How L Brands Guidance Offset Its Bad Comps
L Brands reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Wednesday.
When L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) reported its fiscal first-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Wednesday, the company said that it had $0.33 in earnings per share (EPS) and $2.44 billion in revenue. That compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of $0.29 in EPS and revenue of $2.4 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.59 and $2.61 billion in revenue.
Comparable sales for the first quarter ended April 29, 2017, decreased 9%. For the first quarter, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of 6 percentage points and 9 percentage points to total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales, respectively.
In terms of its segments, the company reported comparable sales of (14%) for Victoria’s Secret and 2% for Bath & Body Works. For the quarter, Victoria’s Secret had total sales of $1.53 billion and Bath & Body Works had total sales of $678.0 million.
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The company increased its guidance for 2017 full-year EPS to $3.10 to $3.40 from $3.05 to $3.35 previously, and it issued guidance for second-quarter EPS between $0.40 and $0.45.
The consensus estimate for the fiscal full year call for $3.21 in EPS and $12.53 billion in revenue, and for the coming quarter the consensus estimates are $0.46 in EPS and $2.77 billion in revenue.
Shares of L Brands closed Wednesday at $48.40, with a consensus analyst price target of $52.83 and a 52-week trading range of $43.04 to $79.67. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was up 6% at $51.40 in early trading indications Thursday.
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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.
