lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

The financial data over the examined period reveals notable fluctuations and trends in key performance metrics.

Return on Assets (ROA)

The ROA demonstrates variability with an initial decline from 19.67% in early 2020 to 14.07% in early 2021, suggesting reduced efficiency in asset utilization during that period. Subsequently, there is an upward trend with figures rising to 19.73% in early 2022, followed by a dip to 15.25% in early 2023. The most recent data points indicate a robust increase, reaching 21.86% and 23.87% in early 2024 and 2025, respectively. Overall, this reflects a recovery and improvement in asset profitability in the latter years.

Financial Leverage

This ratio remains relatively stable throughout the period, oscillating modestly between 1.64 and 1.8. The initial value of 1.68 in 2020 drops slightly to 1.64 in 2021, then rises to a peak of 1.8 in 2022 before settling around the mid-1.7 range in subsequent years. This stability suggests a consistent capital structure with no significant shifts in debt levels relative to equity.

Return on Equity (ROE)

ROE shows more pronounced fluctuations compared to financial leverage, indicating variable profitability from shareholders' equity. Starting at 33.07% in 2020, ROE declines sharply to 23.02% in 2021. A strong rebound follows, peaking at 35.6% in 2022, then falling again to 27.15% in 2023. The latest figures show significant gains, ascending to 36.63% in 2024 and further to 41.97% in 2025. These fluctuations, accompanied by strong rebounds, point to cyclical profitability influenced by underlying operational performance and possibly external factors impacting earnings.

In summary, asset efficiency and shareholder returns experienced periods of volatility but generally trend upward in the most recent years. The stable financial leverage suggests prudent management of debt, supporting enhanced returns on equity and assets. This pattern indicates improving operational effectiveness and profitability prospects moving forward.

Net Profit Margin

The net profit margin exhibited fluctuations over the observed periods. Starting at 16.22% in early 2020, it declined to 13.38% in early 2021, followed by a recovery to 15.59% in early 2022. A notable decrease occurred in early 2023 with the margin dropping to 10.54%, before a marked increase to 16.12% in early 2024 and further rising to 17.14% in early 2025. This suggests variability in profitability efficiency with a strong rebound in the most recent years.

Asset Turnover

The asset turnover ratio showed an overall upward trend with some variations. It began at 1.21 in early 2020, decreased to 1.05 in early 2021, then increased consistently to 1.27 in early 2022 and further to 1.45 in early 2023. A slight contraction to 1.36 occurred in early 2024, followed by a modest rise to 1.39 in early 2025. The increasing trend implies improved efficiency in utilizing assets to generate revenue over time.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage values remained relatively stable, fluctuating mildly within a narrow range. The ratio started at 1.68 in early 2020, decreased slightly to 1.64 in early 2021, then increased to a peak of 1.80 in early 2022. It decreased to 1.78 in early 2023, then dropped to 1.68 in early 2024, before rising again to 1.76 in early 2025. This indicates consistent moderate use of debt relative to equity throughout the period.

Return on Equity (ROE)

ROE showed significant variability and an overall positive trajectory. Beginning at 33.07% in early 2020, it declined to 23.02% in early 2021. It surged to 35.6% in early 2022, then decreased to 27.15% in early 2023. The ratio subsequently increased sharply to 36.63% in early 2024 and reached its highest point at 41.97% in early 2025. These changes reflect fluctuations in the company’s ability to generate profits from shareholders' equity, culminating in markedly improved performance in recent years.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio remained relatively stable over the years, fluctuating within a narrow range from 0.64 to 0.73. Notably, it reached its lowest point in the year ending January 29, 2023, before returning closer to previous levels in subsequent years, indicating slight variations in the effective tax rate impacting net income.

Interest Burden

The interest burden ratio consistently held steady at 1.00 across all periods, suggesting that the company effectively managed interest expenses with no observable impact on operating income before interest and taxes.

EBIT Margin

The EBIT margin showed volatility throughout the examined periods. It peaked initially at 22.55% in early 2020, declined to a low of 16.43% in early 2023, and then rebounded strongly to reach the highest recorded figure of 24.33% in early 2025. This fluctuation indicates variation in operational efficiency and profitability, with a significant recovery and improvement in recent years.

