Barcelona, March 6, 2026, 12:17 CET
Garmin Ltd picked up the “Best Connected Consumer Device” honor at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this Wednesday, with its fēnix 8 Pro multisport smartwatch taking the prize. The Global Mobile Awards—known as the GLOMOs—are decided by a panel of over 250 independent judges, according to the GSMA. Chief Marketing Officer Lara Dewar described the competition as continuing to set “the benchmark” for excellence. MWC Barcelona
Timing’s key here. Just last month, Garmin put out a bullish 2026 sales outlook—$7.9 billion in revenue with adjusted earnings at $9.35 per share, topping analysts’ expectations and coming off a record 2025. Fitness pulled its weight, up 42% in Q4, lifted by demand for the Venu 4 and Bounce 2 watches. Garmin’s board wants to raise the dividend by 17% and authorize a fresh $500 million buyback.
Garmin faces stiff competition from Apple and Samsung at the top end of the wearables market, with both giants pushing the Apple Watch Ultra and Galaxy Watch Ultra. Still, Garmin’s focus on niche devices has helped it hold its ground.
When it launched in September, Skylo touted the fēnix 8 Pro’s ability to send and receive texts and relay GPS coordinates via satellite—no phone required, but only where supported. Skylo’s co-founder Tarun Gupta described the setup as “seamless, invisible, available when you need it.” Garmin co-COO Brad Trenkle pointed to the integration, saying it brings Garmin’s established SOS feature straight to the watch. Skylo
Still, it doesn’t come cheap. Pricing kicks off at $1,199.99 for the AMOLED edition, while the MicroLED pushes that to $1,999.99; an active subscription is needed for certain features, and satellite service isn’t universally available. Garmin flagged that satellite communications are either restricted or outright banned in some areas.
After Garmin reported its February results, Morgan Stanley’s Erik Woodring called the company’s 2026 guidance “conservative.” He pointed to Garmin’s habit of topping its initial revenue forecasts and suggested that some outdoor product rollouts might show up ahead of schedule. Investing.com
Garmin shares in the U.S. last changed hands at $240.17, marking a 4.4% drop from the prior close. That price tags the company’s market cap near $46.3 billion.
March 13 is marked as the record date for Garmin’s final $0.90 per share quarterly dividend from the previous shareholder authorization, with checks set to go out on March 27.
Related articles: NASDAQ:GRMN
