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Signet Jewelers (SIG), the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, is sparkling today after reporting upside Q4 results and providing better-than-feared guidance for 1Q26 and FY26. After SIG issued weak Q4 guidance in mid-January, reflecting disappointing holiday sales, the stock really lost its luster with shares sinking to multi-year lows last week. Against these downbeat expectations and mounting growth concerns due to the soft consumer spending environment, the company surprisingly surpassed Q4 EPS and comp estimates, driven by an upswing in sales for January.

• When SIG lowered its Q4 revenue and same store sales outlook in January, the company noted that consumers were gravitating towards lower price points more than it had anticipated. This caused comps to decline by -2% during the holiday season, leading SIG to lower its Q4 comp outlook to -2.0% to -2.5%. Since the holiday season, though, SIG increased the depth of its assortment at key price points, and it also benefited from improved bridal trends.
• Consequently, Q4 comps came in at -1.1%, comfortably beating the downwardly revised forecast. More importantly, recently appointed CEO J.K. Symancyk commented that the positive trends SIG witnessed in January have continued into 1Q26 with growth seen across all categories. This bullish trend is evident in SIG's upside Q1 guidance for comps of +2.0% and adjusted EBITDA of $94-$106 mln.
• Mr. Symancyk, who was named as CEO last September and formerly served as CEO of PetSmart, also initiated a transformation strategy called "Grow Brand Love." The initiative will lean on new product styles and designs to drive and accelerate growth in the self-purchase and gifting categories, while expanding its leadership position in bridal. Additionally, SIG will focus on optimizing its real estate footprint by transitioning over 10% of its mall locations to off-mall. Expanding the e-Commerce channel will remain a priority as well,
• One main blemish is that SIG's FY26 EPS, revenue, and same store sales guidance was below expectations at the midpoint of their respective ranges. The conservative outlook is a function of SIG assuming that the measured consumer spending environment continues in FY26. 

After experiencing a disappointing holiday season, sales began to improve in January and SIG is seeing those positive trends continue into Q1, particularly for the bridal market, leading to a strong forecast for the current quarter.