Industry News
The 2025–26 FIS Alpine World Cup season wrapped up after the World Cup Finals in Lillehammer, Norway, at the end of March. With the 2025-26 season in the booked, it is once again time to crunch numbers to look at which ski brands dominated the highest level of alpine ski racing.
By tallying World Cup points earned by athletes on each manufacturer’s equipment, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) provides one of the most objective measures of performance in alpine skiing. Here is how the world’s top ski brands stacked up this season.
At the top of the rankings, Head once again asserted its dominance, finishing the season with 9,720 points across all disciplines. The American-Austrian brand maintained a commanding lead over its competitors, driven by exceptional performances in the speed events. Head led in Downhill (3,320 points), Super-G (2,165 points), and Slalom (2,875 points), while it placed third in Giant Slalom. Its consistency across all events ensured a comfortable overall victory, nearly 4,000 points ahead of the next-best ski brand. Famous Head athletes include Lindsey Vonn, Emma Aicher, Atle Lie McGrath, Sara Hector, Lara Gut-Behrami, and Ryan Cochran-Siegle. Head has won the FIS Constructors Championships for the sixth year in a row.
Second place went to Atomic with 5,870 points, securing a strong and balanced position across disciplines. Atomic ranked second in Downhill, Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Super-G, demonstrating one of the most consistent all-around performances of any brand this season. Although it did not top any single category, its across-the-board strength kept it firmly in the runner-up spot and bumped French rival Rossignol down from its second place from last year. Atomic’s most successful athlete is none other than Mikaela Shiffrin, who single-handedly contributed 1,410 points or nearly a quarter of the brand’s FIS points. Other famous Atomic athletes include Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, Lucas Braathen, and Zrinka Ljutic.
Rossignol finished third overall with 4,140 points, powered largely by its dominance in Giant Slalom. The French brand led the discipline with 2,180 points, significantly ahead of the competition, reinforcing its reputation for technical precision in GS. Rossignol also remained competitive in Slalom and Downhill, though it lagged behind the top two brands in the speed events. Famous Rossignol athletes include two-time Olympic gold medallist Federica Brignone, Paula Moltzan, River Radamus, and Jared Goldberg.
In fourth place, Stöckli once again proved that smaller, more specialized brands can compete with industry giants. With 1,935 points, Stöckli delivered strong results in Downhill (885 points) and Super-G (555 points), highlighting its continued focus on high-performance speed skis despite a smaller athlete roster. Stöckli‘S biggest athlete is overall season title winner Marco Odermatt, who single handedly amassed 84% of the points (1,626 points)
Rounding out the top five, Marcel Hirscher’s Van Deer continued its rapid rise with 1,255 points. The relatively young brand excelled in Slalom, leading the discipline with 880 points, a remarkable achievement that underscores its targeted approach of equipping elite technical skiers. Its most successful athlete is Norwegian tech specialist Henrik Kristoffersen.
Further down the rankings, Fischer (1,180 points) and Salomon (875 points) delivered solid but more discipline-specific performances. Fischer showed particular strength in Giant Slalom, while Salomon stood out in Super-G, where it ranked first with 460 points. Dynastar (765 points) and Nordica (555 points) also contributed competitive results, especially in the speed disciplines.
Looking at the discipline breakdown, the 2025–26 season revealed a clear specialization trend among brands. Head dominated the speed events, Rossignol controlled Giant Slalom, and Van Deer emerged as the standout in Slalom. Meanwhile, Atomic’s consistency across all four disciplines made it the most balanced competitor, even if it did not claim overall first place.
Of course, the bigger the brand, the more money it can pour into providing athletes with equipment at which stage it becomes a numbers game. So don’t dismiss the smaller brands like Van Deer Racing or Stöckli, who only supply a limited number of athletes with free skis.
How big a role does material play for ski racers? Naturally, ski racers need the best of the best to perform at this level, however, the difference between the individual brands does not come down to quality but rather individual preference. Athletes spend many months testing skis and finding the right pair for them. Sometimes switching brands can help athletes as the material simply does not match their individual skiing style or preference.
Ultimately, all of these brands are incredible brands that have spent decades perfecting race skis and tailoring them to skiers’s requirements. The skis used by professional athletes are typically not suitable for recreational skiers, as their specs are meant for ski racing and not recreational skiing. If you have the opportunity to demo various skis, I would definitely recommend demoing a pair of race skis to get a feel for the handling of these highly engineered and diligently crafted racing tools.
The headline says top 12 brands but only 7 are mentioned in the article.