Shimano’s financial report for 2025 has revealed the company’s cycling-related net sales were up almost 3% year on year, marking a return to sales growth for the first time since 2022 and the aftermath of the Covid pandemic.
The Japanese component giant’s sales amounted to 355 billion yen (£1.7 billion/$2.3 billion) in its bike division in FY2025, up 2.7% from 2024. Its operating income, however, fell 20%.
In the report, released this week, the company detailed differing results across the world. In Europe, sales of completed bicycles were “robust”, thanks to “stable weather conditions”, while in North America, this figure “remained weak due to economic uncertainty”.
Shimano also touched on concerns of increased bike inventory levels and overstocking in the industry since Covid. According to the company, North America has now recovered “appropriate levels”; however, Europe is still “at a somewhat high level”.
Including other parts of the business, like fishing tackle, Shimano’s sales for the year were 466 billion yen (£2.2 billion/$3 billion), up 3.4% from 2024. Operating income was down 20.6% and ordinary income was down by 52.3%.
The biggest factor in the fall in operating income was exchange rates, with 19.6 billion yen (£93m/$127m) lost due to currency exchanges.
The full statement on Shimano’s bike components division performance read: “While the strong interest in bicycles continued as a long-term trend, adjustments of market inventories made gradual progress as a whole, although the situations were mixed by region.
“Overseas, in the European market, retail sales of completed bicycles were robust backed by stable weather conditions, but market inventories remained at a somewhat high level. In the North American market, while retail sales of completed bicycles remained weak due to economic uncertainty, market inventories maintained appropriate levels.
“In the Asian and Central and South American markets, although retail sales of completed bicycles remained somewhat weak due to weak personal consumption, market inventories maintained an appropriate level overall.
“On the other hand, in the Chinese market, while interest in cycling as a sport remained firm, demand for road bikes showed signs of easing, retail sales were lacklustre, and market inventories remained at a high level. In the Oceanian market, retail sales were initially weak, but subsequently remained strong, and market inventories also maintained appropriate levels.
“In the Japanese market, retail sales continued to be sluggish due to the soaring price of completed bicycles, but market inventories maintained appropriate levels. Under these market conditions, the Shimano Group’s products were well received, including XTR, the flagship model in our renewed components for mountain bikes, as well as the DEORE XT and DEORE series, and Q’AUTO, which features self-powered automatic gear-shifting function.
“As a result, net sales from this segment increased 2.7% from the previous year to 354,972 million yen, and operating income decreased 20.9% to 42,841 million yen.”
As for the future: “Although the global economy is expected to grow firmly, it may be swayed by factors such as policy trends around the world and developments in geopolitical risks amid global instability.
“Taking a long-term perspective, we will endeavour to further enhance management efficiency and strive for sustainable corporate growth by keeping in mind the creation of new cycling and fishing culture.”
