Bath & Body Works Stock Rockets Pre-Market After Upbeat Q3, Guidance Hike: Retail's Exuberant

Net sales rose 3% year-over-year (YoY) to $1.61 billion, higher than a Wall Street estimate of $1.58 billion.

First Published Nov 25, 2024, 8:03 PM IST | Last Updated Nov 25, 2024, 8:03 PM IST

Shares of personal care brand Bath & Body Works Inc ($BBWI) soared over 20% in Monday’s pre-market after the firm reported upbeat third-quarter earnings and raised its full-year earnings and sales guidance.

Net sales rose 3% year-over-year (YoY) to $1.61 billion, higher than a Wall Street estimate of $1.58 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.49, surpassing an analyst estimate of $0.47. Net income, however, declined 11% YoY to $106 million during the quarter.

The firm raised its full-year net sales and earnings guidance and now expects net sales to range between a decline of 2.5% to a decline of 1.7%, compared to an earlier guidance for a decline of 4% to 2%. Full-year 2024 adjusted earnings per diluted share is now expected to be between $3.15 and $3.28, compared to adjusted earnings per diluted share of $3.27 in fiscal 2023.

For the fourth quarter, the firm expects net sales to range between a decline of 6.5% to a decline of 4.5% and earnings per diluted share to be between $1.94 and $2.07.

CEO Gina Boswell highlighted that the firm’s results exceeded the high end of its net sales and earnings per diluted share guidance, leading to a hike in its full-year guidance to fully reflect this outperformance.

“Innovation across our core products, adjacencies, and collaborations is resonating with both new and existing customers supported by the investments we have made in marketing and technology. We are capitalizing on our agile business model and predominantly U.S.-based supply chain, and we believe we are well-positioned to navigate a volatile retail environment and shorter holiday calendar,” Boswell said.

Following the earnings report, retail sentiment on Stocktwits jumped into the ‘extremely bullish’ territory (81/100), accompanied by ‘extremely high’ retail chatter.