La-Z-Boy Announces First Quarter Financial Results

August 18, 2026  by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Industry   

Fiscal 2027 First Quarter Highlights :

- Retail segment written sales increased 16%

- Written same-store sales grew 3% with increases in design sales, conversion rates, and average ticket

- Retail delivered sales increased 10%; Retail GAAP and adjusted⁽¹⁾ operating margin improved versus prior year

- Added four company-owned stores including one new and three acquired

- Signed agreement to acquire two additional independent La-Z-Boy Stores

- Concluded production at one of the two announced plant closures for consolidation into our U.S. network

- $35 million returned to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, up 62% versus prior year

- Delivered consolidated sales of $476 million after divestiture of wholesale casegoods business

- GAAP diluted EPS of $(0.06) and adjusted⁽¹⁾ diluted EPS of $0.43

The Retail segment (company-owned La-Z-Boy stores) delivered a strong first quarter. Delivered sales grew 10%, GAAP and adjusted operating margin expanded to 6.4% and 6.5%, respectively, and total written sales for the Retail segment were up 16% versus a year ago. Written same-store sales (which exclude the impact of both newly opened stores and newly acquired stores) strengthened significantly, growing 3% for the quarter on a year-over-year basis, and a 500 bps sequential improvement versus fourth quarter.

On a consolidated basis, strong Retail growth was more than offset by lower Wholesale delivered sales, impacted by flow through of choppier than expected order patterns throughout the quarter. Wholesale demand patterns improved throughout the first quarter and backlog is solid entering the second quarter. Operating margin was (0.4)% for the quarter on a GAAP basis and 3.9% on an adjusted⁽¹⁾ basis. Diluted earnings per share totaled $(0.06) on a GAAP basis and $0.43 on an adjusted⁽¹⁾ basis.  Adjustments relate primarily to one-time charges from the planned exit of the company's two smallest plants.

Melinda D. Whittington, board chair, president and CEO of La-Z-Boy Incorporated, said, "During our first quarter, we continued to gain share and drive momentum in our Retail segment, where we control the full end-to-end consumer experience. We delivered strong sales growth across both delivered and written sales, and I'm particularly pleased to highlight growth across all three strategic pillars of same-store sales, new store expansion, and acquisitions of independent dealers, all while expanding operating margin. Our 3% written same-store sales growth was driven by excellence in execution across marketing, product innovation, and in-store inspiration, despite a continued challenging backdrop for our industry. This momentum demonstrated that our iconic La-Z-Boy brand, disproportionately growing our Retail business, and our predominantly U.S. based supply chain continue to be competitive advantages in an uneven consumer environment."

Whittington added, "In our 100^th year, we continue to focus on driving our core vertically integrated North American upholstery business, through day-to-day operational excellence and broader enterprise transformations. We completed the divestiture of our wholesale casegoods businesses in May, continue to progress our multi-year distribution and home delivery transformation, and have concluded production at one of the two planned plant closures. As we navigate an uneven consumer environment, we are focused on driving our own near-term momentum while continuing to invest for long-term value creation."

Second Quarter Outlook:

Taylor Luebke, SVP and CFO of La-Z-Boy Incorporated, said, "We enter our second quarter with strong written Retail sales and a solid backlog in Wholesale, balanced by a cautious view of the macro backdrop. We expect fiscal second quarter sales to be in the range of $500-$520 million, reflecting enterprise sales growth of -1% to positive 2%, excluding the impact of wholesale casegoods divestiture. We expect adjusted operating margin⁽²⁾ in the range of 4.0-5.5%, reflecting near-term investments and friction costs as we drive our core La-Z-Boy Retail and Wholesale businesses with investments in new stores, advertising, strategic pricing, and digital transformation, while also optimizing our plant footprint and driving our distribution and home delivery transformation."

Fiscal 2027 First Quarter Results versus Fiscal 2026 First Quarter:

- Consolidated sales in the first quarter of Fiscal 2027 decreased 3% to $476 million versus last year. Excluding the impact of our wholesale casegoods divestiture, sales decreased 1% as growth in our Retail business was offset by lower delivered volume in our Wholesale and Joybird businesses

- Consolidated GAAP operating margin was (0.4)% versus 4.5%

- Consolidated adjusted⁽¹⁾ operating margin was 3.9% versus 4.8% last year, with the change primarily driven by expense deleverage on lower Wholesale and Joybird delivered sales

- GAAP diluted EPS was $(0.06) versus $0.44 in the prior year period, and adjusted⁽¹⁾ diluted EPS of $0.43 versus $0.47 last year in the comparable period

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow, Fiscal 2027:

- Ended the quarter with $267 million in cash⁽³⁾ and no external debt

- Generated $16 million in cash from Operating Activities in the quarter, $27 million excluding an $11 million payment to terminate a legacy retirement plan, which is offset in Investing Activities with proceeds from sale of investments, netting to zero cash impact to the company

- Invested $39 million back into the business, with $23 million in capital expenditures, which were primarily related to our distribution and home delivery transformation, manufacturing-related investments, and La-Z-Boy stores (new stores and remodels) and $16 million in acquisitions

- Returned approximately $35 million to shareholders, a 62% increase versus the prior year, including $25 million in share repurchases and $10 million in dividends

Dividend:

- On August 18, 2026, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.242 per share on the common stock of the company. The dividend will be paid on September 15, 2026, to shareholders of record on September 3, 2026

Conference Call:

La-Z-Boy will hold a conference call with the investment community on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. ET. The toll-free dial-in number is (888) 506-0062; international callers may use (973) 528-0011. Enter Participant Access Code: 603066.

The call will be webcast live, with corresponding slides, and archived on the internet. It will be available at https://ir.la-z-boy.com/events. A telephone replay will be available for a week following the call. This replay will be accessible to callers from the U.S. and Canada at (877) 481-4010 and to international callers at (919) 882-2331. Enter Replay Passcode: 54305. The webcast replay will be available for one year.