What happened
Shares of lululemon athletica inc. (LULU -1.31%) climbed 23.6% in the month of June, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the yoga apparel specialist announced strong first-quarter 2017 results. Lululemon also extended its gains amid continued acquisition rumors.
So what
The stock started the month strong, popping nearly 13% on June 2, 2017, following its formal earnings announcement. In it, the company confirmed that quarterly revenue had climbed 5% year over year to $520.3 million, while adjusted net income rose 8.3% to $44.3 million, or $0.32 per share. By comparison, investors were anticipating lower revenue of $514 million and adjusted earnings of only $0.28 per share.
IMAGE SOURCE: LULULEMON ATHLETICA.
If that weren't enough, lululemon also announced plans to restructure its kid-centric ivivva business. More specifically, lululemon will close around 40 of its 55 ivivva stores, as well as all of its ivivva-branded showrooms, and will convert around half the remaining stores to its flagship lululemon concept. In the end, ivivva will function primarily as an online brand in the promising e-commerce space.
Now what
As a result, lululemon reduced its full-year 2017 revenue guidance to a range of $2.53 billion to $2.58 billion (down from $2.55 billion to $2.6 billion previously) -- an understandable development given the ivivva store closures. But lululemon also simultaneously increased its guidance for full-year earnings per share to be in the range of $2.28 to $2.38 (up from $2.26 to $2.36 previously).
In addition, shares continued to rise late in the month following speculation that lululemon could be taken private, according to one analyst speaking with TheStreet, at between $70 and $85 per share -- a reasonable premium to Monday's closing price of around $60 per share. Of course, such speculation is nothing new for lululemon, and hardly guarantees such a deal will materialize. But for now, if lululemon's latest quarter is any indication, investors should be more than pleased with its position going forward.
