Williams-Sonoma Stock Surges 5% on Q3 Profit Beat

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) shares saw a rise of nearly 5% intra-day today, followed by the company's latest quarterly earnings which surpassed profit forecasts.

The home goods retailer reported earnings of $3.66 per share for the third quarter, which was $0.32 higher than the analyst prediction of $3.34. However, the company's revenue for the quarter fell short of expectations, totaling $1.85 billion compared to the anticipated $1.94 billion.

The company highlighted a gross margin of 44.4%, an increase of 290 basis points year-over-year. This improvement was attributed to a selling margin increase of 450 basis points, driven by lower shipping and freight costs, despite a 160 basis point occupancy deleverage. Additionally, comparable brand revenue saw a decline of 14.6%, and merchandise inventories decreased by 17.2% to $1.4 billion compared to the previous year.