Lululemon sees sales and profit jump 18%, boosts full-year guidance

Lululemon sees sales and profit jump 18%, boosts full-year guidance


A customer enters a Lululemon store on June 02, 2023 in Corte Madera, California.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Lululemon raised its full-year guidance Thursday after reporting an 18% jump in both sales and profit for its fiscal second quarter, beating Wall Street’s estimates. 

The athletic apparel retailer now expects sales to be between $9.51 billion and $9.57 billion for the fiscal year, compared to a previous range of $9.44 billion to $9.51 billion.

Lululemon is expecting profits to be between $12.02 to $12.17 per share for the year, compared to a previous range of $11.74 to $11.94.

For its current quarter, the retailer is forecasting earnings per share of $2.23 to $2.28 and sales of $2.17 billion to $2.19 billion, in line with analysts’ expectations, according to Refinitiv.

Here’s how Lululemon did in its second fiscal quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

  • Earnings per share: $2.68 vs. $2.54 expected
  • Revenue: $2.21 billion vs. $2.17 billion expected

The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended July 30 was $341.6 million, or $2.68 per share, compared with $289.5 million, or $2.26 per share, a year earlier. 

Sales rose to $2.21 billion, up about 18% from $1.87 billion a year earlier.

The company easily beat Wall Street’s estimates on the top and bottom lines but fell short of same store sales expectations: Comparable sales were up 11% in the quarter, compared to an estimate of up 12.1%, according to StreetAccount.

Lululemon has undertaken an ambitious growth plan — its “Power of Three x2” strategy — that calls for sales to double to $12.5 billion by 2026 compared to 2021’s revenue of $6.25 billion. To get there, the retailer has been working to expand its brick-and-mortar footprint and double its men’s and direct-to-consumer revenue.

Sales in the men’s category were up 15% during the quarter, and the retailer opened 10 new stores on a net basis, including its first in Thailand. By the end of the quarter, it had 672 stores globally.

It’s also been working to address a persistent inventory glut, with year-over-year levels steadily coming down. During its second quarter, inventories were up 14% to $1.7 billion, compared with $1.5 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Direct to consumer revenue was up 15% but it was a smaller part of Lululemon’s overall channel mix in the quarter. Direct to consumer sales represented 40% of Lululemon’s overall sales, compared to 42% in the year ago period.

Sales in North America were up 11%, while revenue internationally was up 52%.

Lululemon’s gross margin was largely in line with expectations at 58.8%, compared to the 58.5% analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount.

Read the full earnings release here.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.



Source

Business class+? Delta says segmentation is coming to high-end cabins
Business

Business class+? Delta says segmentation is coming to high-end cabins

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Delta Air Lines is studying new types of airplane tickets — this time in the premium cabins at the front of the plane. Airlines spent years slicing up their coach cabins, from extra legroom seats to bare-bones basic economy fares that don’t allow changes or include a seat assignment. […]

Read More
Space startup Varda raises 7 million in funding to make drugs in orbit
Business

Space startup Varda raises $187 million in funding to make drugs in orbit

Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images Space startup Varda announced on Thursday that it has raised $187 million in Series C funding, led by venture capital firms Natural Capital and Shrug Capital, to continue advancing drug manufacturing in space. The latest round included participation from Peter Thiel, Lux Capital, Khosla Ventures and Caffeinated Capital. […]

Read More
How family offices are betting on the sports boom from fantasy apps to pickleball courts
Business

How family offices are betting on the sports boom from fantasy apps to pickleball courts

Key Points A third of investment firms of the ultra-rich have invested in sports, according to a new family office survey by BNY Mellon. While billionaire sports-team buyouts get the headlines, family offices are increasingly investing in adjacent assets like live-viewing venues and betting apps. Here’s how the family offices of ultra-rich sports team owners […]

Read More