Lululemon tops estimates in Q3; confident about holiday

Consumers’ demand for stylish workout wear no shows on slowing down.



Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s sales rose 13% to $544.4 million, surpassing Wall Street estimates.



Total comparable sales, which includes comparable store sales and direct to consumer, increased by 7%. Same-store sales rose 4%.



Profit in the quarter was 47 cents a share, excluding some items. Analysts estimated 43 cents on average.



“Our third quarter results demonstrated strong execution across all areas of our business as we delivered continued topline momentum, outperformed in gross margin and inflected meaningfully in EPS,” said Laurent Potdevin, lululemon's CEO



Entering the fourth quarter, the retailer experienced mixed sales results that have since improved. But comps rose 16% in the U.S. on Black Friday and grew 29% on Cyber Monday, Potdevin said on call.



“I am inspired by the team's response and passion towards making this another successful holiday season, and I am confident that we will continue to deliver an unparalleled guest experience across all our channels and regions around the globe,” she stated.



Lululemon opened 12 stores during the quarter, giving it a total of 389 locations.