Yahoo Finance Lululemon stock surges after company boosts profit outlook, stock buybacks
Lululemon's stock (LULU) rose about 4% on Thursday after the company boosted its full-year profit outlook and raised its stock repurchase program by $1 billion.
The company said late Wednesday it now sees full-year earnings per share in a range of $14.27 to $14.47, up from a prior range of $14 to $14.20. It maintained its previously given full-year revenue forecast in a range of $10.7 billion to $10.8 billion.
The report came as investor concerns mount over the company's slowing sales growth amid growing competition in the athleisure space from newer brands like Alo and Vuori. Prior to the earnings release, Lululemon stock was down about 40% to start 2024, making it one of the worst performers in the S&P 500 (^GSPC) this year.
"It’s a bit of a relief rally that you’re seeing in the market," Aneesha Sherman, Bernstein senior analyst, told Yahoo Finance after Lululemon's release.
While the company benefited from a boom in consumer demand for casual wear during the pandemic, sales growth has slowed in recent quarters. In Q4, revenue grew 16% compared with the year prior, down from 19% in Q3. In the most recent quarter, Lululemon's revenue increased 10% from the year prior.
In May, Lululemon announced its chief product officer, Sun Choe, was leaving the company, sending the stock tumbling 7% the day the news broke. The departure fueled the case for bears such as Jefferies analyst Randal Konik, who said that the company's product assortment is "falling flat."
In the first quarter, Lululemon's revenue of $2.21 billion came in just above Wall Street's estimates of $2.20 billion. Meanwhile, the company's earnings per share of $2.54 surpassed Wall Street's estimates of $2.39.
Comparable sales in North America were flat in the first quarter, which Sherman noted was largely expected but remains a concern for investors moving forward.
"The question is, can they offset that with international, and in this quarter they did," Sherman said.
Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald said the company had some "missed opportunity" in its women's clothing lines in the US. Particularly, a narrow color palette in leggings contributed to the slowing sales growth, per McDonald. Conversely, McDonald noted male consumers have responded well to new launches in categories like golf and training.
"Absolutely nothing has changed in terms of the growth potential of this brand, not just internationally, across all markets, but in the US," McDonald said.
He added, "All of this is within our control. All of this the teams have been chasing, and we expect much of that to be addressed in the second half of this year."
Analysts like Konik are still skeptical that sales outside the US can continue to support earnings growth moving forward.
"What matters is US revs continue to slow and share is being lost to Alo and Vuori," Konik wrote in a research note after the release. "After-hour gains in the stock unlikely to hold, as the future looks tepid, and we believe margins won't be maintained as US momentum fades."
Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.
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