Orin
LULUNasdaq·Apparel - Retail

Lululemon Athletica Inc. LULU

Market cap $11.6BP/E 8.4× trailingGross margin 56.1%
$102.28
−1.45 (−1.40%)Wed close 16:00 ET
52-wk $95.35 – $225.98
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Orin's take
0.55conviction · moderate
Refreshed 23 Sep · take v7. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Lululemon remains a hold after Q2 FY2026 (ended 2026-08-02) delivered a massive EPS beat of $2.92 versus $1.79 estimated, yet revenue still declined 4.3% year-over-year to $2.42B — the first negative revenue print in the available quarterly data. The stock trades at just 10.0x trailing earnings and 1.25x sales as of 2026-09-22, well below its 200-day moving average of $148.63, but multiple securities fraud investigations announced on September 21–23, 2026 over disclosed growth issues add a fresh overhang on top of FY2025's 13% net income decline and operating margin compression to 19.9%.

The deeply discounted valuation and strong Q2 earnings surprise argue against selling, while deteriorating top-line momentum and legal uncertainty prevent a buy. We hold pending evidence that the revenue decline is stabilizing and that the fraud investigations lack substance.

What could go wrong

  • Securities fraud investigations. Multiple law firms (BFA Law, Pomerantz) announced investigations into Lululemon on Sept 21–23, 2026 regarding alleged false statements about growth and business health, creating legal and reputational overhang.
  • Revenue decline. Q2 FY2026 revenue fell 4.3% YoY to $2.42B, the first negative quarterly revenue print in the available data, following FY2025 revenue growth slowing to 4.9% from 10.1% in FY2024.
  • Margin compression. FY2025 operating margin compressed to 19.9% from 23.7% in FY2024, gross margin fell to 56.6% from 59.2%, and FCF margin dropped to 8.3% from 15.0%.
  • Weak institutional sentiment. Smart money score is near-zero at 0.0013 as of 2026-06-30 with fund count declining to 60 from 61 the prior quarter, and the stock trades 30% below its 200-day moving average.

What would change my mind

Revenue returns to growth. Q3 FY2026 or Q4 FY2026 quarterly revenue turns positive year-over-year, confirming the Q2 decline was transient rather than structural.bullish
Operating margin stabilization. Quarterly operating margin stops compressing and shows sequential improvement toward the FY2024 level of 23.7%.bullish
Further guidance cut. Management reduces full-year FY2026 revenue or EPS guidance below current consensus, signaling continued deterioration.bearish

Where this comes from: quarterly_results, quarter ended 2026-08-02 · earnings_surprises, period ended 2026-09-03 · peer_relative, as of 2026-09-22 · derived_metrics, fiscal year 2025. Orin's read on LULU; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$779.8M0.0% of fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$576.4M0.0% of fund
State Street$515.8M0.0% of fund
Geode Capital Management$337.9M0.0% of fund
Invesco$266.2M0.0% of fund
Morgan Stanley$184.8M0.0% of fund

83 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 93 Form 4 filings, net $35.3M. Of the 50 on hand, 3 were open-market purchases and 1 a sale— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Consumer Cyclical
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E8.4×39.4×79.6×
EV/EBITDA4.8×19.1×
P/S1.05×4.79×
P/B2.4×12.3×

Its P/E sits below all 5 of the last 5 years (−2.14σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

1.4%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $0.9B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

71 firms · 2026-09-23
Consensus target

$98

$70$115 · −5% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 27 buy or overweight
  • 37 hold
  • 7 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY15 39.5×FY26 13.5×

What its sector has traded at

Consumer Cyclical
FY14 393.1×FY26 81.0×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Every estimate on one scale

price $102.28
52-week range$95 – $226
Analyst targets$70 – $115
At own 5y-median P/E (39×)$480
At 5y P/E range (13–45×)$164 – $550
At sector P/E (80×)$969

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.