Williams-Sonoma Announces Operating Results for Third Quarter

November 20, 2024  by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Industry   

“We are pleased with the results of our third quarter, beating both top and bottom-line expectations. The quarter was driven by continued improvement in our sales trend, market-share gains, and strong profit. In Q3, our comp came in at -2.9%, with an operating margin of 17.8%, delivering a 7.1% increase in earnings per share to $1.96. Our operating results reflect the operational improvements that we have been focused on all year and demonstrate the strength of our margin profile in a difficult environment,” said Laura Alber, president and CEO.

Alber concluded, “Our strategy of focusing on returning to growth, enhancing our world-class customer service, and driving margin is working. And, as we head into the last quarter of the year, we are optimistic and confident about our business. The fourth quarter is the time of year when we shine. And, therefore, we are raising our full-year guidance. We now expect full-year revenues to come in at a range of down 3% to down 1.5%, and we are raising our guidance on operating margin 40 bps to be in the range of 17.8% to 18.2%.”

THIRD QUARTER 2024 HIGHLIGHTS

• Comparable brand revenue -2.9%.
• Gross margin of 46.7% +230bps to LY driven by (i) higher merchandise margins of +130bps and (ii) supply chain efficiencies of +100bps. Occupancy rate flat to LY, with occupancy costs of $195 million, -2.7% to LY.
• SG&A rate of 28.9% +150bps to LY driven by higher employment and advertising expense, partially offset by lower general expenses. SG&A of $521 million, +2.7% to LY.
• Operating income of $321 million with an operating margin of +17.8%. +80bps to LY.
• Diluted EPS of $1.96. +7.1% to LY.
• Merchandise inventories +3.8% to the third quarter LY to $1.45 billion.
• Maintained strong liquidity position of $827 million in cash and operating cash flow of $254 million, enabling the company to deliver returns to stockholders of $606 million through $533 million in stock repurchases and $73 million in dividends.

STOCK REPURCHASE AUTHORIZATION

In September 2024, the Board of Directors approved a new $1 billion stock repurchase authorization, which will become effective once the Company’s current stock repurchase authorization, announced in March 2024, is fully utilized. Including the balance of $293 million remaining under our March 2024 program, the total stock repurchase authorization is currently $1.3 billion. The Company’s stock repurchase programs authorize the purchase of the Company’s common stock through open market and privately negotiated transactions, including through Rule 10b5-1 plans, at such times and in such amounts as management deems appropriate. The timing and actual number of shares repurchased will depend on a variety of factors, including price, corporate and regulatory requirements, capital availability and other market conditions. The stock repurchase programs do not have an expiration date and may be limited or terminated at any time without prior notice.

FIRST QUARTER 2024 OUT-OF-PERIOD ADJUSTMENT

Subsequent to the filing of our Form 10-K, in April 2024, the Company determined that it over-recognized freight expense in fiscal years 2021, 2022 and 2023 for a cumulative amount of $49 million. The Company evaluated the error, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and determined that no prior interim or annual periods were materially misstated. The Company then evaluated whether the cumulative amount of the over-accrual was material to its projected fiscal 2024 results, and determined the cumulative amount was not material. Therefore, the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for the thirty-nine weeks ended October 27, 2024, include an out-of-period adjustment of $49 million, recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, to reduce cost of goods sold and accounts payable, which corrected the cumulative error on the balance sheet as of January 28, 2024.

SECOND QUARTER 2024 COMMON STOCK SPLIT

On July 9, 2024, the Company effected a 2-for-1 stock split of its common stock through a stock dividend. All historical share and per share amounts in this release have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split.

OUTLOOK

• We are raising our fiscal 2024 guidance to reflect higher net revenue trends and higher operating margin expectations.
• In fiscal 2024, we now expect annual net revenue decline in the range of -3.0% to -1.5% with comps in the range of -4.5% to -3.0% in fiscal 2024.
• We are raising our guidance on our operating margin for fiscal 2024. We now expect an operating margin between 18.4% to 18.8%, including the impact of the first quarter out-of-period adjustment of 60bps. Without this adjustment, we expect an operating margin between 17.8% to 18.2% in fiscal 2024.
• For fiscal 2024, we expect annual interest income to be approximately $50 million and our annual effective tax rate to be approximately 25.0%.
• Fiscal 2024 is a 53-week year. Our financial statements will be prepared on a 53-week basis in fiscal 2024 and a 52-week basis in fiscal 2023. However, we will report comps on a 53-week versus 53-week comparable basis. All other year-over-year comparisons will be 53-weeks in fiscal 2024 versus 52-weeks in fiscal 2023. We expect the additional week in fiscal 2024 to contribute 150bps to net revenue and 10bps to operating margin, both of which are reflected in our guidance.
• Over the long term, we continue to expect mid-to-high single-digit annual net revenue growth with an operating margin in the mid-to-high teens.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST INFORMATION

A replay of the webcast will be available at http://ir.williams-sonomainc.com/events.