Urban Outfitters’ total company net sales for the year ended 31 January 2025 (FY25) was up 7.7% to $5.55bn and total retail segment saw net sales increase of 4.7%.
The company, which operates brands such as Anthropologie, Free People, FP Movement, Urban Outfitters, and Nuuly, posted a 10.1% increase in net sales, reaching $1.64bn for the three months ended 31 January 2025 (Q4 of FY25) compared to $1.48bn in the prior year.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The company’s retail segment saw a net sales boost of 6.3%, with comparable retail segment net sales up by 5.1%.
Growth in the retail segment was attributed to high single-digit growth in digital channel sales and low single-digit growth in retail store sales.
Notably, Anthropologie and Free People experienced a comparable retail segment net sales increase of 8.3% and 8.0%, respectively, while Urban Outfitters saw a decrease of 3.5%.
The wholesale segment reported a significant net sales rise of 26.2%, propelled by a 27% surge in Free People wholesale sales due to heightened demand from specialty customers and department stores.
Urban Outfitters chief executive officer Richard Hayne said: “We are pleased to announce record Q4 revenues and full-year profits. Our success was driven by strength across all three segments – retail, subscription and wholesale. We believe these results demonstrate the effectiveness of our strategic initiatives and give us confidence in URBN’s continued success.”
Urban Outfitters key metrics from Q4 FY25
During the fourth quarter of FY25, Urban Outfitters’ net income soared to $120.30m, a substantial leap from $47.75m in the corresponding period last year. Its earnings per diluted share (EPS) for the quarter followed suit, climbing to $1.28 from $0.50 in Q4 FY24.
The company’s gross profit rate improved by 304 basis points year-over-year, with gross profit dollars reaching $527.7m, up 21.5% from $434.2m in Q4 FY24.
The gross profit rate as a percentage of net sales also increased by 203 basis points when compared to the adjusted figures from the same period in the previous year.
Its selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses for the quarter rose by $31.9m or 8.6% compared to last year’s figures.
Urban Outfitters FY25 performance
In FY25 comparable retail segment net sales increased by 3.4%. This growth was driven by mid-single-digit growth in digital channel sales and low single-digit growth in retail store sales.
Free People led with an 8.9% increase in comparable retail segment net sales, followed by Anthropologie at 7.7%. However, Urban Outfitters experienced an 8.7% decline. The subscription segment witnessed a remarkable growth of 60.4%, while wholesale segment net sales went up by 15.5%, bolstered by a significant increase in Free People wholesale sales.
Net income for the fiscal year reached an all-time high of $402.46m with earnings per diluted share at $4.26.
Gross profit rate for the year improved by 142 basis points over the previous year, with gross profit dollars rising by 12.3% to $1.93bn from $1.72bn.
The company’s overall inventory swelled by $70.9m or 12.9%, with retail segment inventory up by 10.1% and wholesale segment inventory jumping by 43.7%.
Under its share repurchase programme authorised on 4 June 2019, Urban Outfitters repurchased and retired approximately 1.2m shares for around $52m during the 12 months ended 31 January 2025.
The company also expanded its physical presence by opening a total of 57 new retail locations including: 37 Free People stores, 13 Anthropologie stores, and seven Urban Outfitters stores. It shuttered a total of 30 locations over the fiscal.
