Published on 24 May 2024 on Zacks via Yahoo Finance
Deckers (DECK) Q4 Earnings Beat, HOKA & UGG Show Strength
Deckers Outdoor Corporation DECK witnessed an 8.6% jump in its share price during the after-market trading session on May 23. This rally was in response to the company's outstanding fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 performance and optimistic fiscal 2025 sales forecast. The strong quarterly results were underpinned by the exceptional performance of the HOKA ONE ONE and UGG brands.Deckers has shown robust growth through its strategic focus on expanding its brand presence and strengthening direct-to-consumer channels. This approach, along with a commitment to innovation in product development and a keen focus on international market expansion, has positioned the company for continued success.Shares of this Goleta, CA-based company have advanced 37.8% in the past six months compared with the industry’s 17.3% growth.
Let’s Delve Deeper
Deckers delivered quarterly earnings of $4.95 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.82 per share. The reported figure increased substantially from the prior-year quarter’s tally of $3.46 per share.Net sales of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company increased 21.2% year over year to $959.8 million and outpaced the consensus estimate of $880 million. On a constant-currency basis, net sales grew 21.1%.The gross margin in the fourth quarter expanded to 56.2% from 50% in the year-ago period and also significantly surpassed our expectation of 50.8%. This improvement can be attributed to several factors, including the higher mix of UGG full-price selling, freight savings, strategic pricing adjustments, and a favorable brand and product mix.SG&A expenses climbed 36.2% year over year to $395.2 million. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A stood at 41.2%, 450 basis points higher than the last year. We had anticipated a year-over-year increase of 27.9% in the metric.The company’s operating income came in at $144.3 million, up from $105.9 million in the year-ago quarter. The operating margin increased to 15% from 13.4% in the prior-year period.