Shares of Skechers USA Inc. SKX, -1.86% rallied nearly 8% in the extended session Thursday after the footwear retailer reported fourth-quarter earnings and sales above Wall Street expectations, saying its bet on comfortable styles paid off. Skechers said it earned $402 million, or $2.56 a share, in the quarter, compared with $53.3 million, or 34 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned 43 cents a share. Sales rose 24% to $1.65 billion, with direct-to-consumer sales up 30% and wholesale international sales also a highlight, the company said. Analysts polled by FactSet expected the company to report adjusted earnings of 33 cents a share on sales of $1.6 billion. “We believe our accomplishments in 2021, including several comfort-focused new product launches and the further expansion of our global footprint, position Skechers for continued growth toward our goal of $10 billion in sales,” Chief Executive Robert Greenberg said in a statement. Skechers stock ended the regular trading day down 1.9%.
