What happened
Shares of VF Corp (VFC 0.16%) climbed 12.4% Friday after the apparel and footwear retailer announced strong fiscal third-quarter 2019 results.
Check out the latest VF earnings call transcript.
VF's quarterly revenue climbed 8% year over year -- or 10% at constant currency -- to $3.94 billion, translating to a 30% increase in adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations, to $1.31. Most analysts were only modeling earnings of $1.10 per share on revenue of $3.87 billion.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
So what
Within VF's top line, sales from its active segment grew 16%, fueled by a 25% increase in Vans brand revenue. Outdoor segment revenue also climbed 11%, helped by both a 4% contribution from acquisitions and a 14% increase from VF's The North Face brand.
"VF's third quarter results were fueled by strong growth in our largest brands and balanced growth across the core dimensions of our portfolio," stated VF chairman and CEO Steve Rendle. "Based on the strength of our third quarter performance and the growth trajectory we see for the remainder of fiscal 2019, we are again increasing our full year outlook, including an additional $45 million of growth-focused investments aimed at accelerating growth and value creation into fiscal year 2020."
Now what
More specifically, VF raised its full-year guidance to call for fiscal 2019 revenue of at least $13.8 billion (up from $13.7 billion previously), good for 12% year-over-year growth. That should mean VF's adjusted earnings for the year will arrive at roughly $3.73 per share, up from its prior outlook for $3.65 per share -- and that's despite the aforementioned $45 million (or $0.09 per share) in incremental investments in growth.
All things considered, this was a straightforward beat and raise that gave the market little choice but to bid up VF stock in response.
