Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE: LEVI) raised its full-year revenue and profit forecast after reporting a stronger-than-expected quarterly performance, supported by robust denim demand and continued growth in direct-to-consumer sales.
However, shares fell more than 11% during Friday’s session after Morgan Stanley analysts said the company’s upgraded guidance “came with disappointing profitability flow-through.”
For the third quarter, Levi posted earnings of $0.34 per share, beating Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $0.30. Revenue rose to $1.54 billion from $1.50 billion in the same period a year earlier, topping analyst expectations of $1.50 billion.
The company now forecast fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings of $1.27 to $1.32 per share, compared with its previous range of $1.25 to $1.30. Levi also raised its reported net revenue growth outlook to around 3%, up from 1% to 2%, and projected organic growth of roughly 6%, compared with its earlier estimate of 4.5% to 5.5%.
Gross margin was expected to expand by 100 basis points this year, up from the prior forecast of 80 basis points. Adjusted EBIT margin was anticipated to remain between 11.4% and 11.6%.
