Ralph Lauren's Stock Tumbles After Missing Sales Expectations, Cutting Outlook

Ralph Lauren Corp.'s stock tumbled 12% in premarket trade Thursday, after the fashion apparel and accessories company beat fiscal third-quarter earnings expectations, but missed on sales and cut its full-year outlook. For the quarter ended Dec. 26, earnings fell to $131 million, or $1.54 a share, from $215 million, or $2.41 a share. Excluding non-recurring items, such as one-time restructuring charges, adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.27, above the FactSet consensus of $2.13. Revenue slipped to $1.95 billion from $2.03 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $2.03 billion, with wholesale and retail sales both declining. For the full fiscal year, the company now expects revenue to down 3%, compared with previous guidance of flat. Operating margin is now expected decline 2.9-to-3.2 percentage points from a year ago, compared with previous guidance of a decline of 1.8-to-2.3 percentage points. "While our recent results have been disappointing, I am greatly encouraged by the changes that are already taking place since the appointment of Stefan Larsson as our new CEO," said Executive Chairman Ralph Lauren. The stock has gained 1.8% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 had lost 9%.