ONON vs UA: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ONON and UA share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ONON and UA exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

On Holding AG designs and sells performance running shoes, apparel and accessories under the On brand. It was founded in Zurich in 2010 by Olivier Bernhard, a former duathlon world champion, alongside David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti, around a specific idea: hollow rubber pods in the outsole (CloudTec) that compress on landing and lock for push-off. Shoes are still the overwhelming majority of the business, roughly 92 percent of first-quarter 2026 sales, with apparel and accessories the rest. On sells through two channels: wholesale partners such as specialty running retailers and sporting goods chains at about 61 percent of sales, and direct-to-consumer through on.com and its own stores at about 39 percent. Geographically the Americas is still the largest region at roughly 54 percent of sales, EMEA about 25 percent, and Asia-Pacific just over 20 percent and rising fast. Production is outsourced, with roughly 90 percent of footwear made in Vietnam and the remainder in Indonesia, though On has begun operating its own robot-run LightSpray factories in Zurich and Busan. Roger Federer has been a shareholder and product collaborator since 2019, and the THE ROGER line is the brand's main tennis-adjacent lifestyle franchise.

Full ONON guide

Under Armour designs and sells performance apparel, footwear, and accessories under the Under Armour brand, competing in a crowded athletic-wear market against far larger and faster-growing rivals. Its business spans wholesale (department and sporting-goods stores) and direct-to-consumer (its own stores and website), across North America, EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. After a period of rapid early growth, the company spent years struggling with declining North American sales, heavy promotions that eroded its premium image, and management turnover. Founder Kevin Plank returned as CEO and launched a multi-year reset focused on fewer, better products, less discounting, tighter operations, and rebuilding brand marketing.

Full UA guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ONON drivers: Full-price selling that keeps lifting gross margin; Asia-Pacific has become the growth engine.
• UA drivers: Founder-led premium reset; Margin and cost restructuring.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The most concrete risk is the deceleration itself: guidance of at least 23 percent constant-currency growth for 2026 is a sharp step down from 35.6 percent in 2025, and the Americas, still more than half the business, grew only 3.1 percent on a reported basis in the first quarter, with analysts flagging maturing wholesale door growth. For UA, the dominant risk is that the turnaround stalls: revenue is still declining, North America remains weak, and resetting a premium brand is a multi-year effort with no guaranteed payoff.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ONON if you believe its drivers more; UA if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ONON and UA guides.

ONON. These figures reflect the first quarter of 2026, reported on May 12, 2026, with second-quarter results scheduled for August 11, 2026, so the most recent operating data is a quarter old. On reports in Swiss francs while the shares trade in dollars, which means every USD revenue figure moves with the exchange rate and constant-currency growth ran roughly twelve percentage points above reported growth in the last quarter. On other measures the stock trades near 3.3 times sales and about 17.7 times EV/EBITDA, with roughly $1.27 billion of cash against about $676 million of debt that is largely lease liabilities, and no dividend.

UA. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. Under Armour is mid-turnaround, so GAAP results are distorted by restructuring charges and adjusted figures tell a different story than reported ones. Traditional earnings multiples are less meaningful while the company is resetting; investors tend to focus on revenue stabilization, gross margin, and whether North America's declines slow. Check the latest filings and a current quote for up-to-date revenue, margins, and guidance.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): ONON shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.9B (CHF ~3.12B, converted at roughly 1.25 USD per CHF), net sales growth (fy2025) ~30% reported, ~35.6% constant currency, gross margin (q1 2026) ~64.2%, guided to ~64.5%+ for FY2026, adjusted ebitda margin (q1 2026) ~21.0%, guided to ~19.5% to 20.0% for FY2026; UA shows revenue (fiscal 2026) ~$5.0 billion, down roughly 4% year over year (fiscal year ended March 2026), gaap net income (fiscal 2026) Net loss of roughly $500 million, driven partly by restructuring charges, adjusted results (fiscal 2026) Modestly positive; adjusted net income around $50 million and adjusted EPS near $0.12, regional trend North America declining; international growing (Q4 international up roughly 10%).

ONON and UA are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ONON and UA exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.