Companies and Brands

Why Investors Don't Care About Under Armour's Q1 Loss

Chris Lange

Published: April 27, 2017 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 12:35 pm

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA) reported its first-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. Although the company posted its first loss since going public, it was barely a loss, and it seems that investors were more thrilled about the top-line growth that they missed last quarter.

The apparel giant said that it had a net loss of $0.01 per share and $1.1 billion in revenue, versus consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for a net loss of $0.04 per share and revenue of $1.11 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had earnings per share (EPS) of $0.04 and $1.05 billion in revenue.

North American revenue dropped 1% as new distribution was more than offset by the absence of business lost to bankruptcies in 2016. International revenue, represented 20% of total revenue in the quarter and was up 52% (up 57% currency neutral).

The company reported its segment revenues for the quarter as follows:

• Apparel revenues increased 7.3% from last year to $715.4 million.
• Footwear revenue grew 2.0% year over year to $269.7 million.
• Accessories revenue jumped 11.8% to $89.1 million.

In terms of outlook for the 2017 fiscal year, the company expects net revenues to grow 11% to 12%, as well as up to 12% to 13% on a currency-neutral basis. Under Armour also expects operating income to reach $320 million in this time.

The consensus estimates for the full year are $0.42 in EPS and $5.36 billion in revenue.

On the books, Under Armour cash and cash equivalents totaled $172.13 million at the end of the quarter, up from $157.0 million in the same period from last year.

Kevin Plank, Under Armour’s board chair and chief executive, commented:

Our first quarter results were in line with our expectations and we’re off to a solid start in 2017. By proactively managing our growth to deliver superior innovative product, continuing to strengthen our connection with consumers and increasing our focus on operational excellence – we have great confidence in our ability to drive toward our full year targets.

Shares of Under Armour closed up 0.9% at $19.71 on Wednesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $22.35 and a 52-week trading range of $18.40 to $45.99. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was up nearly 10% at $21.58 in early trading indications Thursday.