Lululemon on Thursday reported holiday earnings that topped expectations, but the athletic apparel retailer’s guidance came in below estimates as its growth in North America stagnates.
Here’s how company did in its fourth fiscal quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $5.29 vs. $5.00 expected
- Revenue: $3.21 billion vs. $3.19 billion expected
The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Jan. 28 was $669.5 million, or $5.29 per share, compared with $119.8 million, or 94 cents per share, a year earlier.
Sales rose to $3.21 billion, up about 16% from $2.77 billion a year earlier.
Shares fell about 6% in extended trading Thursday.
Like its peers, Lululemon has been grappling with uncertain demand and a slowdown in discretionary spending that’s hit the apparel space particularly hard. Investors have watched how Lululemon performs in North America, its largest region by sales, as it laps tougher prior year comparisons and contends with consumers who are choosing experiences over goods like clothes and shoes.
During the quarter, sales rose 9% in the Americas, compared to 29% growth in the year-ago period. While Lululemon is still growing in the region, the rate has slowed down significantly as Lululemon focuses on expanding internationally.
Meanwhile, international sales grew 54% on a reported basis, with sales in China growing 78% and 36% in the rest of Lululemon’s markets.
Comparable sales rose 12% during the quarter, just shy of the 12.3% uptick analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount.
For the current quarter, Lululemon expects net revenue to be between $2.18 billion and $2.20 billion, representing growth of 9% to 10%. Analysts were expecting a forecast of $2.25 billion, or growth of 12.5%, according to LSEG.
It expects diluted earnings per share to be between $2.35 and $2.40, below the $2.55 analysts had expected, according to…
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