Here's What to Expect From La-Z-Boy in Q4 Earnings

La-Z-Boy Incorporated LZB is slated to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings on Jun 17, after market close.
In the last reported quarter, the company's earnings per share of 67 cents missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 75 cents and declined from the year-ago figure of 91 cents. Net sales of $500 million missed the consensus mark by 5% and declined 12.7% year over year.
LZB's earnings topped the consensus mark in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on the remaining one occasion, the average surprise being 14.3%.

How Are Estimates Placed?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company's fiscal fourth-quarter EPS has been stable at 68 cents in the past 30 days. In the year-ago period, the company reported an EPS of 99 cents.
The consensus mark for net sales is pegged at $518.8 million, indicating a decline of 7.6% from the year-ago reported figure of $561.3 million.

La-Z-Boy Incorporated Price and EPS Surprise

La-Z-Boy Incorporated price-eps-surprise | La-Z-Boy Incorporated Quote

Key Factors to Consider

La-Z-Boy's business is expected to have experienced lower net sales and earnings in the fiscal fourth quarter, owing to an industry-wide soft demand for home furnishings and reduced consumer discretionary spending. The furniture and home furnishings industry continues to experience a slowdown due to historically low housing turnover, which is being driven by high interest rates and challenges in housing affordability.
Nonetheless, following January's weather disruptions, production and deliveries have returned to normal in the fiscal fourth quarter, which is likely to have aided its performance to some extent. Also, the company continues to strategically invest in strengthening its business for the long term as part of its Century Vision growth strategy, which is likely to have aided its quarterly performance. A cornerstone of its Century Vision is expanding the reach of the La-Z-Boy brand.
The critical pillar of this expansion involves growing the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries network and the company-owned retail segment within that network. This growth will be achieved through the opening of new stores, acquisition of existing ones, and store remodels, all aimed at providing an exceptional end-to-end consumer experience.
For the fiscal fourth quarter, the company expects delivered sales in the range of $505-535 million and non-GAAP operating margin in the range of 7-8%. In the year-ago period, non-GAAP operating margin was 9.8%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Wholesale segment sales is currently pegged at $375 million, implying a decrease from $395 million a year ago. The same for Retail segment is pegged at $223 million, depicting a decline from $243 million a year ago.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for La-Z-Boy this time around. The company does not have the right combination of the two key ingredients — a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) — to increase the odds of an earnings beat.
Earnings ESP: LZB has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Stocks Poised to Beat on Earnings

Here are some stocks from the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector that investors may consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat.
The Aaron's Company, Inc. AAN has an Earnings ESP of +66.67% and a Zacks Rank #3.
The company's shares have lost 43.9% in the past year. AAN's earnings beat estimates in only one of the trailing four quarters and missed on three other occasions, the average surprise being 255.2%.
Carnival Corporation & plc CCL has an Earnings ESP of +100.00% and a Zacks Rank #3.
The company's shares have gained 6.5% in the past year. CCL's earnings beat estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 21.9%.
MGM Resorts International MGM currently has an Earnings ESP of +8.13% and a Zacks Rank of 3.
Shares of MGM have lost 7.8% in the past year. Its earnings beat estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 27.3%.
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