Ralph Lauren Corporation RL has been showing impressive upward momentum, trading above its 200-day and 50-day simple moving averages (SMA), which are the key indicators of price stability and long-term bullish trends. Trading at $286.50, RL surpassed both its 200-day SMA of $199.54 and 50-day SMA of $246.2, highlighting a continued uptrend.

RL Stock Trading Above 200 & 50-Day SMA

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SMA is a key tool in technical analysis used to assess price trends by smoothing out short-term fluctuations, offering a clearer view of the stock's longer-term direction. This technical strength, along with the stock's sustained momentum, reflects positive market sentiment and investor confidence in Ralph Lauren financial health and growth prospects.

Shares of Ralph Lauren have risen 67.2% in the past six months, outpacing the industry’s growth of 23.9%. It has outperformed the broader sector and the S&P 500 index, which posted growth of 28.2% and 10.5%, respectively.

RL Stock's Price Performance in Last Three Months

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Ralph Lauren's Strong Growth and Digital Expansion

Ralph Lauren is on track to exceed its growth targets under the "Next Great Chapter: Accelerate Plan," which focuses on simplifying operations, improving technology and strengthening the brand. The company is enhancing its brand appeal, expanding core products while reaching new markets and improving customer experience in key cities. As part of its portfolio update, it transitioned Chaps to a licensed business. Its focus on high-quality products, personalized promotions, efficient inventory management, and a strong global presence is driving success.

By investing in mobile, online sales and better order fulfillment, Ralph Lauren is making strong progress in expanding its digital and omnichannel shopping experience. Its digital business, including its own websites, department store platforms, online retailers and social commerce, is performing well. In the third quarter, it added 1.9 million new customers to its direct-to-consumer business, a low double-digit increase from last year. Most of this growth came from younger, high-value shoppers who are less focused on price, showing the brand's growing appeal to the next generation.

Ralph Lauren also saw improvements in consumer loyalty and brand perception, with more people considering, purchasing and recommending the brand. Social media followers grew by a low double-digit percentage to over 64 million, driven by platforms like TikTok, Threads, Instagram, Line and Douyin. The company remains focused on digital investments to continue content creation for all platforms, enhancing digital capabilities to improve the user experience and leveraging AI and data to serve its consumers more efficiently.

By delivering strong performance across both retail and wholesale channels, Ralph Lauren exceeded expectations. In North America, retail sales saw solid growth, with brick-and-mortar sales rising and digital sales improving due to targeted marketing and website enhancements. Wholesale revenues also increased, driven by higher prices and strong full-price sales. Europe performed even better, with strong retail sales and wholesale growth supported by high reorder rates and brand momentum. In Asia, retail sales saw significant growth, particularly in China, where both digital and in-store sales were strong. Overall, the company’s brand elevation, efficient inventory management and digital investments fueled its continued success.

What to Expect From RL in 2025?

Ralph Lauren’s stock momentum and stronger North American wholesale performance provide a solid foundation for resilience in a competitive landscape. For fiscal 2025, RL continues to anticipate year-over-year constant-currency revenue growth of 6-7% compared with the prior range of 3-4%. This includes 100-150 bps of adverse impacts of currency. Management now expects the operating margin to grow by 120-160 bps in constant currency, driven by a gross margin expansion of 130-170 bps.

Reflecting optimism around Ralph Lauren, analysts have revised their EPS estimates upward. Over the past 30 days, EPS estimates for the current quarter and fiscal year have increased by 2.2% and 3.7% each to $12.01 and $13.61, respectively. These estimates suggest growth rates of 16.5% and 13.3% year over year, respectively.

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RL Stock: A Strategic Guide for Investors

Investors may consider the Ralph Lauren stock due to its strong momentum, supported by positive market sentiment and consistent performance above key moving averages. The company’s focus on brand elevation and strategic investments has increased consumer demand across channels. With raised earnings expectations and a positive growth outlook, Ralph Lauren presents an attractive opportunity for investors seeking long-term growth. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Other Key Picks

We have highlighted three other top-ranked stocks, namely, Under Armour UAA, Gildan Activewear GIL and lululemon athletica LULU.

Under Armour is one of the leading designers, marketers, and distributors of authentic athletic footwear, apparel and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities in the United States and internationally. It has a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UAA’s fiscal 2024 sales and earnings indicates declines of 9.9% and 44.4%, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures. Under Armour delivered an earnings surprise of 98.6% in the trailing four quarters, on average.

Gildan Activewear, a manufacturer of premium quality branded basic activewear, carries a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. GIL has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.3%, on average.

The consensus estimate for Gildan Activewear’s current financial-year EPS indicates growth of 15% from the year-ago figure.

lululemon is a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company. LULU carries a Zacks Rank of 2 at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for lululemon’s current financial-year sales and EPS indicates growth of 9.7% and 12.5%, respectively, from the year-ago corresponding figures. LULU has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.7%, on average.

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Ralph Lauren Corporation (RL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

lululemon athletica inc. (LULU) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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