Aritzia Revenue Rises 44.1% as Earnings Beat Estimates and U.S. Sales Strengthen
Key Facts
Aritzia reported a 44.1% year-on-year increase in net revenue in the second quarter of fiscal 2027, with adjusted earnings per share beating analysts' estimates. The company said in its earnings release that the reported fiscal period ended on August 30, 2026, and that revenue growth was measured against the corresponding quarter a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share were C$1.31, according to Reuters' reporting on the company's results, exceeding the level analysts had expected. The Institutional Brokers' Estimate System consensus estimate was C$1.05 per share, the benchmark cited by the agency to measure earnings performance against expectations. The earnings beat coincided with expanding U.S. sales and growth in the company's Canadian business, alongside higher comparable sales during the period.
In its geographic breakdown, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. sales rose about 60% in the second fiscal quarter to C$779.4 million. Growth in the United States outpaced the company's overall revenue increase, highlighting the U.S. market in Aritzia's reported results for the period. In Canada, the company's release said revenue rose 19.8% year on year, reflecting continued growth in the Canadian market as well. Aritzia reported a 34.5% increase in comparable sales for the quarter, alongside growth in total net revenue. Performance during the period thus combined higher comparable sales with revenue growth in both the U.S. and Canadian markets, with a faster pace of expansion in the United States.
Management linked the expansion of physical stores to increased shopping through the mobile app, according to the Wall Street Journal's reporting on sales drivers. The newspaper quoted management as saying that "opening new physical stores drives more shoppers to make purchases through the mobile app," describing the relationship between the two sales channels. The digital business had also grown in the previous fiscal quarter, when its revenue rose 55.5% year on year, according to Aritzia's earnings release for that period. The company attributed digital channel growth at the time to demand, alongside its new mobile app and investments in digital marketing. Management identified the app as one of the tools supporting digital sales in the previous quarter's release, then pointed to the role of store openings in attracting buyers to it when presenting the latest results.
On profitability, Aritzia reported net income of C$201.7 million for the second quarter in its financial results for the period ended in August. The period's results included C$97.4 million in tariff refunds, which the company said it had received and recognized in the reported quarter's accounts. Those refunds were an item in the results alongside sales performance, with the company reporting a gross margin measure that excluded their impact. Adjusted gross profit margin, excluding tariff refunds, was 48.7%, according to Aritzia's release presenting profitability results for the second fiscal quarter. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin was also 21.0% during the same period, according to figures released by the company.
The annual forecast increase follows Aritzia's guidance when it reported first-quarter fiscal results, when it set a lower revenue range for fiscal 2027. At the time, the company forecast annual revenue of between C$4.55 billion and C$4.75 billion, according to the previous quarter's earnings release, which included its business outlook. In the same announcement, Aritzia forecast second-quarter revenue of between C$1.100 billion and C$1.125 billion, ahead of the current results for that period. With the second-quarter announcement, the company raised its expected annual revenue range to between C$4.78 billion and C$4.88 billion, according to its latest release. The lower end of the new annual guidance is now above the upper end of the previous range, in a revision covering both ends of the fiscal-year revenue forecast.
For the following period, Aritzia expects revenue of between C$1.275 billion and C$1.325 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2027, according to its announced guidance. That range applies to the upcoming quarter, alongside the full-year revenue range the company set in its second-quarter earnings announcement. The previous quarterly guidance covered the quarter ended in August, while management's latest estimates move to the next period of the same fiscal year. This comes as management continues to rely on store openings and the mobile app among the sales drivers it discussed when presenting business performance. The company set October 27, 2026, as the date for its investor day, the next announced occasion for communicating with investors following these results and guidance.