Williams-Sonoma Announce Second Quarter Operating Results

August 31, 2026  by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Industry   

“We delivered a very strong second quarter. In Q2, our comp came in at 6.2%, with total revenue growth of 6.7%, and we drove an operating margin of 17.3% with earnings per share of $2.10. Every brand delivered again in the quarter, driven by strong execution across our brands, our channels, and our team,” said Laura Alber, president and CEO.

Alber concluded, “Our strategies continue to gain momentum, and our results reflect the power of our execution. We gained market share, continued to outperform the industry, and raised our annual outlook on both the top and bottom lines. We are delivering compounding results despite the housing market and other macroeconomic events, and we remain confident in our priorities and plans for the remainder of 2026 and beyond.”

SECOND QUARTER 2026 HIGHLIGHTS

- Comparable brand revenue +6.2%.

- Gross margin of 51.6% on a GAAP basis, +450bps to LY driven by (i) IEEPA tariff refunds, net of tariff-related vendor concessions, of +610bps, (ii) occupancy leverage of +40bps, and (iii) supply chain efficiencies of +30bps, partially offset by (iv) lower merchandise margins of -230bps primarily driven by tariff costs. Occupancy costs of $208 million, +3.3% to LY.

- Gross margin of 45.5% on a non-GAAP basis, -160bps to LY driven by (i) lower merchandise margins of -230bps primarily driven by tariff costs, partially offset by (ii) supply chain efficiencies of +30bps, and (iii) occupancy leverage of +40bps. Occupancy costs of $208 million, +3.3% to LY.

- SG&A rate of 28.7% on a GAAP basis, -50bps to LY driven by (i) employment expense leverage, net of a one-time tariff-related employee recognition cost in the form of a discretionary 401(k) contribution of -70bps, partially offset by (ii) higher general expenses of +10bps, and (iii) higher advertising expenses of +10bps. SG&A of $563 million, +5.0% to LY on a GAAP basis.

- SG&A rate of 28.2% on a non-GAAP basis, -100bps to LY driven by (i) employment expense leverage of -120bps, partially offset by (ii) higher general expenses of +10bps, and (iii) higher advertising expenses of +10bps. SG&A of $553 million, +3.1% to LY on a non-GAAP basis.

- Operating income of $449 million with an operating margin of 22.9% on a GAAP basis; or $338 million with an operating margin of 17.3% on a non-GAAP basis. +500bps to LY on a GAAP basis and -60bps to LY on a non-GAAP basis.

- GAAP diluted EPS of $2.84 per share, or $2.10 on a non-GAAP basis. +42.0% to LY on a GAAP basis and +5.0% to LY on a non-GAAP basis.

- Merchandise inventories +1.0% to the second quarter LY to $1.45 billion, net of $29.3 million of deferred tariff refund income recorded as a reduction of inventory.

- Maintained strong liquidity position of $1.0 billion in cash and $696 million in operating cash flow, inclusive of the collection of $200.2 million of tariff refunds and the related interest, enabling the company to deliver returns to stockholders of $90 million through dividends.

TARIFF REFUND

During the second quarter of fiscal 2026, we recognized income from the refund of previously paid International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) tariffs. During the quarter, we recorded (i) a reduction of cost of goods sold of $167.8 million related to refunds received for tariffs that have been previously expensed and (ii) related interest income of $6.3 million. This income was partially offset by (i) a provision of $47.5 million to reimburse certain merchandise vendors that previously provided tariff-related concessions and (ii) a one-time tariff-related employee recognition cost of $10.0 million, in the form of a discretionary 401(k) contribution to all eligible employees. As of August 2, 2026, we deferred $29.3 million of the tariff refund income as a reduction of merchandise inventories, which we anticipate recognizing as a reduction to cost of goods sold in the third quarter of fiscal 2026. Substantially all of our initial refund claim of $197.8 million has been collected as of August 2, 2026, with a remaining tariff refund receivable of $3.2 million. We have adjusted all of these tariff-related items as non-GAAP adjustments. See Exhibit 1 for our GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation.

OUTLOOK

- Williams-Sonoma is raising fiscal 2026 guidance to reflect year-to-date strong performance.

- In fiscal 2026, annual net revenues are expected in the range of +4.7% to +7.2%, with comps in the range of +4.0% to +6.5%; and an operating margin, on a non-GAAP basis, between 17.8% to 18.2%.

- Guidance assumes (i) all tariffs currently in place will remain for fiscal 2026, including the Section 232 tariffs, the existing Section 301 tariffs, the new Section 301 tariffs announced on July 23rd, and the latest tariffs between Canada and the United States, (ii) oil prices will remain elevated for the remainder of the year, and (iii) no benefit from tariff refunds or related interest.

- For fiscal 2026, annual interest income of approximately $25 million is expected and an effective tax rate of approximately 26%, both on a non-GAAP basis.

- Over the long term, mid-to-high single-digit annual net revenue growth is expected with an operating margin in the mid-to-high teens.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST INFORMATION

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