Signet Jewelers’ (NYSE: SIG) stock rallied in premarket trading on Wednesday after the diamond retailer announced positive financial guidance, despite reporting a decline in fourth-quarter sales and profit. The investor reaction also reflects recent improvements in same-store sales performance, though Q4 comps slightly declined from the year-ago period.
The post-earnings upswing has reversed a part of the steady losses SIG suffered over the past several months. The shares have lost about 44% in the past twelve months. While same-store sales turned positive in January and the momentum continued in the early weeks of the first quarter, Signet’s subdued sales and earnings performance remains a concern. Given the challenging market environment and increasing competition from lab-grown diamonds, the likelihood of a full recovery in the near term appears slim. That calls for caution, from an investment perspective.
Q4 Outcome
Signet’s fourth-quarter sales decreased 6% from last year to $2.35 billion. Comparable store sales declined 1.1% during the three months. Net income dropped sharply to $100.6 million or $2.30 per share from $617.6 million or $11.75 per share in the prior year period. Adjusted earnings decreased to $6.62 per share from $6.73 per share last year.
“Our overall Q4 performance and lack of growth over the past several quarters informed our new strategy to grow our business. This transformative strategy is called ‘Grow Brand Love’ and builds on a strong foundation to create shareholder value. We will infuse more style and design-led products into our assortment to accelerate our growth in self-purchase and gifting while expanding our leadership position in Bridal. To activate our strategy, we are reorganizing our business to drive a Brand mindset and centralizing core capabilities to improve speed, maximize benefits of scale, and deliver organic growth over time,” said Signet’s CEO J.K. Symancyk.
For the first quarter of 2026, Signet expects total sales to be between $1.50 billion and $1.53 billion, and forecasts same-store sales to be flat to up 2%. Meanwhile, it sees a measured consumer environment for the whole of fiscal 2026, providing for variability in consumer spending over the year. The company also unveiled a new strategy called Grow Brand Love to increase operational efficiency and drive long-term growth.
FY26 Outlook
The management expects FY26 sales to be $6.53-6.80 billion, and adjusted earnings per share in the range of $7.31 to $9.10. The target for capital expenditures is $145 million to $160 million. The year-over-year change in full-year same-store sales is expected to range from a decline of 2.5% to an increase of 1.5%. Meanwhile, the leadership said it does not expect any significant impact from the new tariffs and regulations announced by the government.
Signet’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.32 per share for Q1 FY26, payable on May 23 to shareholders of record on April 25. That represents a 10% increase in the dividend. In FY25, the company repurchased around 1.6 million shares for $138.0 million, including $24.2 million during the fourth quarter.
Past Performance
In the third quarter, sales slid 3% to $1.3 billion, amid a 0.7% decrease in comparable store sales. Sales declined both in North America and overseas markets in the October quarter, while adjusted profit remained unchanged at $0.24 per share.
Signet’s stock was trading up 18% on Wednesday afternoon, hovering near the $60 mark. Yet, it is down 29% from the levels seen at the beginning of the year.