Skechers Q1 guidance falls short of analyst estimates despite strong Q4

Footwear company Skechers sales of 2.21 billion dollars for the fourth quarter of FY24, increased 12.8 percent meeting Wall Street estimates of 2.22 billion dollars.

However, their first-quarter fiscal year 2025 revenue guidance of 2.42 billion dollars fell 2.6 percent short of analysts' expectations.

Skechers posts strong Q4 results

The company’s wholesale sales for the fourth quarter grew 17.5 percent, while direct-to-consumer sales grew 8.4 percent but diluted earnings per share of 65 cents, while up 16.1 percent, also missed the projected 75 cents, according to Yahoo Finance.

Commenting on the fourth quarter trading, David Weinberg, chief operating officer of Skechers said: “The year ended with a strong holiday season that enabled record fourth quarter sales of 2.21 billion dollars."

"Though challenging market and shipping conditions persisted in a few countries, the strength of our business is attributable to our differentiated market position, a highly attractive value proposition that combines comfort, innovation, style and quality at an attainable price,” he added.

Skechers full year 2024 highlights

For the full year 2024, Skechers sales of 8.97 billion dollars increased 12.1 percent, wholesale sales grew 13.2 percent and direct-to-consumer sales grew 10.7 percent.

Diluted earnings per share reached 4.16 dollars, up 19.2 percent.

The company’s CEO Robert Greenberg credited the record year to the popularity of their comfort technology products and strong execution across the company. He expressed confidence in continued growth for the coming year.

“We are confident that our strategic product, marketing and operational plans executed by our dedicated team will result in notable achievements and continued growth in the coming year,” he said.

Looking ahead to the fiscal year 2025, the company projects sales between 9.70 and 9.80 billion dollars and diluted earnings per share between 4.30 dollars and 4.50 dollars.