Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands shares down on outlook cut
Shares of L Brands Inc. fell more than 4% late Wednesday after the parent of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works reported first-quarter per-share earnings above Wall Street expectations but cut its profit forecast for the year. L Brands said it earned $47.5 million, or 17 cents a share, in the first quarter, compared with $94.1 million, or 33 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 15 cents a share for the quarter. Sales rose 8% to $2.63 billion, compared with $2.44 billion a year ago and matching analyst forecasts. Comparable-store sales rose 3% in the quarter. L Brands cut its guidance for 2018 earnings to between $2.70 a share and $3 a share, from a range between $2.95 a share to $3.25 a share previously. It said it expects second-quarter earnings per share between 30 cents and 35 cents. The analysts surveyed by FactSet expect EPS of 40 cents. L Brands shares ended the regular trading session down 0.3%.