Zepp Health Doubles Down on Hybrid Training as Premium Push Pays Off
Strong Q1 growth and a new HYROX partnership signal a strategic pivot from wearable maker to hybrid training platform.
ZEPP · Earnings Call · 2026-06-08
A Strategic Pivot to Hybrid Training
Zepp Health, the consumer electronics maker behind Amazfit, used its Q1 2026 call to crystallize a new strategic direction: hybrid training. The company's top keyword for the quarter, it represents a shift from a broad smartwatch player to a platform that integrates endurance, strength, and recovery. CEO Huang Wang stated: “We aim to build a global leadership position in hybrid training.” — Wang Huang, Executive · 2026-06-08 This is reinforced by a new exclusive 3-year global partnership with HYROX, one of the fastest-growing hybrid endurance sports organizations. The partnership goes beyond sponsorship, positioning Amazfit to shape the emerging category by embedding its products into races, training content, and performance data integrations. The timing is notable: the company just launched Balance 3 and Balance Ultra at a HYROX event in New York, and the T-Rex Ultra 2 at $550 is the highest price point in Amazfit history. This premiumization is showing up in the numbers: average selling price rose over 20% year-over-year, and gross margin expanded to 37.7% despite memory cost headwinds. The CFO, Leon Deng, acknowledged the pressure: “We expect higher memory costs to create near-term pressure on gross margins, driven by the industry-wide transition from DDR4 to DDR5 and high-bandwidth memory.” — Leon Cheng Deng, CEO · 2026-06-08 But he also noted that multiple levers — including ASP increases and potential IEEPA tariff refunds — are helping to mitigate the impact.From Transformation to Premiumization
Previously, Zepp's story was about a transformation journey from a Foxconn-like ODM to a self-branded company. In prior calls, management discussed the shift away from Xiaomi dependency and the goal of “becoming the new Garmin.” Now, the focus is narrower: winning in hybrid training and raising price points. The company reported that premium T-Rex models accounted for nearly 50% of T-Rex unit sales in March and April, a sign that consumers are not just buying for affordability. As the CEO said, “Consumers are not choosing Amazfit solely for affordability.” — Wang Huang, Executive · 2026-06-08 That belief is backed by strong Q1 revenue growth of 33.8% year-over-year, and Q2 guidance of $63-68 million (6-14% growth). The prior quarter's call, in March 2026, had already hinted at the same direction. The CFO then said, “we are not that much exposed to the currency fluctuations on the dollars, right?” — Leon Cheng Deng, CFO · 2026-03-16 — a sign of the diversified supply chain that now enables this premium push. In November 2025, he had flagged the memory issue: “there is a memory chip issue, which impacts the whole industry and the lead time for those is actually getting quite long.” — Leon Cheng Deng, Executive · 2025-11-05 That issue has grown, but Zepp’s product mix improvement has kept gross margin expanding.We see it as another earlier validation of the structural changes we have been building, stronger premium product mix, improving pricing power, expanding gross margin and a clear brand position in performance-oriented training.