lululemon athletica inc.
LULUlululemon athletica inc. is cheap for a reason. The P/E sits at the 4th percentile of its own range, and the quarters are still getting worse.
The sharpest disagreement: annual EPS moved −9.4% against a −45.2% price move — the market has not yet caught up with the delivery.
The price is in a downtrend (51 weeks in) while the P/E sits at the 4th percentile of its own 4-year range. Underneath, the last four quarters read deteriorating — profit −35.5% year on year, and 125% of the last 3 years' profit arrived as cash. What settles it: whether the price catches up with earnings that have already moved.
Price story Before the numbers, the tape. A stock price moves through four repeating seasons: a flat base (stage 1), an advance (2), a top (3), a decline (4). Where the price sits in that cycle frames everything below.
lululemon athletica inc. trades at $120, in a downtrend and 51 weeks into that stage. That is −24.7% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 9% of a 52-week range of $112 to $211. On relative strength it is currently behind the S&P 500 on a trailing-13-week view (22 weeks and counting).
Today the stock is in a downtrend — week 51 of stage 4. At $120 it trades −24.7% versus its 200-day average and sits at 9% of its 52-week range ($112–$211).
Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.1 years the stock moved +57% while the S&P 500 moved +248% — behind the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock is currently behind (22 weeks and counting; last ahead the week of 2026-02-27) — the ribbon below is that same metric, week by week.
What would end the trend, mechanically: two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day line. That is the exit rule — no debates.
→ The trend is one thing; the bill is another. Are you paying up for it? Next: the P/E sits at the 4th percentile of its own range.
Valuation P/E is the price of $1 of annual profit: how many dollars the market pays for each dollar the company earns in a year.
lululemon athletica inc. trades at 9.7× P/E, near the bottom of its own range — cheaper only 4% of the time. Its long-run median P/E is 27.7×, measured across 4.2 years of weekly readings. This places the multiple against the stock’s own record, and says nothing about what the business is worth.
Today's P/E of 9.7× is near the bottom of its own range — cheaper only 4% of the time, against a long-run median of 27.7× measured over 4.2 years of weekly readings. This is a comparison against the stock's own history — not a claim about what it is worth.
Why the multiple sits where it does: over the past year annual EPS moved −9.4% against a −45.2% price move — earnings outran the price, pushing the multiple DOWN its own range.
The price move, decomposed: over 3y, of the −31.7%/yr price move, ~+18.1%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−49.8 pp from the multiple (compressing). The split is the honest approximate (price return minus earnings growth); it makes the rally itself visible instead of hiding it behind the percentile.
Put together: the multiple is low against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.
→ Cheap or dear rides on the earnings. Are they actually growing? Next: the fundamental stage — where the business sits in its arc, and how growth has compounded.
Stage: Deteriorating Every business sits somewhere on a fundamental arc, and this page names the spot before anything else. The last twelve quarters of revenue, profit and EPS growth — plus the return the business earns on its capital — are read as curves: Deteriorating (the curves are falling), Turning around (a trough has just formed and the last few quarters lift off it), Improving (the climb off the trough is sustained), Consistent (steadily positive with healthy returns), Topping out (still high but decelerating from the peak). When the curves genuinely disagree the read is Mixed; too little history is No read. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the smooth yearly pace that turns the starting value into the latest one — the fairest way to compare growth across different time spans. Read the columns together: if the 1-year number towers over the 10-year, recent growth is running hotter than the long-run trend. A dash means that window is not held, or the base year was a loss (where a growth rate is not meaningful).
lululemon athletica inc. reads as deteriorating on its fundamental arc. Deteriorating — profit and EPS growth are shrinking (profit growth −18.3% latest against +80.2% at its 12-quarter best), ROCE slipping at 32.5%. The read is built from 12 quarters across 4 curves, on full evidence.
🚨 Why it matters: falling curves mean every cheap-looking ratio below needs a discount for direction.
| 1yr | 3yr | 5yr | 10yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +4.8% | +11.0% | — | — |
| Profit | −12.7% | +23.0% | — | — |
| EPS | −9.4% | +23.9% | — | — |
| Stock price | −45.2% | −31.7% | −21.4% | +4.5% |
→ The stage names the trajectory. Next: the revenue line that produces it, quarter by quarter.
