Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM) Tuesday reported an increase in fourth-quarter profit, with the home products and furnishings retailer benefiting from strong e-commerce sales. Williams-Sonoma's earnings and revenues for the quarter topped Street estimates.
Moving forward, the company detailed a strong outlook for fiscal year 2013, but a soft projection for the first quarter. Nevertheless, Williams-Sonoma shares gained 5 percent in after-hours trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company also announced a 41 percent increase in quarterly cash dividend amounting to $0.31 per share, payable May 24 to stockholders as of April 26. Williams-Sonoma also revealed a new $750 million stock repurchase program for the next three years.
San Francisco, California-based Williams-Sonoma reported fourth-quarter net income of $133.7 million or $1.34 per share, compared with $122.6 million or $1.17 per share last year.
On average, 28 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.29 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Revenues for the fourth quarter rose about 11 percent to $1.41 billion from $1.27 billion a year ago. Analysts on consensus estimated revenues of $1.40 billion for the quarter.
Direct-to-customer sales increased 19.3 percent from last year, with e-commerce sales up 24 percent. Retail sales increased 4 percent.
For the first quarter, the company expects earnings in the range of $0.33 to $0.36 per share on sales of $850 million to $870 million. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $0.39 per share on sales of $868.99 million.
For fiscal year 2013, Williams-Sonoma expects earnings of $2.65 to $2.75 per share on revenues of $4.20 billion and $4.28 billion. Analysts currently expect earnings of $2.54 per share on revenues of $4.04 billion.
Williams-Sonoma stock closed Tuesday's regular trade at $45.21, down 0.75%, on a volume of 3.4 million shares. In after hours, the stock gained 5.09%.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.