BBWI Stock Draws Investor Cheer After Upbeat Q1 – But CEO Says Performance Remains Below What The Brand Is Capable Of Delivering

• The company maintained its full-year 2026 guidance with net sales expected to decline between 4.5% and 2.5%.
• Bath & Body Works Chief Financial Officer Eva Boratto will step down effective June 12 to pursue another professional opportunity.
• The company also expects 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.40 to $2.65 per share and free cash flow of about $600 million.

Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) rose over 10% premarket on Wednesday after the company reported a strong quarter, but the specialty retailer's chief indicated that performance remains below what the brand should deliver.

Bath & Body Works reported first-quarter (Q1) net sales of $1.4 billion, beating Wall Street Expectations of $1.36 billion, while adjusted net earnings of $0.32 per share surpassed analysts’ estimate of $0.29, according to the Koyfin data.

Despite the Q1 beat, Daniel Heaf, chief executive officer at Bath & Body Works, said, “Our first-quarter results exceeded guidance, but remain below the standard our brand is capable of delivering.”

Heaf also added that the company has been bolstering its hero categories, modernizing the brand, and expanding its reach. These efforts have begun to resonate with its customers, and the company has seen early proof points as a result.

“We believe that the foundation we are building will drive improved performance over time, with the impact expected to build through the balance of 2026 and more meaningfully into 2027,” said Heaf.

BBWI Reiterates 2026 Guidance

Bath & Body Works maintained its full-year 2026 guidance, with net sales expected to decline between 4.5% and 2.5% compared to $7.29 billion in fiscal 2025.

The company also expects 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.40 to $2.65 per share and free cash flow of about $600 million. Bath & Body Works did not assume share repurchases or tariff refunds for its guidance projections. 

For the second quarter, the company forecasts net sales to decline between 3% and 5% and earnings of $0.20 to $0.25 per share.

BBWI CFO Departure

The company also announced that Chief Financial Officer Eva Boratto will step down effective June 12 to pursue another professional opportunity.

Tom Javitch, a 16-year veteran of Bath & Body Works and former L Brands finance leader, has been appointed interim CFO while the company looks for a new CFO through a leading executive search firm.

What Retail Thinks Of BBWI

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment surrounding the stock has improved to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’, while message volume stayed ‘high‘ over the past 24 hours.

Shares of Bath & Body Works have declined more than 14% so far this year.

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