Stabilization, not resurgence – that’s the message from the latest financials of Giant, Merida and Shimano. The Show Daily examined their company reports to assess where the global bicycle market stands.
After the pandemic-fueled surge and its inevitable correction, the global bicycle industry has lately been facing a period of uneasy normalization. Supply chains have largely returned to order, but demand has lost its pandemic-era urgency. Inventory levels – once swollen – are finally coming down, though not without cost. Margins remain tight. Inflation, tariffs and foreign exchange turbulence continue to blur the outlook, while geopolitical tensions inject fresh volatility into an already fragile recovery.
Against this backdrop, the latest earnings reports from Giant, Merida and Shimano provide a rare, empirical glance into the industry’s current health. Giant and Merida are two of the world’s largest bicycle producers, serving both OEM clients and consumers under their own brands. Shimano, the Japanese titan of drivetrain and component systems, is a near-ubiquitous supplier – its fortunes inextricably tied to global bicycle production. Together, these firms form the backbone of the industry’s high-end and mid-range segments.
What emerges from their most recent financials is a portrait of tentative stabilization – more of a plateau than a rebound. Europe shows flickers of recovery, though patterns remain uneven across markets. The U.S. remains stubbornly sluggish, weighed down by excess inventory, soft consumer sentiment and trade policy risks. China, once the growth engine, is now hampered by broader economic malaise and weakening discretionary spending.
Compounding these challenges are significant currency headwinds. The appreciation of the Taiwanese dollar and the depreciation of the yen have distorted reported results – often eroding profits even when sales volumes have improved. Across the board, rising costs and price competition are putting margins under pressure.
In the following breakdown, the Show Daily dissects what these earnings reveal – not only about company performance, but about the broader state of the industry, and the uncertain path it faces in 2025.
Giant: Challenging Q2 Results
Giant Group, the world’s largest bicycle manufacturer, reported a 12.4-percent drop in revenue for the first half of 2025, falling to NT$32.61 billion. Even more striking was the 66.7% year-over-year plunge in net profit after tax, which landed at just NT$560 million. Foreign exchange losses – particularly the appreciation of the New Taiwan Dollar – played a major role, shaving NT$230 million off second-quarter profits alone.
Not all segments performed equally. While OEM orders rebounded nearly 30%, especially from European clients, the company’s own-brand sales were hit hard, particularly in China, where demand dropped from last year’s elevated base. In the U.S., Giant continues to face tepid consumer interest, exacerbated by uncertain tariff regimes and broader economic malaise.
To its credit, Giant is responding with characteristic nimbleness – streamlining inventories, adjusting regional strategies and reinforcing operational discipline. Earnings per share fell to NT$1.42 for the first half of 2025, but excluding currency effects, the Q2 earnings per share would have more than doubled from NT$0.48 to NT$1.07. This suggests that underlying demand is not entirely absent – it is just harder to convert into profitable sales under current market conditions.
Merida: Steadying After the Storm
Merida’s financial narrative for the first half of 2025 is one of cautious recovery tempered by external shocks. The Taiwanese manufacturer reported NT$14.57 billion in consolidated revenue, a 3.9-percent decline year-over-year. However, its parent company’s revenue rose 19% to NT$9.71 billion, driven by strong early-year performance and improved profitability in Europe and the U.S.
Indeed, after years of stockpiled inventories and margin pressure, both regions have returned to profit for Merida. A revitalized product mix – especially new offerings in the U.S. – helped offset lingering softness in China, where the real estate crisis continues to weigh on household spending. That said, the gains were not enough to counter currency headwinds: The second quarter saw a 33-percent revenue drop and a NT$2.4 billion loss from exchange rate effects alone.
Still, Merida posted NT$903 million in profit from continuing operations, even if comprehensive income turned negative due to foreign exchange losses. The company remains wary of the unresolved U.S. tariff situation but sees an advantage in Taiwan’s 20% rate compared to other Asian producers.
Shimano: Strong Q1, Weaker Q2
Shimano, the industry’s dominant component supplier, entered 2025 with wind in its sails. The first quarter showed impressive momentum: total revenue rose 12.9%, and the bicycle division posted a 15.6-percent increase. Yet the optimism was short-lived. By Q2, growth had slowed markedly. Group revenue rose just 6.5% year-on-year to JPY 123 billion, while operating income plunged by over 30%.
For the bicycle segment specifically, Q2 revenue rose 8.1% to JPY 93 billion, but profit dropped a troubling 34.1%. Shimano blamed exchange rate instability, rising input costs and uneven global demand. The U.S. market, once again, emerged as a weak link, while China’s stagnation and ongoing geopolitical tensions further clouded the outlook.
For the full first half, Shimano’s bicycle division revenue grew 11.6% year-on-year to JPY 181 billion. Yet operating profit fell 2.9%. Europe was a relative bright spot, but inventories remain above desired levels despite favorable spring weather. The company expects momentum to improve in the second half, driven by the rollout of new wireless MTB shifting systems and the Q’Auto groupset for non-electric city bikes. Nonetheless, Shimano has downgraded its full-year revenue forecast by 2.1%.
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