Levi Strauss raises earnings outlook as tariff refunds offset softer sales forecast
Levi Strauss lifted its fiscal 2026 adjusted diluted earnings-per-share outlook to $1.54 to $1.56 after tariff refunds improved third-quarter profitability. The company narrowed its reported revenue-growth outlook to approximately 7% as foreign-exchange pressure persisted, while U.S. direct-to-consumer performance lagged internal expectations. Levi Strauss plans to put approximately $60m of the refund benefit back into business initiatives.
Why it matters
The higher profit forecast is supported in part by tariff refunds rather than sales growth. The company said it expects its direct-to-consumer business to return to mid-single-digit growth in the fourth quarter after targeted actions.
Key facts
- 1Levi Strauss set fiscal 2026 adjusted diluted earnings-per-share guidance at $1.54 to $1.56, compared with its earlier $1.46 to $1.52 range. just-style.com
- 2The company forecasts reported net revenue growth of approximately 7%, versus its previous 7.0% to 7.5% outlook. just-style.com
- 3Levi Strauss expects organic net revenue growth of around 6%. just-style.com
- 4Third-quarter operating margin was 13.8%, compared with 10.8% a year earlier. just-style.com
- 5The company intends to redeploy approximately $60m of tariff-refund proceeds, including about $35m in the fourth quarter. just-style.com
- 6Comparable direct-to-consumer sales were flat during the quarter. just-style.com
Open questions
- Materials report different third-quarter revenue figures: $1.6bn in material 9 and $1.61B in materials 1 and 10.
- The reported tariff-refund amount differs across materials, including $79M in material 2 and approximately $80 million in material 10.
- Material 13 says revenue-growth guidance was raised to 7%, while other materials describe the 7% outlook as a narrowing or reduction from the prior range.
Summary written by AlphAI from 15 of 15 sources. Not investment advice. Figures are as stated by the linked sources.