lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio

The price to earnings ratio experienced a significant increase from 40.49 in February 2020 to a peak of 70.19 in January 2021, indicating heightened market expectations or increased investor optimism during that period. Following this peak, there was a decline to 45.11 in January 2022, and the ratio remained relatively stable around the mid-40s through January 2023. Subsequently, it declined more notably to 38.92 in January 2024 and further decreased to 22.71 by February 2025, suggesting a moderation in valuation relative to earnings or a potential adjustment reflecting changes in earnings performance or market sentiment.

Price to Operating Profit (P/OP) Ratio

The price to operating profit ratio showed a similar trend, rising sharply from 29.4 in February 2020 to a high of 50.41 in January 2021. It then dropped to 33 in January 2022 and continued to gradually decline to 30.66 in January 2023. The downward trend persisted into January 2024 and February 2025, reaching 28.29 and then a low of 16.44, respectively. This indicates a decreasing premium being placed on operating profits over time, possibly reflecting a reassessment of operational efficiency or profitability outlook.

Price to Sales (P/S) Ratio

The price to sales ratio rose sharply from 6.57 in February 2020 to 9.39 in January 2021, marking a period of elevated valuation relative to sales. Thereafter, a consistent decline took place, dropping to 7.03 in January 2022 and continuing to 5.02 in January 2023, which may indicate a correction in market valuation. The ratio saw a slight increase to 6.27 in January 2024 before falling again to 3.89 by February 2025, pointing to a more conservative valuation approach relative to sales toward the end of the period analyzed.

Price to Book Value (P/BV) Ratio

The price to book value ratio increased from 13.39 in February 2020 to a peak of 16.16 in January 2021, remaining relatively steady around that level through January 2022. A decline followed to 12.94 in January 2023, then a modest increase to 14.26 in January 2024. The ratio declined once more to 9.53 by February 2025. This pattern suggests fluctuating market confidence in the company’s net asset value, with a general downward trend in valuation multiples relative to book value over the long term.

Share Price

The share price exhibited a general upward trend from 2020 to 2024, increasing significantly from $200.8 in February 2020 to a peak of $478.84 in January 2024. However, in the latest period ending February 2025, the share price declined to $341.53, suggesting some volatility after the peak. Overall, the price more than doubled over the five-year span, indicating strong market interest despite recent corrections.

Earnings Per Share (EPS)

EPS showed a fluctuating but overall strong growth trajectory. Starting at $4.96 in 2020, it dipped slightly in 2021 to $4.52, then rose sharply to $7.62 in 2022. After a slight decline to $6.72 in 2023, EPS increased markedly in the last two years, reaching $12.30 in 2024 and $15.04 in 2025. This indicates increasing profitability and improving earnings quality over the period.

Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio

The P/E ratio demonstrated variability, with significant elevation in 2021 at 70.19, reflecting higher market expectations or a potential overvaluation compared to earnings. The ratio declined in subsequent years, moving to 45.11 in 2022 and stabilizing around the mid-40s in 2023. Notably, the P/E ratio dropped further to 38.92 in 2024 and declined sharply to 22.71 in 2025. This decreasing trend in the P/E ratio, alongside rising EPS, suggests that the stock became more reasonably valued relative to earnings in the last periods, potentially indicating moderated market optimism or improved earnings performance reducing valuation multiples.

Overall Trends and Insights

The financial data reveals strong EPS growth and a substantial increase in share price over the five-year span, though with notable volatility in the latter periods. The decreasing P/E ratio in combination with rising EPS suggests enhanced earnings performance outpacing share price gains in recent years, leading to a more balanced valuation. The peak in share price followed by a decline may indicate market adjustments to earlier heightened enthusiasm. The trends point to improved earnings quality and potential stabilization of valuation metrics as key themes.

The financial data reflects notable changes in share price, operating profit per share, and the price-to-operating profit (P/OP) ratio over the six-year period.

Share Price

The share price shows considerable volatility and an overall upward trend with fluctuations. Initially, the price rose significantly from 200.8 US$ in early 2020 to a high of 343.97 US$ in early 2022. Following that peak, it declined to 320.31 US$ in early 2023, increased sharply to 478.84 US$ in early 2024, and then experienced a correction to 341.53 US$ by early 2025.

