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Levi Strauss' Upgraded Fiscal 2026 Earnings Outlook Falls Short of Street Views; Shares Down Pre-Bell

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Levi Strauss' Upgraded Fiscal 2026 Earnings Outlook Falls Short of Street Views; Shares Down Pre-Bell

Levi Strauss (LEVI) shares were down early Thursday after the company's new full-year earnings outlook fell short of Wall Street's estimates even as its fiscal second-quarter results topped views.

The denim maker now projects fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings at $1.46 to $1.52 a share, up from its previous outlook range of $1.42 to $1.48, the company said late Wednesday. The Street is looking for $1.53.

Levi Strauss shares were down 5.3% in premarket activity Thursday. The stock has jumped nearly 18% so far in 2026.

The company now expects full-year net revenue to grow by 7% to 7.5%, compared with its prior guidance range of 5.5% to 6.5% growth.

"Based on our strong first-half performance and business momentum, we are raising our full-year outlook," Chief Financial and Growth Officer Harmit Singh said during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. "The tariff environment continues to be uncertain, and our updated guidance continues to assume incremental US tariffs on imports from China at a 30% rate and the rest-of-the-world at 20%."

The guidance doesn't assume any benefit from potential tariff-related refunds, which are roughly $80 million paid to date, according to Singh.

For the three months through May, Levi Strauss' adjusted EPS increased to $0.28 from $0.22 a year earlier, topping the Street's $0.24 views. Net revenue advanced 8% to $1.56 billion, ahead of the $1.52 billion modeled by analysts. Organic net revenue rose 5.7%.

"We delivered another strong quarter driven by broad-based growth across markets, channels and categories," Singh said in an earnings release. "That growth translated into higher profitability through gross margin expansion and disciplined (selling, general and administrative expenses) leverage."

For the ongoing quarter, the denim maker expects adjusted EPS of $0.34 to $0.36 on revenue growth of 4% to 5%, Singh said on the call. The bottom-line guidance includes a $0.02 to $0.03 per-share headwind from a higher tax rate and foreign exchange, according to Singh. The Street is looking for third-quarter non-GAAP EPS of $0.36.

Levi Strauss raised its quarterly dividend by $0.02 to $0.16 per share, payable Aug. 5 to shareholders of record July 22.

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