4-Factor Sector Score
43.2/100 — rank 17 of 25 in Apparel Retail · 86% evidence confidence
lululemon athletica inc. scores 43.2 out of 100 against the 25 companies it is compared with in Apparel Retail, ranking 17. Cheap but unconfirmed: require improving earnings before treating the valuation as an opportunity.
The four contributions add to the total exactly: 7.8 + 16.4 + 14.3 + 4.7 = 43.2. This is the SAME number shown on the sector comparison — it is computed once, for the whole peer set, and read here.
What would change it: The read weakens if profit growth turns negative or margin improvement reverses while sector-relative strength deteriorates.
Revenue Revenue is the top line: everything the company billed its customers in the period.
lululemon athletica inc. reported $2.5 B of revenue in the May 26 quarter, +4.2% year on year. That is the 12th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 4 years it has compounded at 15.4% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at $11.1 B. The last four reported quarters add to $11.2 B.
lululemon athletica inc. reported $2.5 B of revenue in the May 26 quarter, +4.2% year on year. That is the 12th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 4 years it has compounded at 15.4% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at $11.1 B. The last four reported quarters add to $11.2 B.
FY26 revenue came in at $11.1 B (+4.8% on the year), capping 4 years at 15.4% compound. The latest quarter (May 26) printed $2.5 B, +4.2% year on year — the 12th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.
Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +4.7% growth against the decade's 15.4% — the current year is running slower than its own long-run rate.
Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +4.3% over the last 4 quarters against +6.8%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising; TTM profit −18.3% vs −3.5%/yr — rolling over.
→ Revenue grew — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 11.3% this quarter (−7.3 pp YoY).
Operating margin Operating margin is what is left of every $100 of sales after running the business, before interest and tax. It is the cleanest read on pricing power and cost control.
lululemon athletica inc.'s operating margin is 11.3% in the May 26 quarter, −7.3 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 5 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 16.4% to 23.7%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.
lululemon athletica inc.'s operating margin is 11.3% in the May 26 quarter, −7.3 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 5 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 16.4% to 23.7%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.
The latest quarter's operating margin is 11.3%, −7.3 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 5 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 16.4%–23.7%.
🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −7.3 pp year on year while gross margin went −3.9 pp — the loss came mostly below the gross line: operating leverage, with costs spread over a bigger revenue base.
→ Margins slipped — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit −35.5% in the latest quarter.
Net profit Net profit is what survives every cost, interest and tax — the number EPS, dividends and book value all grow from.
lululemon athletica inc. earned $0.2 B of net profit in the May 26 quarter, −35.5% year on year. Full-year FY26 profit was $1.6 B. The 4-year compound rate is 12.7%. That is 8.1% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned $0.3 B.
lululemon athletica inc. earned $0.2 B of net profit in the May 26 quarter, −35.5% year on year. Full-year FY26 profit was $1.6 B. The 4-year compound rate is 12.7%. That is 8.1% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned $0.3 B.
May 26 profit was $0.2 B, −35.5% year on year. On the full year, FY26 printed $1.6 B (−12.7%), and the 4-year compound rate is 12.7%.
🚨 Why profit moved: revenue contributed +4.2% and the margin −7.3 pp — the quarter was revenue-led despite a thinner margin.
Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit −18.3% vs revenue +4.7%. Profit is growing slower than sales — costs are eating the growth before it reaches the bottom line.
→ Profit rose — but did the cash follow? Next: 125% of the last 3 years' profit arrived as cash.
Cash flow — the router The P&L says what was earned; the cash-flow statement says what actually arrived. Operating cash flow (CFO) against profit is the cleanest lie detector in the accounts.
Over the last 3 fiscal years 125% of lululemon athletica inc.'s reported profit arrived as operating cash — the cash follows the profit. In FY26 that was $1.6 B of operating cash against $1.6 B of profit. After $0.7 B of capital spending, $0.9 B was left as free cash.
FY26: operating cash of $1.6 B against reported profit of $1.6 B, leaving free cash of $0.9 B after $0.7 B of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 125% of profit.
Cash-flow readings here are annual — that is the resolution our series carries, so this section moves once a year.
Why: conversion is measured cleanly, but the working-capital day-counts behind it sit below what we hold — the move is shown without inventing its driver.
Router verdict: the visible cash user is investment — the next section checks what the spending is buying.
→ So follow the cash to where it goes. Next: $2.0 B of building over 3 years.
