Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) saw its shares fall more than 10% after Lululemon lowered its gross margin guidance for the first quarter. The “athleisure” chain raised its net revenue guidance for the fourth quarter and now expects growth of 25% or more, year over year.
It also announced that, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, the Company now expects that net revenue will be in the range of $2.660 billion to $2.700 billion, representing a 25%-27% increase compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. The previous guidance range was $2.605 billion to $2.655 billion.
Diluted earnings per share are now expected to be in the range of $4.22 to $4.27 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 compared to the Company’s previous guidance range of $4.20 to $4.30.
The Company also said it now expects gross margin for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 to decline 90-110 basis points compared to its previous expectation for an increase of 10-20 basis points. However, the Company now expects that it will further leverage selling, general and administrative expenses 100-120 basis points compared to its previous expectation of 30-50 basis points of leverage.
The revised guidance for the fourth quarter continues to assume an effective tax rate of approximately 28.5%.
Said CEO Calvin McDonald, “We are pleased with our continued revenue growth and momentum in the business, as our teams navigate a dynamic macro-backdrop. In Q4, traffic remains strong across both physical and digital channels, and we anticipate delivering another quarter of solid earnings growth consistent with our updated EPS forecast. 2022 has been a strong year for lululemon, and we remain focused on the significant opportunities ahead as we continue to deliver on our Power of Three x2 growth plan.”
LULU tumbled $32.62, or 9.9%, to $296.64.