Pandora’s Q3 Sales Up 7% Amid Focus on Design

Copenhagen, Denmark—Pandora had a strong third quarter as it continued to introduce more design-forward jewelry collections.

The company, best known for its charms, has expanded its collections to include more bold and organic jewelry designs.

“We have built our leadership mainly on playful charms and charm bracelets, and that success has actually shaped a very narrow perception of the brand,” CEO Berta de Pablos-Barbier said on the company’s earnings call Wednesday morning.

“Millions of people know Pandora, but many still associate us with that relatively narrow part of the jewelry market. Our growth opportunity is to give more reasons to existing customers to keep coming back and more reasons for new customers to start choosing us.”

This year, for example, Pandora introduced a whimsical collection of baroque pearl charms, collaborated with renowned makeup artist Dame Pat McGrath on a bold, colorful collection, and debuted new zodiac jewelry and a celestial-inspired holiday collection.

Pandora said it plans to scale up this new design strategy and create a “more desirable and distinctive product portfolio.”

In Q3, Pandora’s revenue was up 7 percent year-over-year at actual exchange rates (up 6 percent on an organic basis) to 6.69 billion Danish kroner ($1.01 billion), with like-for-like sales growth of 4 percent.

In the first nine months of the year, revenue was up 2 percent at actual exchange rates (up 3 percent on an organic basis) to 21.02 billion Danish kroner ($3.17 billion), with like-for-like sales growth up 1 percent.

“Pandora’s growth engine is re-energizing. Q3 delivered 4 percent like-for-like growth, with positive like-for-like across all regions, an encouraging step in a challenging consumer environment,” de Pablos-Barbier said in the company’s Q3 results news release.

“More distinctive designs and culturally relevant marketing are driving brand heat. We’ve narrowed our 2026 guidance towards the upper end of the range and remain confident in our plans moving forward.”

Pandora’s like-for-like sales were up 1 percent for its core segment, which includes its charms as well as its recently expanded “Talisman” collection, which remains the subject of a lawsuit filed by jewelry brand Foundrae.

“Talisman is a good illustration of how we can build enduring design platforms that consumers recognize as Pandora while we renew with fresh creativity and amplify through cultural relevance,” de Pablos-Barbier said.

“That combination generates excitement, earned media value, and of course, commercial returns. This is how we plan to build lasting desirability, by evolving designs over time rather than relying on a succession of one-off launches.”

Its “fuel with more” segment, which includes lab-grown diamond jewelry as well as the “Timeless” and “Signature” collections, saw 9 percent like-for-like growth in the quarter as new designs and its “Essence” collection of jewelry basics resonated with consumers.

Like-for-like sales of Pandora’s lab-grown diamond jewelry collection fell 14 percent in Q3 and 17 percent for the first nine months. The category accounted for about 1 percent of the company’s total sales.

Pandora announced in February that it would begin selling platinum-plated jewelry to mitigate the impact of volatile gold and silver prices.

It began a pilot test of platinum-plated jewelry in the Netherlands in July, following a year of development and consumer testing.

The company said the test will been rolled out to more markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.

By region, Pandora saw like-for-like sales increase 3 percent in North America due to an improvement the U.S. market.

The growth in the region was “driven by better in-store execution and continued strength online, while traffic remained subdued amid low consumer sentiment and heightened macroeconomic uncertainty,” said Pandora.

On the call, Chief Financial Officer Anders Boyers, set to retire at the end of this month, said the U.S. is “a hard environment to call these days, so let’s see how the holiday season plays out during the next couple of months.”

Sales in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa sales were up 1 percent. 

Asia Pacific was Pandora’s strongest market, with like-for-like sales up 20 percent, with Latin America following, up 6 percent.

By channel, online sales were up 1 percent in Q3, while like-for-like sales at Pandora’s physical stores increased 4 percent.

Pandora continued to expand its store network during Q3, opening 11 concept stores and a net 10 Pandora-operated shop-in-shops.

Pandora said it wants to evolve its in-store experience, making its stores “more expressive, warm, and engaging, using storytelling around our collections to spark discovery.”

During the past 12 months, Pandora has added a net 23 concept stores. 

The retailer reiterated its plans to open 50 to 75 net concept stores during the fiscal year.

Pandora has narrowed its guidance for the fiscal year to the upper end of its previous forecast. 

It now predicts 2-3% organic sales growth (previously 0-3%) and an EBIT margin of 22.5-23% (previously 22-23%).

“There is, of course, more work ahead, but we are confident in our plans to turn this progress into consistent quality growth. We have spent this year deepening our understanding of consumers so that we can sharpen our choices and create consistent demand,” de Pablos-Barbier said on the call.

Pandora’s Q4 results are set to be released Feb. 11.