Where the cash goes Working capital is the cash tied up between paying suppliers and getting paid: debtor days (customers owe), inventory days (stock waits), and the cash conversion cycle (the whole loop, in days of sales).
lululemon athletica inc. does not report the debtor, inventory and payable day-counts a cash cycle is built from, so this section reads the investment side instead. Capital spending ran $2.0 B over the last 3 years. Averaged over those years that is 6.0% of FY26 revenue a year.
Working-capital day-counts are not in our numbers for this stock, so this section reads the investment side — where the cash is being put to work.
On the investment side: capital spending of $2.0 B over the last 3 fiscal years.
The synthesis: the cash is going into capacity, not disappearing into the cycle — the question becomes whether the new capacity earns.
→ Does all this activity actually earn its cost of capital? Next: ROE is 32% and the ROIC − WACC spread is +19.8 pp.
Return on equity Return on equity (ROE) is the profit the business earns on its shareholders’ money. With the full capital-employed split not in our numbers, ROE is the cleanest long ladder we can draw here.
lululemon athletica inc. earns a ROE of 32% in FY26. That is up from a trough of 27% in FY23. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by +19.8 percentage points, so growth here adds value rather than only size. The wiring behind it is 14.2% net margin on 1.31× asset turns.
FY26 ROE is 32%, recovered from a FY23 trough of 27% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.
Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 14.2% net margin × 1.31× asset turns × 1.71× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 31.8% on equity. Margin does its share; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.
The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 27.7% − 7.9% = a +19.8 pp spread. The 7.9% is an estimate of this company's own cost of capital — read the sign and the size of the spread, not the decimals. A spread this wide means every dollar reinvested creates more than a dollar of value — the engine compounds.
→ Returns like these — is the balance sheet borrowing to make them? Next: debt-to-equity is 0.44.
Dividend
lululemon athletica inc. pays no dividend. Across the last 12 reported quarters it has declared no dividend per share, so there is no payout history to chart and no yield to quote. Companies at this stage typically reinvest earnings rather than distribute them, which makes the cash-flow and reinvestment sections the place that cash shows up.
lululemon athletica inc. does not currently pay a dividend. Across the last 12 reported quarters the company has declared no dividend per share, so there is no payout history to chart and no yield to quote. Companies at this stage typically reinvest earnings instead of distributing them.
→ No payout to follow. The cash question becomes what the business does with what it earns instead.
Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings. Low is the safe corner; the trend matters as much as the level.
lululemon athletica inc. carries total debt of $2.1 B against shareholder equity of $4.8 B as of May 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.44. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.32 in FY22 to 0.36 in FY26. Read the returns elsewhere on this page with that leverage in mind.
May 26: total debt of $2.1 B against shareholder equity of $4.8 B — a debt-to-equity of 0.44. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.32 (FY22) to 0.36 (FY26). Read the returns on this page with that leverage in mind.
→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: short interest is 9.6% of the float.
Ownership There is no quarter-by-quarter holder register to read here, so we read the crowd through short interest — the slice of tradable shares currently sold short, positioned for a fall.
9.6% of lululemon athletica inc.'s tradable float is currently sold short — some money is positioned against it. At typical trading volumes those positions would take about 2.9 days to buy back. There is no quarter-by-quarter holder register to read for this filer, so the crowd is read through short interest instead.
The latest reading: 9.6% of the float is sold short, and at typical trading volumes it would take about 2.9 days to buy those positions back. Some money is positioned against it. This is a single point-in-time reading — we do not yet hold its history, so we show no trend chart.
Why it sits there: who is doing the shorting, and why, does not travel with the number — the level is shown without inventing its story.
→ One last check: does the safety math agree? Next: the balance-sheet safety line.
Safety line The Z-score estimates how far a company sits from balance-sheet distress — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the danger zone. It was built for manufacturers, so it is not applied to banks and lenders.
lululemon athletica inc.: the Z-score reads 6.95. A Z-score above roughly 3 reads as safe and below roughly 1.8 as the distress zone, so this sits well clear of distress. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure.
Why it matters: a Z-score of 6.95 sits well clear of the distress zone — the balance sheet is not the risk here.