Asset Turnover

Asset turnover experienced an overall upward trend, starting at 1.21 in 2020 and increasing to 1.39 by 2025, albeit with some intermediate fluctuations. The peak value was 1.45 in early 2023. This trend indicates an improving efficiency in using assets to generate sales, with slight variations year to year.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage ratios varied moderately, from a low of 1.64 in early 2021 to a high of 1.80 in early 2022, and ending at 1.76 in 2025. This suggests the company maintained a relatively consistent level of debt financing throughout the years, with some increases in leverage primarily in the middle of the period considered.

Return on Equity (ROE)

Return on equity demonstrated significant fluctuations, with a low of 23.02% in 2021 and a high of 41.97% in 2025. The pattern shows a decline after 2020, followed by a recovery that surpassed previous levels by a considerable margin. This indicates an overall improvement in generating shareholder returns, likely driven by enhanced profitability and efficient asset use despite leverage variations.

Net Profit Margin

The net profit margin exhibited variability over the examined periods. It began at 16.22% in early 2020, declined to a low of 10.54% by early 2023, then rebounded sharply to 16.12% in early 2024, and further increased to 17.14% in early 2025. This trend suggests fluctuating profitability with a notable dip followed by recovery and improvement in recent years.

Asset Turnover

The asset turnover ratio showed an overall improving trend across the periods. Starting at 1.21 in early 2020, it decreased to 1.05 in early 2021, then steadily increased each subsequent year to reach 1.45 in early 2023. It experienced a slight decline to 1.36 in early 2024 but rose again to 1.39 in early 2025. This indicates progression in asset utilization efficiency over time, despite minor fluctuations.

Return on Assets (ROA)

ROA demonstrated a pattern of fluctuation similar to net profit margin but with an overall upward trajectory. From 19.67% in early 2020, it decreased to 14.07% in early 2021, surged to 19.73% in early 2022, dropped again to 15.25% in early 2023, and then showed substantial growth to 21.86% in early 2024 and 23.87% in early 2025. This reflects an improvement in generating profits from asset investments toward the latter periods.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio remained relatively stable over the periods, fluctuating narrowly between 0.64 and 0.73. The lowest value was observed in the fiscal year ending January 29, 2023 (0.64), indicating a temporary reduction in the tax rate or tax impact, followed by a rebound to levels closer to the earlier years in subsequent periods.

Interest Burden

This ratio consistently stayed at 1.0 throughout all periods, indicating the absence of interest expense impact on earnings before taxes during these years. This suggests the company maintained either no interest-bearing debt or effectively managed interest expenses to not reduce pre-tax income.

EBIT Margin

The EBIT margin showed considerable variability, starting at 22.55% in 2020, dipping to a low of 16.43% in 2023, and recovering strongly to 24.33% in 2025. This pattern suggests fluctuating operating profitability, with a notable margin compression in the 2022-2023 period followed by a robust improvement in the latest fiscal year.

Asset Turnover

The asset turnover ratio exhibited a generally rising trend with some fluctuations. It started at 1.21 in 2020, decreased to 1.05 in 2021, then increased gradually to 1.45 by 2023, before slightly declining and stabilizing around 1.39 in 2025. This indicates enhanced efficiency in utilizing assets to generate sales, despite minor year-to-year variance.

Return on Assets (ROA)

ROA displayed a pattern closely linked to the trends seen in EBIT margin and asset turnover. Starting at 19.67% in 2020, it declined to a low of 14.07% in 2021, then rose and fell in subsequent years, reaching a peak of 23.87% by 2025. This oscillation reflects the combined effects of changing profitability and asset efficiency, culminating in improved overall asset returns in the most recent period.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio remained relatively stable over the periods analyzed, fluctuating slightly between 0.64 and 0.73. Notably, there was a decrease to 0.64 in the period ending January 29, 2023, followed by a recovery to around 0.70 in the subsequent periods.

Interest Burden

The interest burden ratio consistently held steady at 1 across all periods, indicating no interest expense impact on operating earnings during the timeframe.

EBIT Margin

The EBIT margin exhibited variability, starting at 22.55% in early 2020, decreasing to 16.43% by January 29, 2023, and then improving sharply to 24.33% by February 2, 2025. This pattern suggests periods of margin contraction followed by recovery, with the most recent period showing the highest EBIT margin in the series.

Net Profit Margin

The net profit margin followed a similar trend to the EBIT margin, beginning at 16.22% in 2020, declining to a low of 10.54% in early 2023, and subsequently rising to 17.14% in the latest period. This indicates an initial erosion of net profitability before a notable improvement.