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VB

Vera Bradley, Inc. (VRA)·Q3 2025 Earnings Summary

Executive Summary

  • Q3 2025 was a reset quarter amid “Project Restoration”: consolidated revenue fell to $80.6M and GAAP diluted EPS was ($0.46); non-GAAP diluted EPS was ($0.27), driven by steep declines in Vera Bradley Direct and Pura Vida and increased promotional activity at Pura Vida .
  • Management cut FY2025 outlook again: revenues to ~$385M, gross margin ~52.5%, SG&A ~$213M, operating loss ~($9)M, and diluted EPS ~($0.25) (effective tax ~8%); end-year cash guided to ~$35M, down from prior ~$50M and ~$410M revenue guide in Q2; this represents a material reset vs Q1’s initial $460–480M revenue and EPS $0.54–$0.62 guide .
  • Green shoots: Vera Bradley gross margin expanded 80 bps YoY in Q3; holiday assortment and lower discounting drove steady trend improvement into Q4, with Black Friday/Cyber week revenue modestly exceeding internal forecast at higher margins; brand awareness up 700 bps since 2021, with improved reach in 35–54 and higher-income cohorts .
  • Balance sheet/capital allocation: quarter-end cash fell to $13.7M with no debt; ~$5.3M buyback in Q3 and new $30M authorization approved; inventory at $131.3M; liquidity characterized as “approximately $89M” (ABL + cash) .
  • Street consensus from S&P Global was unavailable at time of analysis due to access limits; thus beat/miss vs estimates cannot be assessed (S&P Global data unavailable).

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

  • “We experienced a steady trendline improvement across the majority of our Vera Bradley direct-to-consumer channels in Q4… revenue modestly exceeding forecast over the Black Friday weekend through Cyber Monday week and at higher margins as discounting remained below prior year.”
  • “Vera Bradley’s gross margin expanded 80 basis points in Q3 from reduced liquidation and clearance mix.”
  • “Our first awareness increase since 2021, showing a 700-basis point increase in our Ipsos data… target 35–54 customers increased by 9 percentage points and higher income customer acquisition up 7 points.”

What Went Wrong

  • Vera Bradley Direct comparable sales declined 27.2% in Q3; total Direct revenue fell ~27% YoY to $52.5M, with outlet channel traffic/conversion challenges and a clearance migration shortfall that pressured sales .
  • Pura Vida revenue fell ~43% YoY to $10.1M; e-commerce headwinds from elevated acquisition costs and wholesale caution, resulting in a Q3 operating loss of ($2.7)M GAAP .
  • Q3 GAAP consolidated results deteriorated: operating loss ($10.5)M, net loss ($12.8)M, diluted EPS ($0.46); non-GAAP operating loss ($7.2)M and non-GAAP diluted EPS ($0.27) as mix/promotions weighed on margins and scale .

Financial Results

Quarterly Trend (GAAP)

MetricQ1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025
Net Revenues ($USD Millions)$80.603 $110.822 $80.578
Gross Profit ($USD Millions)$41.909 $56.361 $43.609
Gross Margin %52.0% 50.9% 54.1%
SG&A ($USD Millions)$53.781 $53.627 $54.220
Operating Income (Loss) ($USD Millions)($11.430) $2.872 ($10.474)
Net Income (Loss) ($USD Millions)($8.121) $5.706 ($12.800)
Diluted EPS ($USD)($0.26) $0.19 ($0.46)

Quarterly Trend (Non-GAAP selects)

MetricQ1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025
Non-GAAP SG&A ($USD Millions)$52.4 $52.2 $51.0
Non-GAAP Operating Income (Loss) ($USD Millions)($9.258) $4.340 ($7.212)
Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) ($USD Millions)($6.541) $3.892 ($7.521)
Non-GAAP Diluted EPS ($USD)($0.21) $0.13 ($0.27)

