Victoria’s Secret store in New York.
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
Victoria’s Secret topped expectations during its holiday quarter and forecast a better-than-expected year for sales growth on Thursday as CEO Hillary Super’s turnaround plan continues to resonate with shoppers.
The legacy bra and underwear company beat Wall Street’s expectations on both the top and bottom lines and issued guidance that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations.
For the current quarter, Victoria’s Secret is projecting sales to be between $1.49 billion and $1.53 billion, ahead of estimates of $1.42 billion. For the full year, it’s expecting that momentum to continue and anticipates sales will be between $6.85 billion and $6.95 billion, exceeding expectations of $6.8 billion.
“In the quarter, our customer responded enthusiastically to our product and marketing, as demonstrated by growing new customer acquisition and increased [average until retails],” Super said in a statement. “Our 2025 results reflect the progress we have made against our Path to Potential strategy as we build brand heat and powerful connections with our customers around the world.”
Here’s how the retailer performed in its fiscal fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $2.77 adjusted vs. $2.52 expected
- Revenue: $2.27 billion vs. $2.23 billion expected
Despite the strong results and guidance, Victoria’s Secret shares dropped more than 10% in midday trading Thursday.
The company’s net income for the three-month period that ended Jan. 31 was $183.63 million, or $2.14 per share, compared with $193.4 million, or $2.33 per share, a year earlier. Excluding impairment charges related to its Adore Me assets, restructuring charges and other one-time expenses, Victoria’s Secret’s adjusted net income was $238 million, or $2.77 per share.
Sales rose to $2.27 billion, up about 8% from $2.11 billion a year earlier.
Pink brand clothes for sale at a Victoria’s Secret store on Fifth Avenue in New York, US, on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Since taking over as Victoria’s Secret’s top executive about a year and a half ago, Super has worked to reignite sales growth and profitability by changing the way the company markets to shoppers, doubling down on its $1 billion beauty business, recommitting to its 2000s-era Pink line and reasserting its command of the bra category. A year later, the strategy is showing sustained signs of progress.
Comparable sales have grown for three quarters in a row now, including during its most recent quarter where comps spiked by 8%, better than the 5.6% uptick analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount. It’s the longest period of sustained comparable sales growth in at least four years, according to metrics from FactSet.
Since it was spun off from its former parent company L Brands in 2021, Victoria’s Secret has until recently, tried unsuccessfully to regain its relevance with consumers. Its focus on ultra-sexy styles over comfortable and practical undergarments, paired with out of touch marketing, pushed shoppers to emerging disruptors and other legacy competitors, leading to a decline in market share.
It acquired digital upstart Adore Me in 2022 as a way to meet a wider range of shoppers and body types through the brand’s focus on inclusive sizing and a range of lingerie styles that span from sexy to comfortable. But the acquisition wasn’t enough to get Victoria’s Secret back to sustained growth.
During the quarter, the company took $119.6 million in impairment charges related to Adore Me and also said it was initiating a “strategic review” of DailyLook, a brand acquired through the Adore Me transaction. Strategic reviews often include finding a buyer willing to acquire the brand.
