Lululemon Athletica’s (LULU) stock is up 8% after the athletic apparel retailer reported third-quarter financial results that beat Wall Street forecasts on the top and bottom lines.
The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company known for its yoga pants reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.87 U.S., which beat analysts’ consensus forecasts of $2.71 U.S.
Revenue in the period came in at $2.40 billion U.S., which was ahead of the $2.36 billion U.S. expected on Wall Street. Sales rose 9% from a year earlier.
Management attributed the strong results to accelerating sales in foreign markets. Lululemon has turned to international markets for growth, especially in China.
The strategy appears to be paying off as international sales grew 25% year-over-year during the latest quarter, while sales in the U.S. continue to struggle, declining 2%.
Looking ahead, Lululemon said that for the current fourth quarter it expects revenue of $3.48 billion U.S. to $3.51 billion U.S., representing growth of 8% to 10% from a year ago.
Analysts were expecting fourth-quarter revenue of $3.50 billion U.S., or growth of 9%.
The company added that it anticipates earnings of $5.56 U.S. to $5.64 U.S. per share in the current quarter, the high-end of which is ahead of the $5.59 U.S. analysts had forecast.
Management added that they are “pleased” with the start of the year-end holiday season.
Lululemon recently approved a $1 billion U.S. increase to its stock buyback program, saying it has $1.8 billion U.S. remaining in the current program.
Prior to today (Dec. 6), Lululemon’s stock had declined 32% this year to trade at $344.81 U.S. per share.
