Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE:DBI) shares traded lower after the company reported mixed first-quarter results, with earnings topping expectations as sales came in just shy of estimates.
Earnings Beat, Sales Roughly In Line
Designer Brands reported first-quarter adjusted EPS of 7 cents, beating the 4-cent estimate. Sales came in at $696.350 million, just below the $696.815 million estimate.
Net sales rose 1.4% year over year to $696.4 million, up from $686.9 million a year earlier. GAAP net income attributable to Designer Brands was $1.2 million, or 2 cents per share.
Adjusted net income was $3.8 million, or 7 cents per share. Total comparable sales declined 1.1%.
CEO Doug Howe said the company’s “strong start to the year was underscored by double-digit sales growth in our Brand Portfolio segment and encouraging stabilization in our Retail segment.”
Gross profit increased to $315.3 million from $294.5 million, while gross margin expanded to 45.3% from 42.9%. Consolidated operating profit was $18.9 million, compared with an operating loss of $7.9 million a year earlier.
Brand Portfolio Strength Offsets Retail Softness
Retail net sales slipped 0.1% to $626.7 million, while comparable sales fell 1.2%. Retail gross profit rose 6% to $284.3 million, with a gross margin of 45.4%. Retail operating profit increased 28.3% to $51.3 million.
Brand Portfolio net sales rose 19.4% to $114.5 million, while direct-to-consumer comparable sales increased 3%.
Gross profit jumped 49.4% to $38.9 million, and operating profit rose to $15.4 million from $1.9 million.
Cash, Inventory And Store Count
Designer Brands ended the quarter with $50.1 million in cash, $138.5 million available under its credit facility, and $475.3 million in debt. Inventory declined to $586.6 million from $623.6 million a year earlier.
The company operated 663 stores at quarter-end, down from 669 a year earlier.
Guidance Reaffirmed
Designer Brands reaffirmed full-year 2026 GAAP EPS guidance of 28 cents to 38 cents, versus the 5-cent estimate, and net sales guidance of down 1% to up 1%, with sales seen at $2.868 billion to $2.926 billion versus the $2.909 billion estimate.
The company said it believes it can achieve the high end of its EPS guidance range despite macroeconomic uncertainty.
DBI Price Action: Designer Brands shares were down 16.89% at $7.38 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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