The apparel brand said its first-quarter revenue rose 14% to $2.0bn, driven by broad-based momentum led by Asia and North America.
Asia was the standout, with revenue growing 24% on reported basis to $589m, followed by North America, which delivered a revenue of $740m, up 13% from the same period last year.
Europe posted more modest gains, reflecting a more mature demand environment. Revenue increased 7% reported to $594m, with retail comparable sales up 1%.
Ralph Lauren, executive chairman and chief creative officer, commented: "As we celebrate America's 250th anniversary and look ahead to important milestones for our company over the coming year, I'm reminded of what has inspired us for nearly 60 years - optimism and aspiration, authenticity and the belief that we all can step into our dreams.
"These are the values that our teams around the world embrace every day, that will endure as we continue to grow and evolve."
During the three months to 27 June, 2026, the company's gross margin expanded 140 basis points to 73.7%, driven by higher average unit retail and favourable channel and geographic mix.
Operating expenses rose 14%, but the adjusted operating expense rate was essentially flat at 55.0% versus 55.2% a year earlier, allowing more of the gross profit gains to flow through. As a result, operating income climbed to $342m reported, and adjusted operating income was $366m.
Ralph Lauren also saw its net income increase to $262m, or $4.28 per diluted share in Q1 FY27, while adjusted EPS was $4.59, up from $3.77 a year ago.
Over the quarter, the company's inventory fell 5% year over year to $1.2bn, suggesting a cleaner stock position heading into upcoming seasons. Ralph Lauren repurchased about $250m of Class A shares during the quarter.
Following its strong Q1 performance, Ralph Lauren raised its FY27 outlook, with constant-currency revenue growth now expected at roughly 5% to 6%.
Ralph Lauren also lifted its operating-margin expansion forecast to about 60 to 80 basis points in constant currency, driven by expected gross margin expansion and operating expense leverage.
However, this guidance increase comes with qualifiers. Ralph Lauren said its outlook assumes ongoing geopolitical and macro uncertainty, including tariffs, inflationary pressures, supply-chain disruption and foreign-exchange volatility.
Currency is expected to be a headwind to reported revenue growth by about 50 to 100 basis points for the full year, and by a larger 100 to 150 basis points in the second quarter.
The company expects stronger gross and operating margin expansion in the first half of FY27, due to the timing of marketing activations compared with last year and a lower prevailing tariff rate through the first half.
For Q2, Ralph Lauren projects constant currency revenue growth of around 5% to 6%.
Operating margin is anticipated to expand by approximately 80 to 100 basis points in constant currency, primarily driven by gross margin improvement, with foreign currency expected to have a neutral effect on both gross and operating margins for the quarter.
Ralph Lauren president and chief executive officer Patrice Louvet said: "We are off to a strong start in the second year of our Next Great Chapter: Drive plan, with broad-based performance across geographies, channels and consumer segments in the first quarter — exceeding our expectations and driving an increase in our full year Fiscal 2027 outlook."
"Ralph Lauren beats Q1 targets on strong sales in Asia and North America " was originally created and published by Just Style, a GlobalData owned brand.