The Biggest Reasons Lululemon's Stock Keeps Rising

E-commerce revenue continues to fuel growth for Lululemon (LULU 0.80%), but its brick-and-mortar stores are also seeing increasing sales. In this Motley Fool Live segment from "The Virtual Opportunities Show," recorded on April 5, Fool.com contributor Rachel Warren takes a closer look at how Lululemon is connecting with consumers both online and in person. 

Rachel Warren: This is an interesting company. It's not one I own, it's one that I follow a little bit from afar, a little bit more closely recently. The leader in athletic apparel for men and women, but with a fashion twist. What's interesting as well about this company is they recently released their first ever footwear collection so they're expanding beyond apparel, which I think is a really interesting sign for the company's future. But the company recently reported their full year 2021 results. This was on March 29th so this just happened. I haven't looked at how the stock's been doing in the last couple of days, but shares were soaring on the news because it was really a very positive year of growth.

There were a few key points that stuck out to me. One being that e-commerce revenue continues to be a really strong area of growth for the company but that growth and sales, revenue and profits from its stores are continuing to rise. In some cases, even eclipse that of its online sales, which is quite interesting as we're seeing people out and about more in the world but also is very telling for a brick and mortar retailer that has a really strong online presence. In 2021, Lululemon's net revenue was at 42 percent to $6.3 billion. It's total direct to consumer net revenue, and that's e-commerce revenue, revenue from shopping online, as well as on the app. That was up 22 percent year-over-year. At the same time, company operated store net revenue increased 70 percent compared to 2020. Now again, that's a comparison to 2020, when a lot of stores had to close. You could say that certainly accounts were part of it.

But I do think there is also this interesting trend we're seeing people. In many cases, they want to go back in the store. There's some social experience to being able to go and shop in person. We love the convenience of online shopping, but I think we're social creatures and sometimes it's nice to be able to go out and pick those items for yourself. What's interesting as well as Lululemon is seeing really strong revenue growth both in North America, 40 percent year-over-year in 2021, but also in international markets. Its international revenue alone was up 53 percent compared to 2020.

A couple of other things to note, so that e-commerce revenue represented 44 percent of Lululemon's total net revenue compared to 52 percent in 2020. Again, seeing a real adjustment of people continuing to shop in mass numbers online, but also going back to store and seeing a really steady growth there. I'm not one that's usually particularly interested in brick and mortar retail stocks. I love e-commerce companies and one of the things I liked about Lululemon is that it offers the best of both. It's found a way to be very profitable in a very niche and high growth space, which is athletic apparel, while having a really strong in store as well as an online presence. So far, its investment in connected fitness with mere acquisition hasn't really been a big driver of overall revenue growth. That is one segment I think that's interesting to watch, but it's not one that's so far is making a real meaningful impact on its overall growth.

But it was a strong year, operating margin was up 270 basis points for the year. Gross profits were 46 percent year-over-year. I really like this company. I'm not surprised that the stock responded so well. If anything, it was nice to see the stock responds so well after a great earnings report, after a series of great earnings report where stocks either didn't move or even declined a little.