Good morning! Stephanie Pope loses Boeing COO title, FDA approves new hormone-free IUD for the first time in 40 years, and Bath & Body Works previews macro challenges ahead in 2025. Enjoy your weekend!
– On the scent. After Bath & Body Works beat 2024 expectations on its full-year earnings yesterday, CEO Gina Boswell told me she was “surprised” to see its stock fall—about 12% by the market close.
The market reacted to the retailer’s 2025 outlook—which was below analyst estimates, with 1% to 3% growth expected this year. Incoming tariffs from President Donald Trump and uncertain consumer spending combined to dampen Wall Street’s enthusiasm for the $7.3 billion seller of personal care and scented home products.
Bath & Body Works argues that those same macro forces give it an advantage. Its supply chain is mostly in the U.S., with about 17% across China, Mexico, and Canada. And while consumers are expected to pull back spending as tariffs boost prices, Boswell sees her products as an “affordable luxury” that maintain appeal in any economy. “When you have a winning product at the right price, the right value, with the right experience and a wide range of price points, you can win in almost any macro,” argues Boswell.
She calls her strategy for the business a “three-legged stool” of product innovation, marketing, and loyalty programs. That includes collaborations with Disney and tentpole events like an annual Candle Day sale.
The retailer is also a casualty of its own past success. The purveyor of candles and body lotions saw sales soar during the pandemic. Boswell points out to a skeptical Street that sales are still above where they were in 2019, before that pandemic boom. Overall, the retailer’s stock is down 18% since Boswell took over in December 2022.
“We out-executed what was a challenging macro environment,” she says. “But that’s because we’ve been seeing a value-seeking customer pretty much all of 2024.”
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- New focus. Following a company reorganization, Stephanie Pope is no longer COO at Boeing, but will continue to serve as an EVP and the CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Once seen as a strong Boeing CEO contender, she will focus on fixing the aerospace company’s commercial plane-making unit. Reuters
- It’s supernatural, extraterrestrial. Jeff Bezos’s space tech company Blue Origin is sending an all-female crew to space, with singer Katy Perry, CBS anchor Gayle King, and news anchor and Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sánchez among the women on board. Bloomberg
- Hormone-free IUD. The FDA approved a new hormone-free, copper IUD for the first time in 40 years. Miudella will be available later in the year and is effective at preventing pregnancy for up to three years. The Cut
- What to pick. Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer for Morgan Stanley’s wealth management unit, called the current market “idiosyncratic,” as tech companies’ dominance over the market has slipped. Shalett said that in this market “stock picking matters a lot” and thinks there’s “money to be made” in sectors like financial services, entertainment, and energy. Fortune
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Donaldson Capital Management, a wealth management firm and investment advisor, named Sarah Moore CEO. Moore will continue serving as the firm’s president.
Condé Nast appointed Andrea Latten as chief business officer for the U.K. Most recently, she was the media company’s U.K. head of industry—fashion, luxury, and beauty.
Data infrastructure company NetApp named Beth O’Callahan chief administrative officer. She was previously the company’s chief legal officer.
Turnberry, a real estate developer, appointed Mary Rogers as EVP of hospitality operations. She was most recently managing director and area general manager of Montage Laguna Beach, Montage Healdsburg, Pendry West Hollywood, and Pendry San Diego.
IonQ, a quantum computing company, appointed Gabrielle Toledano to its board of directors. She is currently COO at Keystone Strategy.
ON MY RADAR
WTA rebrand: New logo and design and the place of tennis in women’s sports The Athletic
They broke up. Then came the brand deals Wall Street Journal
Madewell’s midlife crisis Puck
PARTING WORDS
“Mentally and physically, I’m just full…That’s probably the best way I can describe it. I’m full and I’m happy.”
— Diana Taurasi on retiring from basketball after 20 WNBA seasons, six Olympic gold medals, and an all-time leading scorer record
