Shares of Ralph Lauren Corp. RL leapt 2.6% in premarket trading Thursday, after the luxury lifestyle products company reported fiscal third-quarter profit and revenue that beat expectations. Net income for the quarter to Dec. 31 was $216.5 million, or $3.20 a share, after income of $217.7 million, or $2.93 a share, in the year-ago period. Earnings per share rose while net income fell because shares outstanding declined 9% to 67.6 million shares. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted EZPS of $3.35 beat the FactSet consensus of $2.92. Revenue grew 0.9% to $1.83 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.76 billion, as North America, Europe and Asia revenue all rose 1%. Cost of goods sold (COGS) rose more than revenue, up 3.9% to $61.6 million, as gross margin contracted to 65.0% from 66.0%. The stock has soared 29.7% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 SPX has advanced 9.9%.
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