Q3 Year-over-Year and Sequential

MetricQ3 2024Q3 2025YoY ChangeQ2 2025Seq ChangeConsensusSurprise
Net Revenues ($USD Millions)$114.987 $80.578 (30.0%) $110.822 (27.3%) N/AN/A
Gross Profit ($USD Millions)$63.007 $43.609 (30.8%) $56.361 (22.6%) N/AN/A
Gross Margin %54.8% 54.1% (70 bps) 50.9% +320 bps N/AN/A
Operating Income (Loss) ($USD Millions)$6.786 ($10.474) Down $17.3M $2.872 Down $13.3M N/AN/A
Diluted EPS ($USD)$0.16 ($0.46) Down $0.62 $0.19 Down $0.65 N/AN/A

Segment Revenues

Segment Revenues ($USD Millions)Q1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025
Vera Bradley Direct$56.4 $72.2 $52.5
Vera Bradley Indirect$11.5 $21.8 $18.0
Pura Vida$12.7 $16.8 $10.1

Segment Operating Income (Loss)

Segment Operating ($USD Millions, GAAP)Q1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025
VB Direct$4.0 $13.433 $2.104
VB Indirect$3.8 $4.743 $6.068
Pura Vida($1.2) $0.089 ($2.711)

KPIs and Balance Sheet

KPIQ1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025
VB Direct Comparable Sales %(9.6%) (11.2%) (27.2%)
Cash & Equivalents ($USD Millions)$55.195 $44.147 $13.711
Inventory ($USD Millions)$125.180 $133.047 $131.314
Share Repurchases ($USD Millions, QTD)$6.3 $9.5 $5.3

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodPrevious GuidanceCurrent GuidanceChange
Consolidated Net RevenuesFY 2025$410M (Q2 update) $385M (Q3 update) Lowered
Consolidated Net RevenuesFY 2025$460–$480M (Q1 initial) $410M (Q2 update) Lowered
Gross Margin % (Non-GAAP)FY 2025~53% (Q2) ~52.5% (Q3) Lowered
SG&A Expense (Non-GAAP)FY 2025~$215M (Q2) ~$213M (Q3) Lowered
Operating Income (Loss) (Non-GAAP)FY 2025~$3M income (Q2) ~($9)M loss (Q3) Lowered
Diluted EPS (Non-GAAP)FY 2025~$0.10 (Q2; tax ~34%) ~($0.25) (Q3; tax ~8%) Lowered
Net Capital SpendingFY 2025~$13M (Q2) ~$13M (Q3) Maintained
End of Year CashFY 2025~$50M (Q2) ~$35M (Q3) Lowered

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious Mentions (Q-2 and Q-1)Current Period (Q3 2025)Trend
Project Restoration & Brand RepositioningQ2: Launch of elevated branding/product/site; validating assortment and attracting full-price customer; macro headwinds persisted . Q1: Preparing mid-July reintroduction; foundational work across consumer, brand, product, channel .Early “green shoots” in Q3 and into Q4; improved awareness (+700 bps), broader reach; selective lower discounting; holiday assortment resonating .Improving awareness/brand metrics; revenue still pressured.
Discounting & Value PropositionQ2: More promotional activity in Direct; liquidation sales in Indirect pressured gross margin .Pulled selective value pricing offers in November; higher margins with lower discounting; VB gross margin +80 bps YoY .Margin mix improving; demand elasticity still challenging.
Pura Vida Marketing CostsQ2: Elevated media costs; focus on marketing efficiency and diversification; revenue down .E-commerce acquisition costs remain a headwind; diversification continues; Disney Springs store opened “off to a great start” .Retail stores strong; digital headwind persists.
Channels & PartnersQ1: Add ~6 outlet locations, exit 4–6 underperformers; maintain brand-right wholesale . Q2: Urban Outfitters performance strong; liquidation in Indirect .Urban partnership expanded for holiday; promising partnership/collaboration discussions; outlet pricing tests .Mix shift toward partner/channel collaborations.
Inventory & SourcingQ2: Inventory $133.0M; strategic actions; one-time vendor costs .~ $10M inventory receipt accelerated into Q3; tighter SKU assortment and sourcing improvements; year-end inventory targeted ~5% below last year .Operational discipline increasing.
Store StrategyQ1: Full-line store footprint expansion over time; outlet optimization .New outlet stores opened late Q3; cautious approach to branded stores (Natick return); alignment with Simon/Tanger outlets .Disciplined footprint expansion.

