Why Nu Skin Enterprises Stock Flopped on Friday

The stock of wellness and beauty company Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS -3.17%) wasn't looking particularly fresh and beautiful on the last trading day of the week. The shares lost over 3% of their value on the day, following the company's release of its second-quarter results. The rest of the stock market generally did better, with the S&P 500 index recording a gain of just under 0.5%. Second-quarter results unveiled Shortly after market close on Thursday, Nu Skin published its second-quarter numbers. Chief among these was revenue, which fell by 12% year over year to slightly over $439 million. Non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) adjusted net income suffered a steeper fall, tumbling to $10.4 million ($0.21 per share) from the second-quarter 2023 profit of nearly $27 million. Despite the top- and bottom-line erosion, Nu Skin's headline figures came in comfortably ahead of the consensus analyst estimates. On average, prognosticators following the stock were modeling revenue just shy of $432 million, and adjusted, per-share earnings of $0.17. Management put a positive spin on its performance, quoting CEO Ryan Napierski as saying, "As our core Nu Skin business continues to navigate the macroeconomic environment, we were encouraged by sequential gains in several of our markets, including the U.S. and most of Southeast Asia/Pacific." Napierski also pointed out that Rhyz, its strategic investment arm, saw its business grow by 32% during the period. All told, the unit brought in nearly $68 million in the second quarter. Quarterly earnings guidance falls short As ever, though, investors are more concerned about a stock's future than its recent past. Nu Skin proffered guidance for both its current (third) quarter, and the entirety of 2024. For the former period, it's expecting $430 million to $465 million in revenue, and adjusted, per-share earnings of $0.15 to $0.25. While the collective analyst top-line estimate of almost $460 million falls within the given range, the $0.42-per-share adjusted net income forecast does not. As for the entirety of 2024, Nu Skin is anticipating $1.73 billion to $1.81 billion, and $0.75 to $0.95 per share for adjusted net income.