WSM 10-K Analysis: The $49M Freight Ghost Hiding Real Margin Improvement
Williams-Sonoma reported 'record' diluted EPS of $8.84 while net income declined 3.3% and operating margins contracted 50 basis points. The 10-K reveals this paradox: a $49M multi-year freight correction inflated FY2024 margins by 70bp, making FY2025's 'decline' an accounting phantom. Normalize for the freight ghost and a calendar artifact, and operating margins actually improved 40bp — the opposite of consensus. Meanwhile, $854M in buybacks manufactured the EPS record from a shrinking denominator, and Q4 tariff costs accelerated 4.25x, setting up a H1 FY2026 margin valley the market may be mispricing.