Under Armour settles SEC charges for $9 million

In this Nov. 29, 2019, file photo Under Armour clothes are displayed at a Kohl's store in Colma, Calif. Sportswear company Under Armour has settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission to pay $9 million in fines related to misleading its revenue growth to investors from the third quarter of 2015 through the fourth quarter of 2016, the agency said Monday, May 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Sportswear company Under Armour has settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission and agreed to pay $9 million in fines related to misleading its revenue growth to investors from the third quarter of 2015 through the fourth quarter of 2016, the agency said Monday.

According to the SEC filing, Under Armour used a “pull forward" sales tactic to pull forward $408 million in revenue in existing orders. The SEC said that the company made positive statements regarding its revenue growth rate and the factors contributing to the revenue growth rate, without disclosing the significant impact on revenue from its use of pull forward tactics.

Under Armour said in a statement that the settlement relates to the company’s disclosures and does not include any allegations from the SEC that sales during these periods did not comply with “generally accepted accounting principles.”

“The company neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s charges. The settlement resolves all outstanding SEC claims, “ the Baltimore company said.

Under Armour has agreed to cease and desist the practice, the SEC said in its filing.