Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE: SIG) stayed green on Thursday. The stock has gained 49% over the past three months. The company delivered strong earnings results in the first quarter of 2026 with growth in sales and profits. Its Grow Brand Love strategy continues to gain traction and played a key role in driving the solid performance in Q1.
Sales and earnings growth
Signet’s net sales increased 2% year-over-year to $1.54 billion in the first quarter of 2026. Same-store sales grew 2.5%. Gross margin expanded by 100 basis points to 38.8%. Adjusted earnings per share rose 6% YoY to $1.18.
Grow Brand Love
Signet’s new strategy Grow Brand Love, which was introduced last quarter, is progressing well and contributed to the growth seen in Q1. This strategy involves shifting to a brand mindset, with a unique focus on the company’s largest brands, Kay, Zales and Jared, where it sees opportunity to build value as one point of comp growth in these three brands is equivalent to six points of growth for the remaining brands. Signet’s efforts in improving product assortment and revamping store formats to upgrade the shopping experience, and reducing promotional discounting are helping to drive growth in these brands.
Another key part of the Grow Brand Love strategy is expansion into categories other than bridal, such as fashion. Signet has a healthy bridal offering at key price points and product types but it also sees ample opportunity in the fashion category, which has a total addressable market that is many times larger than bridal. The company’s new collections, which include pieces for everyday wear, helped drive growth in price points below $500. Lab-grown diamond (LGD) fashion saw 60% growth in Q1 and SIG sees significant opportunity for further growth in this category.
Signet is also working on reshaping its store fleet. The company renovated around 40 stores in Q1 and plans to renovate another 160 locations during the rest of the year. It closed 14 stores in the quarter and expects to close just under 100 stores within the fiscal year, mainly in underperforming mall locations that have leases expiring towards year-end. Signet is making good progress on its new strategy and believes it will help in driving long-term sustainable growth.
Guidance hike
Signet raised its outlook for the full year of 2026. The company now expects total sales to range between $6.57-6.80 billion versus its previous expectation of $6.53-6.80 billion. The sales guidance assumes a measured consumer environment, providing for variability in consumer spending over the year. Same-store sales are expected to be down 2% to up 1.5% for the year. Adjusted EPS is now expected to be $7.70-9.38 versus the prior range of $7.31-9.10.
For the second quarter of 2026, the company expects total sales to be $1.47-1.51 billion while same-store sales are expected to be down 1.5% to up 1%. Gross margin is expected to be flat to up modestly in Q2.
