Guess? Plans Restructuring Strategy To Fuel Profits, Seeks Local Partner For China Operations

Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) shares are trading lower on Friday.

Yesterday, the company reported fourth-quarter results, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.48, beating the street view of $1.38. Quarterly sales of $932.25 million (up 5% year over year and 9% in constant currency) outpaced the analyst consensus estimate of $907.75 million.

Adjusted operating margin decreased 3.2% to 11.4%, from 14.6% for the same prior-year quarter, driven primarily by higher expenses, higher advertising expenses and store costs, and the impact of newly acquired businesses, partially offset by lower performance-based compensation.

Restructuring Plans: The company’s CEO, Carlos Alberini, said Guess? is sharpening its focus on boosting global direct-to-consumer sales productivity and enhancing profitability by streamlining its business operations and portfolio.

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As part of this strategy, the company plans to transition its long-standing direct operations in Greater China to a local partner with strong market experience, noting that discussions with several potential candidates are already underway and the transition is expected to be finalized before the fiscal year ends.

In North America, the company sees room to optimize its Guess full-price store network by closing underperforming and non-strategic locations, while also cutting costs through infrastructure consolidation.

These strategic shifts, factored into the company's fiscal 2026 outlook, are expected to deliver approximately $30 million in operating profit improvements by fiscal 2027.

Guess? also announced that Alberto Toni has been appointed as its Chief Financial Officer, effective following the filing of the company’s next Quarterly Report, which is expected to be filed by mid-June.

Toni, who will be based in Lugano, Switzerland, will succeed Interim Chief Financial Officer Dennis Secor.

Outlook: For the first quarter of fiscal 2026, the company projects adjusted diluted loss in the range of 65 cents to 74 cents per share (estimate: 23 cents loss per share).

For FY26, the company projects adjusted EPS of $1.32 to $1.76 (estimate: $2.02).

Alberini concluded, “As we enter fiscal year 2026, we are excited about our growth opportunities for our core Guess business, our recently launched Guess Jeans brand and our just acquired rag & bone business.”

Price Action: GES shares are trading lower by 4.95% to $9.544 at last check Friday.

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