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Wolverine (WWW) Q4 Earnings Coming Up: Factors Worth Knowing

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Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (WWW - Free Report) is likely to register a top-and-bottom-line decline when it reports fourth-quarter 2023 earnings on Feb 21. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $521.1 million, suggesting a decrease of 21.7% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.

The consensus mark for the bottom line has remained unchanged in the past 30 days at a loss of 25 cents per share, which indicates a deterioration from the year-ago quarter’s reported loss of 15 cents per share. However, WWW has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of around 17%, on average.

For 2023, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $2.20 billion, suggesting a decrease of 18.1% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure. The consensus mark for earnings stands at 9 cents per share, indicating a 93.6% slump from $1.41 reported in the year-ago period.

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Wolverine World Wide, Inc. Quote

Factors to Consider

Wolverine has been experiencing significant challenges in the outdoor category, lower demand in the U.S. and European wholesale businesses and weakness across the Direct-to-Consumer channel. Additionally, its performance has been negatively impacted by increased promotional activities in the U.S. market, rampant gray market sales of its Merrell brand and heightened pricing pressure from private-label brands in the workwear category.

The company recently announced preliminary results for the fourth quarter and 2023 ahead of its 2024 ICR Conference presentation. Wolverine expects 2023 and fourth-quarter reported revenues of $2.24 billion and $527 million, respectively. Revenues from the ongoing business are envisioned to be nearly $2.20 billion and $521 million, respectively, for the fourth quarter and 2023.

Wolverine anticipates 2023 and fourth-quarter adjusted gross margins to be above 39% and 36%, respectively, aligning with the prior guidance provided in November 2023.  Adjusted pre-tax earnings for these periods are expected to meet the company's previous expectations. It earlier anticipated an adjusted loss per share in the band of 25-30 cents for the fourth quarter. For 2023, WWW earlier envisioned adjusted earnings per share in the range of 5-10 cents.

That said, Wolverine’s consumer-centric brand development, backed by advanced technologies and accurate market insights, has been aiding. Additionally, the company’s focus on the stabilization phase of its strategic transformation plan has been working well.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model doesn’t conclusively predict an earnings beat for Wolverine this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here.

Wolverine has an Earnings ESP of -6.30%, and it carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks With the Favorable Combination

Here are three companies worth considering as our model shows that these have the correct combination to beat on earnings this time:

The Gap, Inc. (GPS - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +24.44% and sports a Zacks Rank of 1. GPS is likely to register a bottom-line increase when it reports fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings per share of 19 cents suggests an increase of 125.3% from the year-ago fiscal quarter’s reported number. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Gap’s top line is expected to decrease from the prior-year fiscal quarter’s reported number. The consensus estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $4.21 billion, suggesting a decline of 0.7% from the prior-year fiscal quarter’s reported figure. GPS has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 137.9%, on average.

Inter Parfums (IPAR - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +5.71% and a Zacks Rank of 2. The company is likely to register a top-line increase when it reports fourth-quarter 2023 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Inter Parfums’ quarterly revenues is pegged at $329 million, indicating a rise of 5.9% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Inter Parfums’ quarterly earnings of 35 cents suggests a decrease of 50.7% from the year-ago quarter’s levels. IPAR has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 45.7%, on average.

Costco Wholesale (COST - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.58% and a Zacks Rank of 2. COST is likely to register top-and-bottom-line growth when it reports the second-quarter fiscal 2024 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Costco’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $59.2 billion, suggesting an increase of 7.1% from that reported in the prior-year quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Costco’s earnings for the second quarter has increased by a penny in the past seven days to $3.60 per share, indicating a rise of 9.1% from the year-ago period reported figure. COST delivered an earnings beat of 2.6%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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