Lululemon Athletica inc. (LULU) Earnings: An Early Look

Earnings season is winding down, with most companies already having reported their quarterly results. But there are still some companies left to report, and Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) is about to release its quarterly earnings. The key to making smart investment decisions with stocks releasing their quarterly reports is to anticipate how they’ll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you’ll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) has been one of the most successful new stories in retail in the past few years, coming from nowhere to dominate the yoga-apparel niche and expand its presence throughout the activewear segment. But investors are on edge, as a high valuation raises the specter that anything short of stellar performance could lead to a big share-price plunge. Let’s take an early look at what’s been happening with lululemon athletica over the past quarter and what we’re likely to see in its quarterly report on Thursday.

Stats on lululemon athletica

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Will lululemon athletica stay stylish this quarter?
Over the past few months, analysts have been relatively optimistic about Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)’s earnings prospects. They kept their calls for the just-ended quarter unchanged, although consensus figures for fiscal 2014 have come down by slightly. The stock, though, has indicated investor concern over the business, having fallen about 12% since mid-December.

Back in January, Lululemon gave some preliminary information about the current quarter that confirmed those worries, with the company projecting that same-store sales growth would fall to the high single-digits in the holiday quarter. Given that comps came in at 26% the year before, even projections of slightly higher earnings per share weren’t enough to prevent the stock from falling 6% on the news.