Lulus Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
LVLU
Published on 05/13/2026 at 04:06 pm EDT
Net Loss Improves by $3.9 Million in Q1’26 vs Q1’25 Underscoring Continued Operational and Financial Momentum
Gross Margin increased 480 basis points in Q1’26 vs Q1’25
Reduced Total Debt by $1.1M and Net Debt by $5.8M During Q1’26
CHICO, Calif., May 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lulu’s Fashion Lounge Holdings, Inc. (“Lulus” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: LVLU) today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 29, 2026 and reaffirmed its financial outlook for the fiscal year ending January 3, 2027.
Crystal Landsem, CEO of Lulus, said:
“Our first quarter results reflect continued progress in strengthening the foundation of the business, even as we took deliberate strategic actions to re-position our assortment as we move into our peak selling periods. During the quarter, we prioritized higher quality demand and disciplined order economics, while more aggressively resetting our casual apparel and footwear assortments to better align with customer demand and margin objectives. As expected, these actions resulted in softer top-line results on a sequential basis, however, gross margins expanded by 480 basis points and Adjusted EBITDA improved by $3.1 million year-over-year, supported by our improved assortment strategy, leaner cost structure, and ongoing optimization efforts. Furthermore, our wholesale revenue doubled year-over-year, highlighting the strong engagement and meaningful opportunity we see in the near- and long-term to expand our footprint and put Lulus in the hands of more consumers nationwide.”
“With a more focused assortment, continued emphasis on higher-margin event-driven categories while the casual apparel and footwear reset are underway, and a strengthened balance sheet—including a $5.8 million reduction in Net Debt—we are confident in extending our momentum and driving improved profitability, cash generation, and customer engagement throughout the year.”
First Quarter 2026 Highlights:
Note: “*” represents a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Other Operating Metrics” section below for definitions of these metrics.
Heidi Crane, CFO of Lulus, said:
“As we move through 2026, we are prioritizing profitability by advancing margin optimization efforts, a tighter and higher-margin assortment strategy, and continued execution of our sourcing, SKU rationalization and cost reduction initiatives. While our targeted assortment reset in the first quarter weighed on Adjusted EBITDA performance during the period as anticipated, we drove significant improvement in our margin profile and bottom-line results year-over-year, setting the stage for improved performance throughout the year. We expect Adjusted EBITDA to return to positive in the second quarter and remain confident in our ability to achieve positive Adjusted EBITDA for the full year, while continuing to strengthen cash generation and our balance sheet. Notably, during the first quarter, we reduced total debt and Net Debt by $1.1 million and $5.8 million respectively, further strengthening our financial position.”
2026 Financial Outlook:
We are reaffirming our outlook for the full year fiscal 2026:
For the second quarter 2026, we expect positive Adjusted EBITDA that outperforms results for the same period of last year.
Forecasting future results or trends is inherently difficult for any business, and actual results or trends may differ materially from those forecasted. Lulus’ outlook is based on current indications for its business. Lulus’ outlook factors in our current best estimates for anticipated headwinds, including those related to the level of tariffs, consumer demand, spending and returns by our customers, macroeconomic uncertainties, inflation, supply chain pressures, shipping and fuel costs, and the intended impact of our business initiatives in 2026 and cost-reduction measures. Given the volatile nature of current consumer demand and potential for further impacts to consumer behavior due to macroeconomic factors, including continued inflation, higher interest rates, the federal government shutdown, student loan repayment resumption, global political changes, including as a result of tariffs or bans, existing and future laws, regulations, and directives (including executive orders), as well as other world events, wars, and domestic and international conflicts that affect overall consumer confidence and the predictability of consumer purchasing behavior, Lulus’ financial outlook is subject to change.
Webcast & Conference Call Information
The Company will host a conference call and live webcast with the investment community at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time today, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, to discuss its first quarter 2026 financial results. The live webcast will be accessible through the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at https://investors.lulus.com/. To access the call through a conference line, dial 1-877-407-0792 (in the U.S.) or 1-201-689-8263 (international callers). A replay of the conference call will be posted shortly after the call and will be available for seven days following the call. To access the replay, dial 1-844-512-2921 (in the U.S.) or 1-412-317-6671 (international callers). The access code for the replay is 13759804.
