Urban Outfitters down 12% despite record Q3 results

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Written on Nov 22, 2021

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Urban Outfitters' reports market-beating profit and revenue in fiscal Q3.
The retailer noted narrower than expected growth in comparable sales.
Shares of the U.S. company fell nearly 15% in extended trading on Monday.

Urban Outfitters Inc (NASDAQ: URBN) topped Wall Street estimates in its fiscal third quarter, but shares fell more than 10% in extended trading as comparable sales growth came in weaker than expected.

Third-quarter financial performance

Urban Outfitters reported $88.9 million in net income that translates to a record 89 cents per share. In the same quarter of fiscal 2020, its net income was capped at $76.7 million or 78 cents per share.

The lifestyle retail corporation’s revenue also jumped to an all-time high of $1.13 billion versus the two-year-ago figure of $969.6 million. According to FactSet, experts had forecast 84 cents of EPS on $1.12 billion in revenue.

The Nasdaq-listed company cited “material impact of the global pandemic on business operations in fiscal 2021, including mandated store closures” for recording year-over-two-year comparisons in its earnings press release.

Comparable sales and other notable figures

Urban Outfitters’ comparable retail sales climbed by 14% on a year-over-two-year basis that came in shy of 15.2% analysts had predicted. Digital sales in the recent quarter, as per the U.S. retailer, were up in double digits.

Other notable figures include $415.9 million in revenue from the namesake brand, $431.4 million from Anthropologie, and $265 million from Free People. Revealing what to expect from the holiday quarter, CEO Richard Hayne said:

I’m pleased to announce our teams produced record Q3 sales and earnings. We are excited that November comparable sales to date for all brands have accelerated from their Q3 rate.

Earlier this year in August, Urban Outfitters announced plans of launching an online thrift store.