La-Z-Boy raised dividend 10% in November 2025 as earnings beat estimates
Key Facts
La-Z-Boy raised its quarterly cash dividend by 10% on November 18, 2025, alongside results that beat analysts' expectations for adjusted earnings per share. The announcement came after the market close and covered the second quarter of fiscal 2026 ended October 25, 2025, according to company disclosures. The board set the quarterly dividend at $0.242 per share as part of the decisions accompanying those results. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.70, while adjusted earnings were $0.71 per share. Investing.com compared the adjusted figure with an analyst estimate of $0.54 per share, the benchmark the reported results exceeded. In its report published on the evening of the announcement, the website said the shares rose 5.6% in response to the earnings beat.
According to the earnings release, quarterly sales totaled $522 million, up slightly from the same period a year earlier. The consolidated adjusted operating margin fell to 7.1% from 7.5% in the corresponding period, pairing the earnings-per-share beat with a year-over-year decline in operating margin. Same-store written sales fell 2% during the quarter, although their trend improved compared with previous quarters. Chief Executive Melinda Whittington said the company "continues to create its own momentum in a business environment that remains volatile," according to Investing.com. Whittington pointed to sales growth and improved wholesale segment margins among the features of the period's performance. The improvement in wholesale margins coincided with a decline in the group-wide adjusted margin and lower same-store written sales.
The company ended the same quarter with cash and cash equivalents of about $339 million, according to its financial statement, alongside spending on stores and manufacturing during the period. Capital expenditures totaled $20 million, focused particularly on new stores, remodels and manufacturing investments. Those investments coincided with approval of the quarterly cash dividend increase included in the historical earnings announcement. The dividend decision set December 4, 2025, as the record date for shareholders eligible to receive the payment. The payment date specified in the announcement was December 15, 2025, according to the schedule the company announced to shareholders. In a subsequent disclosure dated April 28, 2026, La-Z-Boy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.242 per share, unchanged from the level following the November increase.
Later in its sequence of financial disclosures, La-Z-Boy announced first-quarter fiscal 2027 results on August 18, 2026. Same-store written sales grew 3% in that quarter, according to the company's release for its latest reported quarter. The company attributed the growth to design sales, improved conversion of store visits into purchases and a higher average order value. Factors management cited included improved conversion of visits into purchases, alongside an improvement in order values. Growth in this subsequent disclosure followed the decline in same-store written sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, with each announcement covering a different period.
The company's announced activity in October extended to expanding its retail network, as it announced on October 15, 2026, that it had completed the acquisition of 2 stores operating under its brand. The stores are in New Orleans, according to the company's statement on store openings and additional acquisitions. The number of company-owned stores reached 237 in the latest expansion announcement, a level it described as a record in its history. The announced expansion included the transfer of the 2 New Orleans stores to company ownership as part of its acquisition activity involving branded stores. The announcement followed the August disclosure of improved same-store written sales, adding ownership expansion to developments following the November 2025 results.
For the second quarter following the August 18, 2026, announcement, La-Z-Boy forecast sales of between $500 million and $520 million. In the same disclosure, it set an expected adjusted operating margin range of 4.0% to 5.5% as part of its guidance for the following period. The projected margin range is below the level recorded in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, as reported in the historical earnings announcement. On expansion, the company said in its October 15, 2026, announcement that it expects to open about 10 new stores annually, with the majority to be company-owned. Its long-term target is a network of 450 La-Z-Boy stores in the United States and Canada, according to the expansion plan included in the announcement.