Weight Watchers stock jumps after lifting FY19 earnings outlook

Weight Watchers International (NASDAQ: WW) second quarter 2019 earnings surpassed the Street’s estimates, while revenue missed the predictions. WW stock surged more than 12% in the after-hours as the company lifted its full-year 2019 earnings outlook.

Net income declined 24% to $53.8 million and EPS dropped 23% to $0.78 for the second quarter. On average, analysts had expected Weight Watchers to post earnings of $0.64 per share on revenue of $376.11 million. Revenue slipped 10% year-over-year to $369 million.

With improving trends, particularly in Digital, WW lifted its earnings guidance for the full year to a range of $1.55 to $1.70 per diluted share from the prior estimated range of $1.35 to $1.55 per share. The company also now expects revenue to be at least $1.4 billion for fiscal 2019.

End of period subscribers in Q2 2019 were up 1.5% versus the prior year period. Digital subscribers were up 8.3% and Studio Subscribers were down 11.1% versus the prior year period.

“Member recruitment trends improved throughout the second quarter as we saw good response to our spring campaigns. End of period subscribers increased 1.5% year-over-year to 4.6 million – our highest level ever for a second quarter,” said CEO Mindy Grossman.

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He also added, “We are focused on building momentum and look forward to launching our new program innovation later this year, which we believe will accelerate subscriber growth in 2020.”

WW stock, which plummeted to a 52-week low ($16.71) on May 31, ended the day at $21.01, down 1.87%. Weight Watchers stock had plunged 45% since the beginning of 2019 and  77% in the trailing 12 months.

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