Karishma Vanjani and Sabrina Escobar

Signet Jewelers stock popped Wednesday after it reported strong fourth-quarter earnings, and said it would be closing more than a tenth of its mall locations to better allocate dollars for real estate.

Signet, which owns online brand Blue Nile and mall staples including Kay Jewelers and Jared among others, posted fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $6.62 on sales of $2.4 billion. Both metrics beat consensus estimates for earnings per share of $6.25 on sales of $2.3 billion, according to FactSet.

The stock jumped 23% in morning trading, while the S&P 500 was up 0.7%.

Signet said Wednesday adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2026 will range from $7.31 to $9.10, on sales ranging from $6.53 billion to $6.80 billion. The midpoints of earnings per share of $8.21 on sales of $667 billion are short of analysts' consensus estimates for $9 and $6.7 billion, respectively.

For the current quarter, the company said it anticipates growth in same-store sales between flat and up 2% -- meaning a 1% gain at the midpoint, compared with the consensus estimate for a 0.9% gain. Same-store sales compares sales from e-commerce and physical stores open for more than a year with the year-ago period.

Signet sees total sales for the fiscal first quarter ranging from $1.5 billion to $1.53 billion. Analysts were looking for $1.5 billion.

"The first-quarter guide with positive comps in January and quarter-to-date (which includes the important Valentine's Day selling period) is encouraging relative to the more conservative tone struck across much of retail for Q1 with SIG experiencing growth across all categories thus far," Dana Telsey, CEO of Telsey Advisory Group, wrote in a report.

Investors also seemed to like Signet's first reorganization plan under new CEO J.K. Symancyk, "Grow Brand Love." The strategy consists of three elements: better connecting consumers with each of the company's 11 brands; growing market share in both the core bridal business and fashion jewelry; and streamlining the business to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

As part of the new model, Signet will reduce the number of its senior leadership team members by roughly 30%, and expects to see $50 million to $60 million in savings.

"Generally speaking, flattening the organization, getting closer to customers, making decisions faster, and increasing cycle times in our business -- those are all things that come from having a more-focused org structure in support of a strategy that's designed for growth," Symancyk said on a call with Barron's.

The company said in the earnings release that it was "focused on real estate optimization" and expects to move more than 10% of its stores in malls to other locations and to its e-commerce channel over the next three years.

Symancyk added, "We really are being opportunistic around how we manage that portfolio of assets and continue to hold on to the strength of performance, but also meet customers where they are."

Signet has long been known as a physical retailer with a strong mall presence, but it has been shifting to other locations as it sees more consumer interest outside malls.

In a conference in September last year, former CEO Virginia Drosos said: "A lot of people think about Signet as a mall retailer, and when I came onboard, that would have been true. About 65% of our sales were in mall stores. Now that number is 35%." Drosos was named CEO August 2017, and stepped down in November 2024.

Write to Karishma Vanjani at karishma.vanjani@dowjones.com and Sabrina Escobar at sabrina.escobar@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2025 11:26 ET (15:26 GMT)

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