By Sabela Ojea

Victoria's Secret logged higher sales in the fourth quarter after a strong holiday season, but guided for a drop in its topline performance in the first quarter as it cited a shift in consumer confidence.

The lingerie retailer on Wednesday said it expects first-quarter sales in the range of $1.3 billion and $1.33 billion, down from $1.36 billion a year earlier. Wall Street was looking for sales growth of around 3% to $1.4 billion.

"As we look into the new year, we are optimistic about the positive signs and opportunities for growth we're seeing in our business, but we are also mindful that macro-environment challenges and uncertainty are putting pressure on the consumer," the company said.

For fiscal 2025, Victoria's Secret expects sales of $6.2 billion to $6.3 billion, compared with $6.2 billion in 2024, and adjusted earnings of $2 to $2.45. Analysts were looking for full-year sales of $6.5 billion and adjusted earnings of $2.80.

Victoria's Secret outlook assumes that the environment will gradually get better as it moves through the year and as it executes on strategies aimed at growing sales both in North America and international markets.

Victoria's Secret is in the midst of a turnaround under the leadership of Chief Executive Hillary Super that has included marketing initiatives such as the return of its VS Fashion Show in October to maintain its cultural relevance and further differentiating its Victoria's Secret and PINK brands.

In the fourth quarter, Victoria's Secret had a profit of $193.4 million, or $2.33 a share, up from $181.1 million, or $2.29 a share, for the same period a year earlier.

Stripping out one-time items, earnings per share came in at $2.60 Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast adjusted earnings of $2.30 a share.

Sales rose 1.1% to $2.11 billion, beating the $2.08 billion forecast by Wall Street, according to FactSet. Comparable sales rose 5%, the company said.

In North America, Victoria's Secret remained in positive territory with sales rising slightly to $1.16 billion, helping offset a slight decline in international sales to $193.2 million

Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 05, 2025 17:01 ET (22:01 GMT)

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