Weight Watchers Stock Rockets Toward 5-year High After Profit And Sales Beat, Raised Outlook

Shares of Weight Watchers International Inc. rocketed 23% in after-hours trade Thursday, after the weight management program company reported second-quarter profit and sales that beat expectation, and raised its outlook. Net earnings for the quarter to July 1 rose to $45.2 million, or 67 cents a share, from $30.5 million, or 46 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was 51 cents. Revenue increased 10.3% to $341.7 million from $309.8 million, beating the FactSet consensus of $334 million, as service revenue grew 12.5% and product sales and other revenue was up 0.8%. End of period subscribers were up 20.1% and total paid weeks was up 16.8%. For 2017, the company boosted its EPS guidance range to $1.57 to $1.67 from $1.40 to $1.50. The stock was trading at $40.65 in the after-hours session, the highest price seen during regular session hours since October 2013. Through Thursday's close, the stock had nearly tripled year to date, while the S&P 500 had gained 10.4%.