It looks like Oprah Winfrey might be the new Queen of Wall Street. On August 4, in morning trade, Weight Watchers International (NYSE:$WTW) increased 25%. Why? The increase occurred after the diet company posted better-than-expected Q2 results.
Let’s take a look at those numbers:
For the second quarter, Weight Watchers reported earnings of $0.67. This is significant, as the company surpassed the Nasdaq consensus estimate of $0.50 per share. Additionally, Weight Watchers posted revenue of $341.7 million, which represents an increase of 12% year-over-year.
Further, Weight Watchers saw its subscriber number increase 20% year-over-year to 3.5 million. Also, total paid weeks increased, with meeting paid weeks rising 9.7% and online paid weeks growing 22.6% year-over-year.
The New York City-based company increased its 2017 guidance to between the $1.57 to $1.67 range, up from the prior guidance of $1.40 to $1.50.
Going back to Oprah Winfrey, Weight Watchers CEO Mindy Grossman said the company’s partnership with Winfrey played a defining role in their growth. During Thursday’s Q2 conference call, Grossman said the following: “Winfrey has certainly accelerated the company’s progress since October 2015 with high awareness of her success and happiness with the program sparking interest and excitement.”
For those who don’t know, Winfrey, who has been in the public eye for years, purchased a 10% stake of the company in 2015. Since that day, Weight Watchers stock has gone from $6 a piece to $33.08 at yesterday’s close. On the call, Grossman said, “I’m personally looking forward to partnering with her as we transform the brand and business.”
As of right now, Weight Watchers has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), with a VGM score of ‘A’.
Featured Image: twitter
