Ralph Lauren Corporate Media Analysis Report

Ralph Lauren Corporation’s (NYSE: RL) third quarter fiscal 2025 results were released on Thursday, February 6, 2025. With the third quarter ending after the peak of the holiday season on December 28th, 2024, the results were above expectations. As reported in the 10-Q, Ralph Lauren’s third quarter net revenue increased 11% year-over-year at $2.1 billion with a better than expected holiday performance (Ralph Lauren, 2025). After the release of third-quarter results in February, Investopedia reported Ralph Lauren’s shares surging 13% setting an intraday record of $289.33 and becoming one of the biggest gainers in the S&P 500 on that day (Mcdade, 2025). After examining five articles on Ralph Lauren’s Q3 earnings, the analysts across outlets remained optimistic about the future of Ralph Lauren’s business and placement within the apparel industry. 

Within the Investor’s Business Daily, analyst Harrison Miller highlighted Ralph Lauren’s stock spiking to record highs and the luxury retailer outperforming expectations for Q3. This article focused on revenue based on regions and the increase in brick and mortar sales. Revenue from Europe was the highest compared to Asia and North America. In Europe, revenue rose 16% during the quarter, compared to Asia at 14% and North America at 7% (Miller, 2025). These findings are mirrored within Ralph Lauren’s 2025 Q3 earnings release published on February 6, 2025. The earnings release highlights Ralph Lauren’s winnings in key cities like Hong Kong and Beijing and global growth in the wholesale business (Ralph Lauren, 2025). CNBC’s analyst had similar remarks when analyzing Ralph Lauren’s stock in March 2025. Jim Cramer from CNBC provided a quick summary of Ralph Lauren’s success stating, “Ralph Lauren reported a fantastic quarter in early February not that long ago. Better than expected growth in every geography and rising gross margins. While the company saw better than expected consumer demand across all channels, the direct-to-consumer business had an increase in global store sales at 12%. That’s really impressive (Cramer, 2025).” Jim Cramer’s quote expresses great confidence in Ralph Lauren’s continued growth within multiple business channels. 

Prior to the third quarter 2025 results being released, Yahoo! Finance posted an article in December that spoke on Ralph Lauren’s placement within the apparel and accessory segment. The article provided insights into consumer trends, including the influence of social media in changing consumers’ shopping patterns. Ralph Lauren is adapting to consumer preferences by incorporating seamless shopping experiences across stores, mobile, and online (Strnad, 2024). The analyst’s observation of Ralph Lauren’s evolution into e-commerce is also reflected in Ralph Lauren’s earnings release. In the earnings release, the net revenue is broken down into brick and mortar and digital commerce. The digital commerce revenue has increased from the prior year across all regions with North America at 3%, Europe at 14%, and Asia at 29% (Ralph Lauren, 2025). As shown in Ralph Lauren’s earnings release, the company is being diligent in watching and recording the development in the digital commerce sector. 

While analysts are predominantly “bullish” surrounding Ralph Lauren’s brand, they consider Ralph Lauren’s women’s label performance to be “bearish.” The Nasdaq article written by Zacks Equity Research, an independent investment research firm, classified Ralph Lauren as a leader in the apparel industry. The article provided a brief overview of the change in quarterly earnings from year-to-year with $4.82 earnings per share on an adjusted basis in the most recent quarter (Q3), compared to Q2 at $4.17 earnings per share on an adjusted basis (Zacks Equity Research, 2025). After having a successful quarter in outperforming the market, the article highlighted Ralph Lauren’s “next steps.” Ralph Lauren continues to support their core business, menswear, while also investing in “high-potential categories” like women’s apparel, outerwear, and handbags (Ralph Lauren, 2025). However, according to Morningstar (2025), Ralph Lauren’s women’s label has struggled to reach young millennials who are soon to be 50% of the U.S. apparel market. This displays a discrepancy in the projected growth and expansion of Ralph Lauren’s non core categories. Ralph Lauren believes women’s apparel is the next step for the company, but analysts are seeing pitfalls within this expansion in the U.S.

Business media about Ralph Lauren remained positive through March 2025. Most recently, Yahoo! Finance posted an article titled “Why Ralph Lauren Is A Top Growth Stock For the Long-Term.” With Yahoo! Finance highlighting Ralph Lauren as a smart investment proves that analysts feel secure in Ralph Lauren’s continued strength and growth into 2025. A quote from the article reads, “Investors should take the time to consider RL for their portfolios due to its solid Zacks Rank rating, notable growth metrics, and impressive Growth and Value, Growth, and Momentum (Zacks Equity Research, 2025).” Analysts are confident in Ralph Lauren’s growth trajectory. Ralph Lauren’s 10-Q also speaks highly on Ralph Lauren’s future projects with the introduction of the Next Generation Transformation Project (Ralph Lauren, 2025). This project is a multi-year global initiative to transform the companies’ operations to pivot towards a global direct-to-consumer oriented model. The goal is to optimize inventory levels and increase the speed at which Ralph Lauren can react to changes in consumer demand across markets. Both external and internal perspectives of Ralph Lauren believe the company has a strong long-term strategy that ensures stability by evolving with the industry. 

Overall, Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) demonstrated a robust performance in the third quarter fiscal 2025 results, not only increasing growth internally from year-to-year, but also when compared against competitors. The sentiments expressed in the media generally align with Ralph Lauren’s excitement and concerns in the earnings release. The primary difference between the earnings release and media is the expected growth in the non core categories. According to Ralph Lauren’s earnings release (2025), the company’s success is due to 1.9 million new customer acquisitions, creation of 34 new owned and partnered stores, and key marketing moments like Ralph’s New York Holiday campaign and Polo red fragrance featuring F1 driver Lando Norris. The holiday season remains a vital period within the year to meet financial goals and Ralph Lauren achieved theirs (Ralph Lauren, 2025). It is impressive to see Ralph Lauren’s continued success within the fashion industry, but Ralph Lauren should be cautious about the instabilities of current U.S. tariff policies impacting the supply chain. As we look into the future, Ralph Lauren’s continued success is dependent on their execution of the Next Generation Transformation Project being able to navigate ongoing political policies.

*All content is for academic purposes only and in no way affiliated with Ralph Lauren*