La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) stock was on the back foot in early deals, down 3.3% at US$28.80 despite a ‘beat’ on the market's first-quarter expectations, as management cautioned over 'soft' consumer trends and last year's 'pandemic-boosted' comparatives.
The eponymously named reclining armchair maker last night reported earnings per share of 62 cents, comfortably beating forecasts for 55 cents, on US$482 million of revenue which was ahead of consensus analyst estimates pitched at US$474 million.
It’s the fourth consecutive quarter in which La-Z Boy has beating market expectations, though evidently investors are staying relaxed and taking it easy – albeit, the stock is up some 30% in the year to date.
Looking ahead, the company issued second-quarter sales guidance of $490 to $510 million and operating margin of 6.5% to 7.5%
“We expect consumer trends to remain soft and sales trends remain challenged against last year, which benefited from an elevated pandemic backlog,” CFO Bob Lucian said in a statement.
“Considering these trends, and historical seasonality, we expect sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2024 to be slightly higher than the first quarter. Further, we expect Q2 operating margin to be similar to the first quarter, as we increase marketing investment in support of our new ‘Long Live the Lazy’ campaign, which started in August.”
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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