Ralph Lauren Beats Profit Expectations, But Misses On Sales

Ralph Lauren's stock slipped 0.3% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the apparel and accessories maker's better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings were offset by a sales miss and a downbeat outlook for the current quarter. Earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 27 came in at $201 million, or $2.25 a share, compared with $205 million, or $2.23 a share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting, on average, earnings per share of $2.05. Revenue rose to $1.99 billion from last year's $1.87 billion, but fell shy of analyst forecasts of $2.02 billion. The company expects current quarter revenue to rise 3% to 5% above year-earlier levels, while FactSet's estimate of $2.18 billion implies 8.1% growth. The stock had lost 8.9% year to date through Tuesday, compared with a 7.4% gain in the S&P 500.