© Reuters. William Blair expects lululemon Athletica (LULU) holiday sales to be strong
William Blair analysts are raising their estimates for Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:) ahead of expectations for strong holiday sales, the company said in a note to clients this week.
Analysts believe Lululemon's broad-based strength continued in December and expect its fourth-quarter sales and earnings outlook to improve in conjunction with the ICR Conference, which takes place Jan. 8-10.
“Unlike last year, when severe winter weather limited late-breaking traffic, both the United States and Canada experienced unusually mild weather before Christmas this year,” said the analysts, who maintained an outperform rating on the stock. . “In addition, store traffic was strong during our pre- and post-Christmas checks and, like last year, there was little sales activity before Christmas.”
William Blair now expects revenue growth of nearly 16% in the fourth quarter (up from 15% previously and ahead of guidance of 13% to 14%). Additionally, he has raised his fourth-quarter EPS estimate to $5.02, up 14% and ahead of consensus of $4.95 and guidance of $4.85 to $4.93.
