Columbia Sportswear Misses Q4 Estimates, Sees 'Challenging' Year Ahead

Columbia Sportswear Company COLM reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results after the bell Thursday. Here's a look at the details. 

The Details: Columbia Sportswear reported fourth-quarter GAAP earnings per share of $1.55, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $1.96 per share. The company reported quarterly revenue of $1.06 billion, missing the analyst estimate of $1.08 billion.

The company’s board of directors approved a regular quarterly cash dividend of 30 cents per share.

Columbia Sportswear saw first-quarter revenue of between $730 million and $753 million, representing a decline of 11% to 8% from $820.6 million for the comparable period in 2023. Diluted earnings per share is expected to be 30 cents to 45 cents.

The company saw fiscal year net income as $207 million and $231 million, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $3.45 to $3.85.

“I’m proud of what our global workforce was able to achieve in 2023. We successfully executed our inventory reduction plan, which contributed to operating cash flow generation of over $600 million for the year,” said Columbia CEO Tim Boyle.

“The Columbia brand generated healthy growth outside of the U.S., led by China and Europe-direct markets. In the U.S., we navigated a difficult U.S. marketplace and a warm winter, both of which impacted our fourth quarter performance.”

The company is implementing a multi-year profit improvement program targeting $125 million to $150 million in annual savings by 2026.

“Looking ahead, we expect 2024 to be a challenging year. Retailers are placing orders cautiously, and economic and geopolitical uncertainty remains high,” Boyle added.

“We are working diligently to maximize sales in this environment while optimizing our product, brand marketing and marketplace strategies to accelerate growth in 2025 and beyond.”

COLM Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, Columbia Sportswear shares are trading down 5.62% after-hours at $77.46 at the time of publication Thursday.

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Photo: Olya Adamovich from Pixabay