Management Commentary

  • “We are seeing strong customer response to heritage prints, key giftable price point products and continued success in our elevated product offerings… marked improvement in our brand awareness and equity scores… broaden our reach with younger and higher income household consumers.” — CEO, Jacqueline Ardrey .
  • “Recognizing the need to address our value proposition, in November, we made the strategic decision to selectively pull value pricing offers… revenue modestly exceeding forecast over the Black Friday weekend through Cyber Monday week and at higher margins.” — CEO, Jacqueline Ardrey .
  • “Vera Bradley’s gross margin expanded 80 basis points in Q3 from reduced liquidation and clearance mix.” — CEO, Jacqueline Ardrey .
  • “We are very pleased with the sales performance of our new outlet stores to date… We think there’s great alignment with Simon Premium outlets.” — CFO, Michael Schwindle .
  • “Our first awareness increase since 2021, showing a 700-basis point increase… target demographic of 35–54-year-old customers increased by 9 percentage points, and… 7-point increase in higher income customer acquisition.” — CEO, Jacqueline Ardrey .

Q&A Highlights

  • Outlet and branded store strategy: Management sees continued opportunity in national outlet fleets (Simon/Tanger) and is cautious on branded store openings (e.g., returning to Natick), testing new operating models to improve performance .
  • New customer acquisition and collaborations: Focus on attracting younger, more affluent customers at lower discount levels; collaborations (e.g., Wicked, Disney IP, Urban Outfitters) are key traffic and margin drivers; expanding internal licensing and external partnerships .
  • Partnerships pipeline: Inbound interest from brands across categories has grown; management cannot yet disclose specifics but views this as a meaningful green shoot .
  • Guidance framing: Conservative outlook due to macro uncertainty and time to realize Project Restoration; sequential improvement expected in Q4 over Q3 .

Estimates Context

  • S&P Global consensus estimates for Q3 2025 EPS and revenue were unavailable at time of analysis due to access limits, so a beat/miss assessment cannot be provided. Street models likely require downward revisions given the magnitude of FY2025 guidance cuts (revenues from ~$410M to ~$385M; EPS from ~$0.10 to ~($0.25)), but we do not speculate without S&P data .
  • Values retrieved from S&P Global were unavailable; therefore, no consensus table is included.

Key Takeaways for Investors

  • Guidance reset is significant: FY2025 moved from small profit to a non-GAAP operating loss and negative EPS; focus near-term on cash trajectory (EoY cash now ~$35M) and inventory reductions to stabilize liquidity and working capital .
  • Watch Q4 trendline: Management flagged steady improvement and better margins with lower discounting; sequential revenue improvement expected in Q4 over Q3; track holiday sell-through and channel mix .
  • Margin quality vs. volume: VB margin improved 80 bps YoY in Q3 due to mix and reduced liquidation; sustaining margin gains amid weak comps is critical to the medium-term thesis .
  • Channel/partnership optionality: Urban Outfitters momentum and broader collaborations could accelerate brand awareness and customer acquisition without heavy discounting; look for disclosures on new deals .
  • Pura Vida digital headwinds: Elevated acquisition costs continue; retail stores outperform; monitor marketing diversification efficacy and store contribution vs. e-commerce drag .
  • Capital allocation discipline: Buybacks continued ($21.2M YTD in first nine months); new $30M authorization is a lever but will be balanced against cash position and macro; rights plan adoption in Oct 2024 suggests board intent to protect shareholder value in event of control attempts .
  • Medium-term: Execution on SKU discipline, sourcing improvements, and refined value proposition should reduce volatility and rebuild profitability; sustained brand metrics (awareness, equity scores) provide the foundation for recovery .