Decathlon bucked the trend of losses and struggle in the bike industry, the major French sporting goods retailer celebrating growth in its revenue and profit in 2025, the latter edging closer to the €1 billion mark and up 16 per cent on the year before.

It may be slightly unfair to directly compare Decathlon’s outlook to others in the bike industry, after all, the retailer sells goods from across the sporting world and, while it has a major cycling presence and bikes are a strong part of the business, anyone who has been in one of the brand’s stores will know it is far from just a bike shop.

With that said, Decathlon posting 16 per cent growth to its profits in 2025, backed up with four per cent revenue growth and a bump of seven per cent in its merchandise value, is one of the more positive industry stories reported in recent times, the post-Covid years having seen much talk of headwinds, challenges and losses across the cycling world.

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BikeEurope was first to report Decathlon’s financial results, the retailer’s gross merchandise value up seven per cent to €20.7 billion, while revenues grew to €16.8 billion. Overall, the net profit figure was up 16 per cent to €910 million.

Unfortunately, there is little information on the breakdown of these figures, meaning it is tricky to ascertain exactly how successful Decathlon’s cycling division was last year.

Regardless, Decathlon called its results strong, especially given the “complex economic and geopolitical environment”.

The retailer also suggested it was evidence of the “resilience of its proprietary business model” and ability to offer “optimal price-performance ratio on a large scale”.

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The number of Decathlon retail outlets also rose in 2025 and stands at 1,902 stores in 82 countries.

With Decathlon a prominent name in the WorldTour, the brand admitted cycling remains a “key category” for partnerships and attention, a statement evidenced by its investment in the Decathlon CMA CGM cycling team.

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Tadej Pogačar and Paul Seixas, La Redoute, 2026 Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Image Credit: ASO/Billy Ceusters)

The French sporting goods giant will, of course, hope it can tie down cycling’s latest wonderkid Paul Seixas to a long-term contract with the team it sponsors, however recent rumours suggest many top WorldTour teams, including UAE Team Emirates, are already seeking the talented Frenchman’s signature.

Decathlon’s revenue rise comes in contrast to components giant Shimano which last week reported the precarious geopolitical situation had seen net sales for bike and e-bike components drop by 0.7 per cent to 87,361 million yen (roughly £405m) compared with the same period last year.

The company’s net profit margin has contracted to 7.29 per cent, while its operating income across the business as a whole – including its fishing as well as cycling products – fell by over 20 per cent.