The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score reads 6.95.
| Company | P/E | Mkt cap | Revenue | EPS | ROCE | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lululemon athletica inc. this page | 9.7× | $14B | Topping out | |||
| The TJX Companies, Inc. | 30.4× | $178B | Consistent | |||
| Ross Stores, Inc. | 35.1× | $81B | Consistent | |||
| Burlington Stores, Inc. | 38.1× | $23B | Consistent | |||
| The Gap, Inc. | 8.0× | $7B | Consistent | |||
| Victoria's Secret & Co. | 36.0× | $7B | Mixed | |||
| Urban Outfitters, Inc. | 14.5× | $6B | Mixed | |||
| Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. | 21.6× | $5B | Mixed | |||
| Abercrombie & Fitch Co. | 9.9× | $5B | Mixed | |||
| American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. | 11.3× | $3B | Mixed | |||
| The Buckle, Inc. | 10.5× | $2B | Improving | |||
| Carter's, Inc. | 15.9× | $1B | Deteriorating | |||
| Stitch Fix, Inc. | — | $1B | No read | |||
| Citi Trends, Inc. | 46.7× | $1B | No read | |||
| Caleres, Inc. | 1,036.5× | $0B | Deteriorating | |||
| Genesco Inc. | 21.0× | $0B | No read | |||
| Shoe Station Group Inc. | 11.7× | $0B | Deteriorating | |||
| Lands' End, Inc. | 1.1× | $0B | No read | |||
| Zumiez Inc. | 23.8× | $0B | No read | |||
| J.Jill, Inc. | 13.6× | $0B | Deteriorating | |||
| Torrid Holdings Inc. | — | $0B | Deteriorating | |||
| Duluth Holdings Inc. | — | $0B | No read | |||
| a.k.a. Brands Holding Corp. | — | $0B | No read | |||
| Rent the Runway, Inc. | 2.3× | $0B | No read | |||
| Tilly's, Inc. | — | $0B | No read |
Frequently asked questions
What is lululemon athletica inc.'s stock price today?
lululemon athletica inc. trades at $120, −45.2% over the past year. The company is valued at $14.0 B. The stock sits at 9% of its 52-week range of $112–$211, −24.7% versus its 200-day average. On the tape, the price is in a downtrend, 51 weeks in. — as of 29 July 2026.
What were lululemon athletica inc.'s latest quarterly results?
lululemon athletica inc. reported revenue of $2.5 B and net profit of $0.2 B for the May 26 quarter. Revenue rose 4.2% and profit fell 35.5% year on year. Earnings per share were $1.69. The operating margin was 11.3%, 7.3 pp lower than a year earlier. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is lululemon athletica inc.'s revenue?
lululemon athletica inc. reported revenue of $2.5 B in the May 26 quarter, +4.2% year on year. For the full FY26 fiscal year, revenue was $11.1 B (+4.8%). Over the last 4 years revenue compounded at 15.4% a year. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is lululemon athletica inc.'s profit?
lululemon athletica inc. earned $0.2 B of net profit in the May 26 quarter, −35.5% year on year. Full-year FY26 profit was $1.6 B. The operating margin ran 11.3% in the latest quarter. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is lululemon athletica inc.'s market cap?
lululemon athletica inc.'s market capitalisation is $14.0 B at a stock price of $120. Market cap is the share price multiplied by shares outstanding, so it is restated whenever the price moves. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is lululemon athletica inc.'s P/E ratio?
lululemon athletica inc. trades at a P/E of 9.7×, at the 4th percentile of its own 4-year range, against a long-run median of 27.7×. This is a comparison with the stock's own history, not a value call — as of 29 July 2026.
Does lululemon athletica inc. pay a dividend?
No — lululemon athletica inc. has declared no dividend per share in any of its last 12 reported quarters, so there is no payout history and no yield to quote. That is a reading of the filed statements, not an estimate. — as of 29 July 2026.
Is lululemon athletica inc. overvalued?
On its own history, lululemon athletica inc. looks cheap against its own history: its P/E of 9.7× has been cheaper only 4% of the time in 4 years (long-run median 27.7×). That is a percentile read against the stock's own past, not a price opinion or a direction call. — as of 29 July 2026.
Is lululemon athletica inc. growing?
Not right now — lululemon athletica inc.'s latest numbers are shrinking: latest-quarter revenue +4.2% year on year, profit −35.5%, and the margin −7.3 pp at 11.3%. The 4-year compound rates are 15.4% (revenue) and 12.7% (profit). The earnings engine currently reads: deteriorating — as of 29 July 2026.