About Lulus
Headquartered in California, but serving millions of customers worldwide, Lulus is a women’s clothing brand offering modern, feminine styles at accessible prices for every occasion. Our goal is to make every customer feel their most confident and beautiful for the moments that matter most. Founded in 1996 and delivering fresh styles almost every day, Lulus uses direct customer feedback and insights to refine product offerings and elevate the customer experience. Lulus’ world-class personal stylists, bridal concierge, and customer care team provide thoughtful, personalized service to shoppers around the world. Follow @lulus on Instagram and @lulus on TikTok. Lulus is a registered trademark of Lulu’s Fashion Lounge, LLC. All rights reserved.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical or current fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements regarding our strategic priorities, business initiatives, demand trends, opportunities for long-term growth, and our financial outlook for the fiscal second quarter ending June 28, 2026 and fiscal year ending January 3, 2027. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause Lulus’ actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the risk factors discussed in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in Lulus’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2025 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While Lulus may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by law, even if subsequent events cause its views to change.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Other Operating Metrics
To supplement our condensed consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), we reference in this press release and the accompanying tables the following non-GAAP financial measures: Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Net Debt and Free Cash Flow. The presentation of this non-GAAP financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, and our non-GAAP measures may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. We use these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. Our management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance and liquidity by excluding certain expenses that may not be indicative of our ongoing core operating performance. We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our performance and when analyzing historical performance and liquidity and when planning, forecasting, and analyzing future periods. For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP measures, please see the tables captioned “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” included at the end of this release. Definitions of our non-GAAP financial measures and other operating metrics are presented below. We also use certain key operating metrics, including Gross Margin, Active Customers, and Average Order Value.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as net income (loss) before interest expense, income taxes or benefit, depreciation and amortization, adjusted to exclude the effects of equity-based compensation expense, goodwill impairment and other non-routine expenses. Adjusted EBITDA is a key measure used by management to evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. In particular, the exclusion of certain expenses in calculating Adjusted EBITDA facilitates operating performance comparisons on a period-to-period basis and, in the case of exclusion of the impact of equity-based compensation, excludes items that we do not consider to be indicative of our core operating performance.
Adjusted EBITDA Margin
Adjusted EBITDA Margin is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as Adjusted EBITDA (as defined above) as a percentage of our net revenue.
Active Customers
We define Active Customers as the number of customers who have made at least one purchase across our platform in the prior 12-month period. Active Customer count is measured as of the last day of the relevant period. We consider the number of Active Customers to be a key performance metric on the basis that it is directly related to consumer awareness of our brand, our ability to attract visitors to our digital platform, and our ability to convert visitors to paying customers. Active Customer counts are based on deduplication logic using customer account and guest checkout name, address, and email information.
Average Order Value
We define Average Order Value (“AOV”) as the sum of the total gross sales before returns across our platform in a given period, plus shipping revenue, less discounts and markdowns, divided by the Total Orders Placed (as defined below) in that period. AOV reflects the average basket size of our customers. AOV may fluctuate as we continue investing in the development and introduction of new Lulus merchandise and as a result of our promotional discount activity.
Free Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less cash used for capitalized software development costs and purchases of property and equipment. We view Free Cash Flow as an important indicator of our liquidity because it measures the amount of cash we generate.
Gross Margin
We define Gross Margin as gross profit as a percentage of our net revenue. Gross profit is equal to our net revenue less cost of revenue. Certain of our competitors and other retailers may report cost of revenue differently than we do. As a result, the reporting of our gross profit and Gross Margin may not be comparable to other companies.
Net Debt
Net Debt is a non-GAAP financial measure that is defined as total debt, which currently consists of borrowings under the Company’s 2025 credit agreement with White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC, as amended, less cash and cash equivalents. We consider Net Debt to be an important supplemental measure of our financial position, which allows us to analyze our leverage.
Total Orders Placed
We define Total Orders Placed as the number of customer orders placed across our platform during a particular period. An order is counted on the day the customer places the order. We do not adjust the number of Total Orders Placed for any cancellation or return that may have occurred subsequent to a customer placing an order. Total Orders Placed, together with AOV, is an indicator of the net revenue we expect to generate in a particular period.
Note: Refer to “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Other Operating Metrics” section above for definitions of these metrics.
A reconciliation to non-GAAP Net Debt from total debt as of March 29, 2026 and December 28, 2025 is as follows:
A reconciliation to non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin from net loss and net loss margin for the thirteen weeks ended March 29, 2026 and March 30, 2025 is as follows:
A reconciliation to non-GAAP Free Cash Flow from net cash provided by operating activities for the thirteen weeks ended March 29, 2026 and March 30, 2025 is as follows:
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