Why Nu Skin Enterprises Stock Sold Out on Friday

The wellness and beauty company’s stock Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS -3.17%) didn’t look particularly fresh and pretty on the last trading day of the week. The stock lost more than 3% of its value on the day after the company released its second-quarter results. The rest of the stock market generally fared better, with S&P 500 the index posting a gain of just under 0.5%.

The second quarter results have been revealed

Shortly after the market closed on Thursday, Nu Skin released its second quarter numbers. Chief among those was revenue, which fell 12 percent year-over-year to just over $439 million. Non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) adjusted net income suffered a steeper decline, falling to $10.4 million ($0.21 per share) from a 2023 second-quarter profit of nearly $27 million.

Despite top- and bottom-line erosion, Nu Skin’s headline numbers came in comfortably ahead of consensus analyst estimates. On average, forecasters following the stock had modeled revenue of just $432 million and adjusted earnings per share of $0.17.

Management gave a positive spin on its performance, quoting CEO Ryan Napierski as saying, “As our core Nu Skin business continues to navigate the macroeconomic environment, we were encouraged by back-to-back gains in several of our markets, including the U.S. and most of Southeast Asia. /Pacific.”

Napierski also pointed out that Rhyz, its strategic investment arm, saw its business grow by 32% during the period. In total, the unit brought in nearly $68 million in the second quarter.

Quarterly earnings guidance is insufficient

However, as always, investors are more concerned with a stock’s future than its recent past. Nu Skin provided guidance for both the current quarter (third) and the full year 2024.

For the prior period, it expects revenue of $430 million to $465 million and adjusted earnings per share of $0.15 to $0.25. While the collective analyst estimate of nearly $460 million falls within the given range, the forecast for adjusted net income of $0.42 per share falls short.

For the full year 2024, Nu Skin anticipates $1.73-1.81 billion and $0.75-0.95 per share for adjusted net income.