L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) released its latest quarterly earnings guidance and investors were not happy to hear that the company’s expectations won’t be met.
The apparel retailer’s earnings call started off well as it reported earnings of $2.03 per share, excluding certain items for the company’s fiscal fourth quarter of 2016. The figure topped the $1.90 per share that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were projecting.
However, revenue was slightly underwhelming as L Brands raked in $4.49 billion over the course of its holiday period. Wall Street was calling for net sales of $4.51 billion on an average basis.
Earnings were behind the $2.15 a share the company earned the prior year, but revenue was ahead of the $4.4 billion from the fourth quarter of 2015. L Brands’ guidance, however, left something to be desired.
For the first quarter of 2017, the retailer is slated to earn between 20 cents to 25 cents per share, which is about half of the 49 cents per share that the consensus estimate is at. For the year, earnings will be between $3.05 and $3.35 per share, which is weaker than the analyst projection of $3.75.
Nevertheless, the stock performed well as LB shares surged 4.2% despite the low guidance thanks to the company’s earnings beat. L Brands’ comparable sales were especially strong over the period, despite the company’s decision to stop selling its swim and apparel business that carries the Victoria’s Secret brand with it.