Operating Profit per Share

The operating profit per share demonstrates a consistent and robust upward trajectory throughout the period. Starting at 6.83 US$ in early 2020, it slightly decreased to 6.29 US$ in early 2021 but then increased steadily each year, reaching 10.42 US$ and 10.45 US$ in 2022 and 2023 respectively, followed by sharper increases to 16.92 US$ in 2024 and 20.77 US$ in 2025. This indicates strong profitability growth per share over time.

Price-to-Operating Profit (P/OP) Ratio

The P/OP ratio exhibits a somewhat inverse pattern relative to operating profit per share. It started at a moderate level of 29.4 in 2020, spiked significantly to 50.41 in 2021, which suggests an overvaluation relative to operating profit at that time. Thereafter, it declined steadily each year to 33 in 2022, 30.66 in 2023, and further down to 28.29 in 2024, with a marked drop to 16.44 in 2025. This declining ratio indicates that the market valuation became more aligned with the operating profits, or possibly undervalued, as the operating profit per share increased more rapidly than share price towards the end of the period.

Overall, the company exhibited improving operating profitability with notable growth rates. While share price experienced fluctuations, the P/OP ratio decline suggests a market adjustment reflecting improved earnings power per share rather than pure investor enthusiasm. The strong increase in operating profit per share combined with a falling valuation ratio may indicate improving operational efficiency or market reassessment of the company's earnings potential.

Share Price

The share price experienced a notable increase from 200.80 USD in early 2020 to a peak of 478.84 USD by early 2024. This represents a significant appreciation over the five-year span. However, in the latest period, the share price declined to 341.53 USD, indicating some recent correction or volatility after reaching its high.

Sales Per Share

Sales per share showed a consistent and substantial upward trend throughout the entire period. Starting at 30.57 USD in early 2020, sales per share increased every year, reaching 87.77 USD by early 2025. This steady growth suggests strengthening revenue generation on a per-share basis over time.

Price-to-Sales (P/S) Ratio

The P/S ratio exhibited variability with an initial increase from 6.57 in 2020 to a peak of 9.39 in early 2021. Subsequently, the ratio declined through the following years, reaching a low of 3.89 in early 2025. This declining trend in P/S ratio alongside increasing sales per share may indicate that the market valuation relative to sales has become more conservative after initial high valuations.

Overall Trends and Insights

The data reveals a strong increase in sales efficiency per share, reflecting healthy business growth. The share price growth, while generally upward, showed volatility with a peak followed by a decrease, suggesting market revaluation or adjustment. The declining P/S ratio denotes that the market price is becoming less expensive relative to sales, possibly reflecting improved profitability, changing market sentiment, or valuation normalization after a period of heightened optimism.

Share price trends

The share price demonstrated a strong upward trajectory from February 2020 to January 2022, rising from $200.80 to $343.97. This increase was followed by a slight decline in January 2023 to $320.31. Subsequently, there was a significant surge in January 2024 reaching $478.84 before falling again to $341.53 in February 2025. Overall, the share price exhibits notable volatility but an overall increasing pattern over the analyzed period.

Book value per share (BVPS) trends

The book value per share showed consistent growth throughout the period. Starting at $15 in February 2020, it increased steadily each year, reaching $35.84 by February 2025. This upward trend indicates a strengthening of the company's net asset value on a per-share basis.

Price-to-Book Value (P/BV) ratio trends

The P/BV ratio started high at 13.39 in February 2020, then rose to a peak of 16.16 in January 2021. It remained relatively stable near this level through January 2022, before declining to 12.94 in January 2023. After a minor increase to 14.26 in January 2024, it dropped significantly to 9.53 in February 2025. This decline suggests the market valuation relative to the book value per share is becoming more conservative over time, particularly in the last recorded period.

Insight summary

While the share price exhibited fluctuations including a notable peak in early 2024, the underlying book value per share consistently strengthened, reflecting growing shareholder equity. However, the decreasing P/BV ratio towards the end of the period indicates that market price appreciation did not keep pace proportionally with the growth in book value. This may point to a shift in market perception or valuation metrics applied by investors in more recent periods.