Skechers stock soars 11% on upbeat annual outlook

Skechers USA (NYSE:SKX) saw its shares surge 11% after the footwear company reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and raised its full-year guidance, signaling robust demand for its products across global markets.

The Manhattan Beach, California-based company posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.20, surpassing the analyst estimate of $1.16. Revenue climbed 15.9% YoY to a record $2.35 billion, beating the consensus forecast of $2.31 billion. The strong performance was driven by a 20.6% increase in wholesale sales and a 9.6% rise in direct-to-consumer sales.

Skechers raised its full-year 2024 outlook, now expecting revenue between $8.925 billion and $8.975 billion, up from its previous forecast and above the analyst consensus of $8.93 billion. The company also lifted its earnings per share guidance to $4.20-$4.25, surpassing the Street's expectation of $4.17.

"Strong consumer demand for Skechers across all distribution channels resulted in a new quarterly sales record of $2.35 billion," said David Weinberg, Chief Operating Officer of Skechers. "Despite challenging market conditions in certain countries, we achieved 21% Wholesale growth, 10% Direct-to-Consumer growth, as well as 16% internationally and 15% domestically."

The company's international sales grew 16.4%, with particularly strong performance in the EMEA region, which saw a 30% increase. Domestic sales also showed solid growth, rising 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Skechers repurchased 1.4 million shares of its Class A common stock at a cost of $90.0 million during the quarter, with $910.0 million remaining available under its share repurchase program.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Skechers projects revenue between $2.165 billion and $2.215 billion, with earnings per share expected to range from $0.70 to $0.75. Analysts were looking for a profit per share of 76 cents on sales of $2.22 billion.