Williams-Sonoma stock rises on huge earnings beat

Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss the latest quarterly earnings for Williams-Sonoma.

Video transcript

JULIE HYMAN: Last stock here that I want to mention is Williams-Sonoma, that company coming out with numbers as well. Earnings per share there beating estimates by a pretty wide margin, revenue coming in a little bit below estimates, and comp sales up 10.8%. It's a slowdown year over year in the pace of those comp sales, but still, it's better than estimates here.

So what's interesting to me here with Williams-Sonoma, Sozz, is that a lot-- we're seeing sort of a deceleration in a lot of the home goods markets, right, as people kind of-- they bought their furniture, they've spruced up their homes. Now that trend-- during the pandemic. Now they're going out again, and their spending is shifting. Well, Williams-Sonoma, still seems to be doing all right.

BRIAN SOZZI: They're doing better than all right. And I have to give a tip of our hat to former Yahoo Finance anchor and colleague, Myles Udland. He has been all over this stock. When he was with us really at the pandemic, I think he outfitted his whole new home with Pottery Barn. And these results here have been off the charts. Pottery Barn sales, to my point there, up 16-- or 10.2% in the most recent quarter. West Elm up 18.3%. Gross profit margins in a very inflationary environment up 300-- up close to 300 basis points here for Williams-Sonoma.

And I just want to point to this comment here from Williams-Sonoma CEO, Laura Alber, which she has done a tremendous job running this company. Realistically, she should be running a larger retailer at this point. But still, look at her comment on the earnings call. She said, so far in the first quarter, we continue to see strong sales and margins. So I think the stock here in the early going is giving a little love to the quarter, but also commentary like that, which we're not hearing from many other retailers so far in the first quarter. I've been hearing a lot of cautiousness, just not hearing it here from Alber.

JULIE HYMAN: Interesting. All right.