Williams-Sonoma, Inc. announces a 20% quarterly dividend increase and a new $1.25 billion stock repurchase authorization
August 25 2021 - 4:16PM
Business Wire
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) announced today that its Board
of Directors has authorized a 20.3% increase in the company’s
quarterly cash dividend to $0.71 per share. The quarterly dividend
is payable on November 26, 2021 to stockholders of record as of the
close of business on October 22, 2021. The Board of Directors also
approved a new $1.25 billion stock repurchase authorization, which
supersedes the approximately $560 million, which remains
outstanding under the company’s current stock repurchase
authorization.
“Our decisions to increase our quarterly dividend again and to
approve a new $1.25 billion share buyback authorization reflect the
strength of our business and financial position, and our commitment
to maximizing returns for our shareholders,” said Laura Alber,
President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our strong performance
reinforces the sustainable power of our key differentiators: our
in-house design, our digital-first channel strategy and our values.
Combined with our winning positioning in a growing but fragmented
industry, and our incremental growth initiatives, we are more
confident than ever in our ability to deliver outsized returns into
the future.”
This new stock repurchase authorization is effective as of
August 25, 2021, and results in $1.25 billion available for future
repurchases under the company’s stock repurchase authorization. The
company’s stock repurchase program authorizes the purchase of the
company’s common stock through open market and privately negotiated
transactions, including through Rule 10b5-1 plans, at such times
and in such amounts as management deems appropriate. The timing and
actual number of shares repurchased will depend on a variety of
factors, including price, corporate and regulatory requirements,
capital availability and other market conditions. The stock
repurchase program does not have an expiration date and may be
limited or terminated at any time without prior notice.
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if
they do not fully materialize or are proven incorrect, could cause
our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements
include statements relating to: our quarterly cash dividend; our
stock repurchase program; our commitment to return capital to
stockholders and maximize stockholder returns; and our long-term
outlook.
The risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements include: continuing changes in general
economic conditions, and the impact on consumer confidence and
consumer spending; new interpretations of or changes to current
accounting rules; our ability to anticipate consumer preferences
and buying trends; dependence on timely introduction and customer
acceptance of our merchandise; changes in consumer spending based
on weather, political, competitive and other conditions beyond our
control; delays in store openings; competition from companies with
concepts or products similar to ours; timely and effective sourcing
of merchandise from our foreign and domestic vendors and delivery
of merchandise through our supply chain to our stores and
customers; effective inventory management; our ability to manage
customer returns; successful catalog management, including timing,
sizing and merchandising; uncertainties in e-marketing,
infrastructure and regulation; multi-channel and multi-brand
complexities; our ability to introduce new brands and brand
extensions; challenges associated with our increasing global
presence; dependence on external funding sources for operating
capital; disruptions in the financial markets; our ability to
control employment, occupancy and other operating costs; our
ability to improve our systems and processes; changes to our
information technology infrastructure; general political, economic
and market conditions and events, including war, conflict or acts
of terrorism; the impact of recently enacted and potential future
tariffs; the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our
business, supply chain and consumer demand; and our ability to
mitigate impacts and other risks and uncertainties described more
fully in our public announcements, reports to stockholders and
other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our current reports on Form 8-K.
All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on
information available to us as of the date hereof, and we assume no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
ABOUT WILLIAMS-SONOMA,
INC.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is the world’s largest digital-first,
design-led and sustainable home retailer. The company’s products,
representing distinct merchandise strategies — Williams Sonoma,
Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm,
Williams Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, and Mark and Graham — are
marketed through e-commerce websites, direct-mail catalogs and
retail stores. These brands are also part of The Key Rewards, our
free-to-join loyalty program that offers members exclusive benefits
across the Williams-Sonoma family of brands. We operate in the
U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, offer
international shipping to customers worldwide, and have
unaffiliated franchisees that operate stores in the Middle East,
the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea and India, as well as
e-commerce websites in certain locations. We are also proud to lead
the industry with our Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”)
efforts. Our company is Good By Design — we’ve deeply engrained
sustainability into our business. From our factories to your home,
we’re united in a shared purpose to care for our people and our
planet.
For more information on our ESG efforts, please visit:
https://sustainability.williams-sonomainc.com/
WSM-DIV
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Julie Whalen EVP, Chief
Financial Officer (415) 616-8524
Brian Yee SVP Treasury – Corporate Finance (415) 402-4085
Williams Sonoma (NYSE:WSM)
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