Abercrombie, Lululemon Raise Fourth-Quarter Sales Targets, Macy's Flags Potential Miss
MT Newswires
14 Jan
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Retailers Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and Lululemon Athletica (LULU) lifted their fourth-quarter sales projections amid strong holiday performance, while Macy's (M) said that sales could narrowly fall short of its own expectations.
Apparel brand Abercrombie & Fitch raised its fourth-quarter net sales growth range to between 7% and 8% from a 5% to 7% outlook previously. In the same period last year, Abercrombie's sales grew 21% to $1.45 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet are estimating sales of $1.56 billion this fiscal quarter.
For the full year, the company expects sales growth of 15%, compared with a prior range of 14% to 15%. Analysts are modeling for revenue of $4.93 billion, compared with $4.28 billion reported in the 12 months ended Feb. 3, 2024.
"Through fiscal December, we delivered record quarter-to-date net sales, exceeding the expectations we provided in November," Chief Executive Fran Horowitz said in a statement, "Total net sales growth was supported by comparable sales across regions and brands through the holiday selling period."
The company maintained its fourth-quarter and full-year operating margin targets of roughly 16% and 15%, respectively. Abercrombie & Fitch's shares tumbled 20% in Monday trade.
Separately, Lululemon said it expects fiscal fourth-quarter sales between $3.56 billion and $3.58 billion, signaling year-over-year growth of 11% to 12%. The target is better than the athletic apparel and footwear company's previous forecast of $3.48 billion to $3.51 billion and implies upside to the FactSet consensus of $3.48 billion. Lululemon raised its fourth-quarter earnings-per-share target to between $5.81 and $5.85 from $5.56 to $5.64 previously expected.
"During the holiday season, our guests responded well to our product offering, enabling us to increase our fourth-quarter guidance," Chief Financial Officer Meghan Frank said. The company's shares were up 0.4% intraday.
Shares of Macy's fell 5.6% after the department store chain said it achieved roughly flat comparable sales quarter-to-date and that fiscal fourth-quarter revenue was expected to be at, or slightly below, the low end of its previous $7.8 billion to $8 billion range. Analysts surveyed by FactSet are estimating sales of $7.83 billion.
Macy's affirmed its adjusted EPS guidance of $1.40 to $1.65, compared with the $1.57 consensus view.
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