Levi Strauss hikes profit guidance after tariff refunds, but its sales outlook is less optimistic

Levi Strauss on Wednesday increased its profit outlook, largely due to tariff refunds, but gave less rosy revenue guidance after a lackluster quarter of sales.

The denim retailer raised its adjusted earnings per share expectation for the full fiscal year to between $1.54 and $1.56, from a previous range of $1.46 to $1.52. Analysts were expecting a range of between $1.52 and $1.59, according to LSEG.

The company also lowered its net revenue growth guidance for the full year to 7%, the bottom of its previously provided range of a 7% to 7.5% increase. However, Levi said it expects organic revenue — which strips out foreign exchange changes — to rise 6% for the year, the high end of its previous range.

Shares of Levi fell nearly 4% on Thursday.

For its fiscal third quarter, the denim retailer said it saw a 4% increase in net revenues in the Americas, though revenue in the U.S. decreased 1%. It also reported an operating margin of 13.8% for the quarter, compared to 10.8% in the same quarter last year, boosted by tariff refunds that contributed 4.9% to operating margin and gross margin.

Levi also said its tariff refunds contributed a 16-cent benefit to its earnings per share, of which 5 cents were "redeployed to support the business." On a call with analysts, CEO Michelle Gass said that money is going toward marketing and promotions during the holiday season.

Here's how Levi performed in its third quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 37 cents adjusted vs. 36 cents expected
• Revenue: $1.61 billion vs. $1.62 billion expected

For the three-month period ending Aug. 30, Levi reported net income of $168.6 million, or 43 cents per share, down from $218.1 million, or 55 cents per share, the year prior.

Sales rose roughly 4% to $1.61 billion from $1.54 billion last year.

Levi said direct-to-consumer net revenues increased 2% in the quarter, but comparable sales were roughly flat. DTC comprised 45% of total net revenue in the third quarter, the company said. On the other hand, wholesale revenues increased 6% for the quarter.

"While we delivered strong results across much of the business, our DTC performance fell short of our expectations during the quarter," Gass said on the call with analysts. "We have a clear understanding of what worked and what did not, and we have already taken targeted actions to improve performance."

The company previously said it's been seeing broad-based growth across its business segments, including its core Levi's and its premium blue tab.

Last month, the company announced John Vandemore will take over as chief financial officer effective Nov. 1, succeeding Harmit Singh, who announced his retirement in April.