FLa-Z-Boy furniture stores are to expand following a recent acquisition in the southeast. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
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What a difference a few days make, even for that most horizontal of retailers, La-Z-Boy Inc.
The Michigan-based company that has come to define the recliner chair sector was feeling anything but relaxed when its shares plummeted earlier this week after setting guidance below expectations.
Come post-trading on Friday those shares were heading upright once again after the intervention of President Trump – who else? – who warned that furniture tariffs were coming along the line once his administration had completed a 50-day investigation into the sector.
But La-Z-Boy, unlike competitors such as Wayfair, Restoration Hardware and Williams Sonoma, manufactures primarily in the U.S. and as a result is unlikely to be impacted by any tariff threats, which was enough to boost its stock right back.
So what exactly happened in an unexpectedly turbulent week for La-Z-Boy?
First up, the furniture manufacturer reported a mixed set of results for its fiscal first quarter 2026, with total sales declining 1% year-over-year to $492 million. While the company’s retail segment drove growth, posting a 5% increase in overall sales and a 2% gain in delivered sales, the wholesale segment improved a paltry 1%.
Adjusted operating margin narrowed to 4.8% from 6.6% a year prior, and adjusted earnings per share dropped 24% to $0.47 versus a $0.53 analyst consensus. Cash flow from operations totaled $36 million, while $22 million was returned to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.
The retail division consists of nearly 210 company-owned La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores and is part of a broader network of nearly 370 La-Z-Boy stores. Joybird, an omni-channel retailer and manufacturer of modern upholstered furniture, has 14 stores in the U.S., with one new store opened in fiscal Q2 2026.
La-Z-Boy Warns on Earnings
In its trading update, the company highlighted a planned acquisition of 15 stores in the southeast, expected to close October, and a successful transition of its Arizona distribution center to a new west coast hub.
But looking ahead, La-Z-Boy forecast Q2 sales between $510 million and $530 million, with even the upper figure short of the consensus expectation of $532 million.
“While continuing to advance our Century Vision strategy and drive long-term shareholder value, we are balancing our optimism in the long-term industry fundamentals and our competitive positioning with a pragmatic approach to current uneven consumer deman