Lululemon Stretches Out for Earnings

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 1:59AM EST · Published Mar 28, 8:45AM EDT

Lululemon Stretches Out for Earnings — © Ridofranz / iStock

When Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) released its most recent quarterly results after the markets closed on Tuesday, the company said that it had $1.33 in earnings per share (EPS) on $928.8 million in revenue. Consensus estimates had called for $1.27 in EPS on revenue of $911.42 million. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $1.00 and $789.94 million in revenue.

During the quarter, total comparable sales increased 12%, or increased 11% on a constant dollar basis. Separately, comparable store sales increased 2%, or increased 1% on a constant dollar basis, and direct to consumer net revenue increased 44%, or increased 42%.

Looking ahead to the fiscal first quarter, the firm expects net revenue to be in the range of $612 million to $617 million, based on a total comparable sales increase in the low double digits on a constant dollar basis. Also, EPS is expected to be between $0.44 and $0.46. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.40 and $585.9 million in revenue for the quarter.

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On the books, Lululemon cash and cash equivalents were at $990.5 million at the end of the quarter, up from $734.8 million at the end of the previous fiscal year.

Glenn Murphy, executive chairman of the board, commented:

We are pleased with our results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2017. The company continues to execute successfully on its global growth strategies and I would like to thank our entire team including Celeste, Stuart, and Sun for their leadership in driving this strong performance.

Stuart Haselden, chief operating officer, added:

We are seeing strong momentum across our business as we now move into 2018, which is further positioning us to achieve our 2020 revenue goal of $4 billion. Importantly, we would like to thank our store educators, ambassadors, and the lululemon collective around the world for their energy and passion that is enabling our continued success.

Shares of Lululemon closed Tuesday at $78.71, with a consensus analyst price target of $84.33 and a 52-week trading range of $47.26 to $83.98. Following the announcement, the stock was up nearly 7% at $84.05 in Wednesday’s early trading indications.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.