Bath & Body Works posts quarterly profit miss as costs weigh
Tweet
Share
E-mail
FILE PHOTO: Bath & Body Works product on display at St. John’s University, one of more than 600 US college bookstores that will sell Bath & Body Works items this school year, in Queens, New York, U.S., August 1, 2025. BBW/Micheal Vidoli/Handout via REUT
(Reuters) -Bath & Body Works missed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Thursday, hurt by higher costs at a time when the retailer grapples with uncertain discretionary consumer spending.
Shares of the beauty and skincare retailer slumped 6% in premarket trading.
The company, which sells higher-priced offerings such as fragrances and scented candles, is facing pressure from customers cutting back on spending amid inflation and a fallout from the Trump administration's trade policy.
U.S. consumer spending rose in June and July but growth in the third quarter this year is expected to be constrained by a softening labor market and higher prices of goods.
The company has ramped up marketing and promotional efforts to position its products as affordable luxuries and ideal gifts, including launching a Disney villains-themed product line aimed at Halloween season sales, and ceramic scented candles.
For the second quarter, the company recorded $483 million in general, administrative and store operating expenses or a 9% rise for the quarter.
Bath & Body Works, however, is largely insulated from the tariffs, given it sources the majority of its merchandise locally, unlike many of its peers.
Still, Bath & Body Works' exposure to China is about 10% of its supply, while Canada and Mexico represent about 7% combined, split almost equally, as of February.
The company also narrowed its annual adjusted profit per share forecast range to be between $3.35 and $3.60 from a range of $3.25 to $3.60 to account for current tariff rates.
Bath & Body Works posted an adjusted profit of 37 cents per share for the quarter ended August 2, compared with analysts' average estimate of 38 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Its quarterly net sales of $1.55 billion were in line with estimates.
(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- Tyson disputes claim by USDA's Rollins, says shuttered beef plants can go to any buyer
- Russian cybercrime operation being dismantled after two decades, US officials and CrowdStrike say
- Apple Maps changes name of Lake Ontario to 'Lake America'
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
ReutersSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
