Garmin Fitness Revenue Up 33% in 2025, Squeezing Apple and Budget Brands

Garmin posted 33% fitness revenue growth in 2025, a number that towers over broader wearables market growth rates sitting in the low single digits. CEO Cliff Pemble named the targets directly: Apple at the premium end, budget Chinese brands below. That kind of two-front squeeze is rare, and it says something real about where Garmin sits right now.

At the top, Garmin is pulling athletes away from Apple Watch with watches like the Fenix 8 and Forerunner 965, which offer multi-week battery life and deep training metrics that Apple simply cannot match. Apple Watch Ultra 2 tops out around 60 hours in low-power mode. The Fenix 8 Solar laughs at that. For triathletes, ultra runners, and cyclists logging serious volume, battery anxiety alone is enough to switch.

At the budget end, Garmin is pushing the Forerunner 165 and Instinct 2X Solar into price ranges where brands like Amazfit and Xiaomi have lived comfortably. The Forerunner 165 lands around $249 and brings HRV tracking, Body Battery, and Garmin Coach workouts. That is a harder value proposition to beat than it used to be, especially as Garmin's accuracy on GPS and optical HR has tightened considerably over the past two generations.

The durability question is whether Garmin can hold both flanks. Apple will not sit still at the premium tier, and Chinese brands can undercut on price faster than Garmin can react. Coros is also quietly eating into the serious endurance athlete segment with the Pace 3 and Vertix 2S at aggressive price points and a training load model that rivals Garmin's own.

Solid execution across the board. The 33% growth is not a fluke, it reflects a product lineup that covers nearly every endurance athlete's need from $199 to $1,099. Whether Garmin can sustain that momentum into 2026 depends on staying sharper than Apple on athlete features and cheaper than Coros on entry points. A tough ask, but right now they are doing it.