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Lululemon Cuts Full-Year Outlook After Q1 Profit and Margin Shock

The guidance reset reflects tariff-driven margin losses, weaker North American traffic after negative brand commentary, product misses that hurt sales, with recovery expected to wait until a new CEO takes over in September.

Overview

  • Lululemon reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Thursday that showed modest revenue growth to about $2.47–$2.5 billion and diluted EPS of $1.69 while net income fell to roughly $195 million.
  • Hours after the release the company lowered its full-year revenue guidance to $11.00 billion–$11.15 billion and cut EPS to $10.95–$11.15, prompting roughly a 9–11% drop in after-hours trading.
  • Sales were weak in the Americas with comparable sales down and U.S. revenue falling, while international markets led by Mainland China posted strong double-digit growth that helped offset domestic softness.
  • Profitability deteriorated sharply as gross margin compressed about 410 basis points and operating income fell about 37% due largely to tariffs, higher markdowns and fixed-cost deleveraging from softer North American sales.
  • Management pointed to negative media and social-media commentary and several product launches that underperformed, the company retained about $1.5 billion in cash and continued buybacks, and investors will watch execution under incoming CEO Heidi O’Neill when she starts in September.