VF Corp., parent apparel company of brands such Vans and Wrangler, saw its stock drop 10.8 percent Friday near close after missing fourth quarter analyst expectations and seeing a huge earnings loss due to changes in the U.S. tax code.
The Greensboro-based company reported a net loss of $90.3 million, or 23 cents per share, compared to net income of $264.3 million, or 63 cents per share in the same quarter a year ago.
That loss primarily resulted from a provision in the new U.S. tax code requiring companies to pay a tax for historical offshore earnings that have not yet been converted into U.S. currency.
Excluding the effects of the new tax bill, VF still produced disappointing results. Earnings came out to $1.01 per share, which fell short 1 cent of what analysts predicted. Revenue for the quarter were also off the mark at $3.65 billion, missing analyst expectations by $10 million.
“I am confident that our investments will accelerate growth and drive even stronger long term value for shareholders,” said Chief Executive Officer Steve Rendle in a statement. “We remain in the early phase of a multi-year journey to become a purpose led, agile, consumer centric organization. I am pleased with our early progress and look forward to building on our momentum in 2018.”
The company also predicted first quarter sales of $2.9 billion, below analyst predictions by $50 million.
VF also announced the decision to sell its well-known brand Nautica. The move came after a year of the company selling all licensing brands it owned, including JanSport and Majestic. These discontinued operations led to a $17.3 million loss for the quarter.
All these factors led VF’s stock to drop over 9 points Friday to $74.85. That stock has seen consistent growth over the last month.
The filing can be found here.

