La-Z-Boy Incorporated saw its shares surge by as much as 20% in premarket trading on Wednesday after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that crushed analyst expectations. The furniture maker posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.26, a 37% year-over-year increase, blowing past the $0.82 consensus estimate. Revenue came in at $570 million, slightly above the $569 million Wall Street forecast.
CEO Melinda D. Whittington highlighted the company's momentum: "We continue to drive our own momentum and are playing offense, led by our retail business expansion." The retail segment's written sales rose 11%, and delivered sales increased 9% to $270 million. Adjusted operating margin expanded to 9.9% from 9.4% a year earlier. La-Z-Boy also announced a new $300 million share repurchase program, further boosting investor confidence.
Other notable premarket movers included SpaceX, which climbed 4% after investor Michael Burry confirmed he was not shorting the stock. ACM Research rose 9.6%, and Mercury Systems added 8.9%. On the downside, Lionsgate Studios fell 5% following a report that Netflix had no interest in acquiring the studio, and SOPHiA Genetics dropped 4% after pricing a discounted share offering.
In the broader financial landscape, S&P 500 futures inched up 0.12%, while Dow Jones futures were nearly flat. The main event for the day was the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, with investors widely expecting no change. Bitcoin was down 1.54% to $64,595 as crypto markets mirrored a cautious tone ahead of the announcement. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.441%, gold futures dipped 0.11%, and Brent crude oil rose 0.67%. Asian markets finished higher overnight, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 0.72% and China’s Shanghai Composite gaining 0.40%.
