Garmin’s Fitness segment grew 42% year over year in Q1 2026, reaching $547 million, and the company says it expects this will continue to be the biggest growth contributor in 2026. If that is where the momentum is, the next big move may not be another sports watch, but a new type of wearable focused on recovery, stress and performance.
Reading between the lines
Garmin did not mention CIRQA by name in the earnings call, and that is not surprising. Companies rarely preview trademarked products before they are ready. But management repeatedly pointed to “advanced wearables” and strong demand in Fitness. Also mentioned were new products, which is exactly where something like CIRQA would fit.
“As strong as our product line currently is, we are planning to launch even more new products throughout the year, including some that represent new categories for Garmin.”
CIRQA is not a normal smartwatch trademark. The filing describes it as a body-worn sensor system connected to recovery from physical and emotional stress, alertness levels and performance. That sounds much closer to a screenless recovery wearable than a traditional sports watch.
“I think we typically release somewhere around 100 new products a year, and we would expect that 2026 is in line with that, if not slightly stronger as we look at some new things.”
Think less Forerunner and more a platform that competes with recovery-focused products from companies like Whoop. But with Garmin’s own approach to training readiness, sleep, stress and long-term performance.
Muscle Battery may be the second piece
The other clue is the Muscle Battery trademark, which appeared not long before CIRQA. The filing points to analysis of muscle oxygen saturation, or SmO2, which usually needs dedicated sensing rather than something a standard wrist watch can handle accurately on its own.
Garmin does not currently have a native device built around this kind of metric. Body Battery focuses on overall energy and recovery using heart rate variability, sleep and stress data from its watches. Muscle Battery sounds much more specific. It points toward muscular readiness, fatigue and training strain measured at a deeper physiological level.
That makes it easier to picture as a separate body-worn device or dedicated sensor that works alongside an existing Garmin watch. It would add another layer of performance data, feeding muscle-specific insights into the wider Garmin training and recovery system.
Garmin’s Q1 results show where the momentum is
Garmin started 2026 with strong numbers, reporting total revenue of $1.54 billion for the first quarter, up 11% year over year. Profitability also improved, with operating income rising and margins staying healthy across the business.
Outdoor, Marine and Aviation were important contributors, but the message from the earnings call was clear. Fitness continues to be one of Garmin’s most dependable engines for growth, and it is expected to play a major role through the rest of 2026.
Garmin also maintained its full-year guidance, which suggests confidence that this momentum will continue rather than fade after one strong quarter. Despite strong earnings, the stock dipped slightly after the release. That usually means investors were looking for either even stronger forward guidance or more aggressive commentary about the rest of 2026.
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