How is lululemon athletica inc. performing?
lululemon athletica inc. is in a downtrend, 51 weeks in. Its latest quarter's revenue rose 4.2% and profit fell 35.5% year on year. Against the S&P 500 it has been behind on a trailing-13-week view for 22 weeks. This describes what the data did, not a rating. — as of 29 July 2026.
What stage is lululemon athletica inc. in?
Deteriorating — profit and EPS growth are shrinking (profit growth −18.3% latest against +80.2% at its 12-quarter best), ROCE slipping at 32.5%. The read comes from the last 12 quarters of growth (revenue growth +4.3% latest, profit growth −18.3% latest, eps growth −16.1% latest) plus the ROCE curve, classified by deterministic rules — a trajectory read, not a buy or sell call — as of 29 July 2026.
Is lululemon athletica inc. in an uptrend?
No — the price is in a downtrend (week 51 of stage 4), trading −24.7% versus its 200-day average and at 9% of its 52-week range. Price stages cycle base → advance → top → decline, and the stage names where this stock sits in that cycle — as of 29 July 2026.
Is lululemon athletica inc. beating the market?
Not lately — on a trailing-13-week view lululemon athletica inc. is currently behind the S&P 500 (22 weeks and counting; last ahead the week of 2026-02-27), the same metric the week-by-week ribbon on this page draws. Separately, on the cumulative view: over the last 10.1 years the stock moved +57% against the S&P 500's +248% — behind the index over the full window. — as of 29 July 2026.
Will lululemon athletica inc.'s stock price go up?
This page publishes no price forecast for lululemon athletica inc. What it measures instead: the stock price is $120, the price is in a downtrend 51 weeks in. Its P/E of 9.7× sits at the 4th percentile of its own 4-year range. — as of 29 July 2026.
Is the market betting against lululemon athletica inc.?
Somewhat — short interest is 9.6% of lululemon athletica inc.'s tradable float, about 2.9 days to cover at typical volumes. A moderate reading: some money is positioned against it. With no quarter-by-quarter holder register here, short interest is the cleanest crowd read we hold — as of 29 July 2026.
Does lululemon athletica inc. have too much debt?
It is moderate — lululemon athletica inc.'s debt-to-equity is 0.44. A year-by-year borrowings ladder is not in our numbers for this stock, so the latest reading is the cleanest hold. Read the returns on this page with that leverage in mind — as of 29 July 2026.
What is lululemon athletica inc.'s capex?
lululemon athletica inc. spent $2.0 B on capital expenditure over the last 3 fiscal years, a figure derived from the change in fixed assets plus depreciation. In FY26 alone that was $0.7 B. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is lululemon athletica inc.'s cash flow?
lululemon athletica inc. generated $1.6 B of operating cash flow in FY26 and $0.9 B of free cash flow after $0.7 B of capital spending. Reported profit that year was $1.6 B, so operating cash ran ahead of profit. — as of 29 July 2026.
Is lululemon athletica inc.'s profit real cash?
Yes — over the last 3 fiscal years, 125% of lululemon athletica inc.'s reported profit arrived as operating cash. In FY26, operating cash was $1.6 B against reported profit of $1.6 B. The cash then goes mostly into building capacity. Cash-flow resolution is annual — as of 29 July 2026.
How financially safe is lululemon athletica inc.?
On the balance sheet, the Z-score reads 6.95 — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the distress zone. That sits well clear of trouble. — as of 29 July 2026.
Where is lululemon athletica inc. in its business cycle?
lululemon athletica inc.'s FY26 operating margin was 19.9%, against a 5-year band of 16.4%–23.7%: mid-band by its own history — neither the peak that precedes mean-reversion nor the trough that precedes recovery. The latest quarter ran 11.3%. Profitability versus a company's own long band is the cleanest cycle clock this page holds — as of 29 July 2026.
What could break the lululemon athletica inc. story?
The sharpest disagreement: annual EPS moved −9.4% against a −45.2% price move — the market has not yet caught up with the delivery. Mechanically, two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day average would end the price trend — that is the exit rule this page tracks — as of 29 July 2026.
Is lululemon athletica inc. a stock worth studying right now?
This is not investment advice. The machine read: lululemon athletica inc. is cheap for a reason. The P/E sits at the 4th percentile of its own range, and the quarters are still getting worse. The sharpest open question: whether the price catches up with earnings that have already moved. Every number on this page is drawn deterministically from the raw series, with no forecasts and no price opinions — as of 29 July 2026.