On Holdings continues to push the envelope in running.
“On innovates at the intersection of performance, design and sustainability,” said Casper Coppetti, the company’s co-founder, co-CEO and executive co-chairman, in first-quarter earnings conference call on Tuesday.
The big shoe news in the quarter was the company’s launch of its top-of-the-line LightSpray Cloudmonster Hyper at its Busan factory in South Korea. The brand increased its production capacity “thirty-fold” in February, Coppetti said. “The quarter also saw LightSpray closer to a much larger community of runners. From Los Angeles to Boston to London, thousands of fans saw the robot in action.”
He said consumers saw the shoe move from filament to asphalt in just minutes, and then were able to feel the product for themselves.
“The LightSpray Cloudmonster Hyper sold out quickly across many of our channels with particular strong demand in Asia and the U.S. In the opening week of our new Boston store, LightSpray represented close to 20 percent of footwear net sales,” he said. “We are currently selling several hundred pairs a day in our D2C (direct-to-consumer) channels alone. For a technology still at the starting line of its commercial journey, this is an exceptional indicator of demand.”
Coppetti said LightSpray isn’t the only innovation during the quarter. “Surreal, On’s Superfoam for everyday runner is another major step forward,” he said.
Coppetti said that when compared with the industry standard EVA, Surreal weighs roughly half as much but provides 60 percent to 70 percent more energy return. “Having achieved the combination of Superfoam with the structural engineering cushioning of CloudTec represents a generational shift in running technology, not just for On, but for the industry,” he said, adding that Surreal will debut with Cloudsurfer 3 this October and then roll out at a rapid pace across to key everyday running franchises in 2027.
“Running is where we continue to prove the power of our innovation and our great product with authentic communities, and it continues to open doors far beyond running, creating deep engagement [and] growing our relationship with the movement class,” Coppetti said.
The co-CEO said that training also brings in thousands of new customers to the brand each quarter. In outdoor, he said the Cloudsoma trail running franchise “has had a very strong debut, giving us another platform for product-led expansion.
For the quarter ended March 31, the Zurich-based firm said net income rose 82.2 percent to 103.3 million Swiss francs on a sales increase of 14.5 percent to 831.9 million Swiss francs.
Needham’s Tom Nikic said in a research note that the “highly-innovative LightSpray product in getting cloeer to meaningful sales volume” now that the Busan factory opened, but said that wholesale will slow in the second half — to keep inventories clean — ahead of new product launches in early 2027.
BTIG’s Janine Stichter said the first quarter report was a “solid, high-quality beat” that was driven by gross margin upside , as well as the top line. She also was upbeat on the innovation pipeline for 2026, adding that the initial glimpse into 2027 indicates another promising year. “While sentiment around the name puts On Holdings square in the ‘show me camp,’ we expect the company to continue to execute leading into the investor day set for September. 2026, which should help investors gain comfort with the leadership transition and the strategic roadmap,” she wrote in a research note Tuesday.
On’s longtime chief executive Martin Hoffman stepped down on May 1 for a planned hiatus and to pursue philanthropic interests. On’s chief innovation and operations officer, Scott Maguire, has been promoted to president and chief operating officer, and the Swiss brand earlier this month welcomed new CFO Frank Sluis, who succeeded Marc Maurer, who left last spring.
