.5 billion this year. By comparison, a Bloomberg survey found an average $3.43 billion estimate from analysts.

Beyond Garmin, shares of rival companies also increased on the news: Fossil Group increased by up to 2 percent and Fitbit rose by 3.8 percent.

Tigress Financial Partners Chief Investment Officer Ivan Feinseth told Bloomberg that the company is “becoming a leader in fitness wearables.” He added that Garmin’s announcement of a planned deal to buy Dutch indoor bike maker Tacx is an “incredible acquisition.” In addition, he said the fitness technology of Garmin, along with Tacx, provides a “serious competitor to Peloton.” Aside from that news, Garmin is rolling out new products, such as a watch designed for divers called Descent.

The news comes a few weeks after payments company Discover and Garmin said that cardmembers of Discover can use the contactless payment solution known as Garmin Pay. At the time, the companies said that Garmin Pay is available on the Forerunner GPS running watches, as well as Garmin’s vívoactive 3 series smartwatch. Cardmembers can use Garmin Pay at stores that accept contactless near-field communication (NFC) transactions and Discover.

Discover Vice President of Banking and Lending Application Development Shaida Lynch said in a press release, “Consumers are constantly on the go, and our goal is to make it as simple and seamless as possible for our cardmembers to pay with their Discover card, including on IoT and wearable devices. Now, someone can be out on a jog or running errands, and the ability to pay with Discover from their Garmin watch is just a quick tap away.”