Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) reported second-quarter results that surpassed expectations, however, the weaker-than-expected outlook sent shares tumbling in premarket Wednesday.
Adjusted EPS of 40 cents topped the estimated 33 cents. Revenue experienced a 3.6% year-over-year decrease to $1.56 billion, which is what analysts expected.
Gina Boswell, CEO of Bath & Body Works, commented, “In the second quarter, we delivered net sales in line with our expectations, and the early benefits of our cost optimization and merchandise margin improvement initiatives helped drive earnings which outperformed our expectations.”
Operating income reached $188 million, slightly exceeding the estimated $186.7M. The store count expanded to 1,823, a 2.8% increase from the previous year's 1,833.
For this quarter, BBWI sees EPS in the range of 30 cents to 40 cents, slightly below the expected 38 cents.
“The company expects third quarter net sales to decline 2.5% to 4.0% compared to $1.604 billion in the third quarter of 2022,” BBWI added.
Looking ahead to 2024, the company's adjusted EPS forecast is set between $2.80 and $3.10, again missing the consensus of $3.10. BBWI said it expects net sales to decline 1.5- 3.5% compared to $7.56B in 2022.