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Investing.com – Williams-Sonoma stock (NYSE:WSM) surged in Thursday’s premarket trading as the home retailer revised its guidance for both the ongoing financial year and beyond, increased its quarterly dividend and expanded its buyback program.
The series of positive announcements followed the company’s second quarter results that had it beat estimates for both revenue and earnings.
Williams-Sonoma said its in-house design capability and digital-first policy worked well for it in the second quarter.
President and Chief Executive Officer Laura Alber said the company is benefiting from people prioritizing their homes and home décor, a shift felt by many retailers as more people work from home and look to soup it with all the office paraphernalia in the comfort of their own surroundings.
The CEO said there is no evidence of growth trends waning, and added that the company continues to grab market share.
William-Sonoma raised its outlook for net revenue growth in 2021 to around 20% from its forecast of a little over 10% given in May.
The home retailer also announced an additional 20% quarterly dividend increase to 71 cents per share, and approved a new $1.25 billion stock buyback, more than double the remaining capacity of the previous plan.
Revenue grew 31% to $1.94 billion with strong growth across all brands and channels. Diluted earnings per share came in at $3.21.
