: Skechers stock rallies as international gains lift results above estimates

Shares of Skechers USA Inc. SKX rose 3.7% after hours on Thursday after the comfort-footwear maker reported second-quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates. Those results were helped by double-digit sales gains in Asia and Europe, as well as sales through the company’s own store and e-commerce network. Skechers reported net income of $152.8 million, or 98 cents a share, compared with $90.4 million, or 58 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. Sales rose 7.7% to $2.01 billion from $1.87 billion in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted for currency fluctuations, Skechers earned 97 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of 54 cents a share on sales of $1.92 billion. Management also said Skechers had slimmed down its stockpiles of unsold goods by 18.3%, when compared to the end of last year, after rising prices for basics last year cut into demand for things like shoes.

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