By Sabela Ojea
Shares of European Wax Center on Tuesday dropped to a new all-time low after the company's outlook for the year missed Wall Street expectations amid plans to close centers.
The company also announced the coming departure of Finance Chief Stacie Shirley, to be succeeded by Thomas Kim.
The stock was down 18% to $4.21 in afternoon trading. Shares have fallen more than 70% over the past 12 months.
The franchiser of hair-removal waxing salons forecast revenue of $210 million to $214 million for fiscal 2025, missing the $224.7 million expected by analysts, according to FactSet.
Chief Executive Chris Morris said on a call with analysts that the company expects 40 to 60 centers could close this year and that many franchisees have paused their new growth plans as the company works to stabilize and reaccelerate the business.
"The macroenvironment has become more challenging, which has led to pressured consumer spending, especially among new guests," Morris said. "As result, average unit economics have softened."
Morris said European Wax Center aims to implement a more sophisticated development approach focused on a thoughtful and profitable expansion.
"While we can't control the environment, we can better adapt to it," Morris said, adding that the company expects to see improving center-level results in the back half of 2025.
Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 11, 2025 13:40 ET (17:40 GMT)
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