Investment Office — Columbia Model
Lululemon Athletica (LULU)  ·  NASDAQ  ·  LTM
Market price
18.8%
Implied IRR
$125
EPV / Share
+6.8%
Margin of Safety
Last review
12-Mar-2026
✎ update
Executive Summary
Market Cap
$18.0B
118.55M diluted shares
Enterprise Value
$18.7B
MktCap + Leases − Cash
Normalized NOPAT
$1,714M
Rev $11.1B × 21.5% norm. margin × (1−28%)
FCF LTM
$1,129M
FCF Margin 10.2%
Implied IRR (Equity)
18.8%
Hurdle 12.0% MoS +6.8%
ROIC 3yr Avg (FY22-LTM)
12.9%
vs. WACC 10.6% · Spread +2.3%
WACC
10.6%
β 1.35 · Ke 11.7% · ERP 5.50%
Key Model Inputs — Single Source of Truth
Valuation Inputs
Normalized NOPAT$1,714M
Revenue Base (no-growth)$11,073M
Normalized Op Margin21.5%
Tax Rate (Normalized)28.0%
WACC10.61%
Diluted Shares (M)118.552
IRR Assumptions
Selected ROIC (reinv. growth)~13%
Organic Growth (DP12)2.0%
Reinvestment Growth6.2%
Exit Multiple (DP14)15× EV/NOPAT
Sustainable Buybacks (DP16)$800M/yr
Investment Horizon7 years
Capital & Adjustments
S&M Capitalization3yr useful life — SGA proxy (DP2-3)
R&D CapitalizationN/A — no R&D reported
SBC TreatmentCase A — already in OpEx
Normalization WindowFY2022-LTM (4yr)
Items NormalizedNone — no volatile items
Goodwill in RV0%
Revenue & NOPAT — FY2020–2025 ($M)
Operating & Net Margins (%)
CFO vs. FCF vs. Buybacks ($M)
Capital Deployment LTM
Reproduction Value — Estimated Cost to Replicate Lululemon Athletica Assets from Scratch
RV Total ($M)
$29,891M
Net assets at reproduction cost
RV / Share
$252.14
32.64M diluted shares
Price / RV
8.6×
Premium over reproduction value
EPV / RV — Moat Test
0.50× NO MOAT ✗
EPV < RV — no franchise value under Columbia framework. Brand value dominates RV.
Edit the % Adjustment directly in the table to evaluate scenarios. Totals recalculate in real time.
Item Book Value ($M) % Adjustment Reproduction Cost ($M) Method / Rationale
Tangible Assets (from balance sheet)
Cash & Equivalentes 17,203 % 17,203 100% — Liquid asset
Short-Term Investments 582 % 582 100% — Marketable securities
Accounts Receivable, Net 3,820 % 3,705 97% — Agency/merchant receivables, low default risk
Prepaid Expenses 611 % 550 90% — Mostly recoverable
Other Current Assets 48 % 38 80% — Mixed current items
PP&E, Net 807 % 686 85% — Tech infrastructure, leasehold improvements
Subtotal Tangibles 23,071 22,765
Intangible Assets (rebuild from scratch)
S&M Asset (Unamortized Marketing) 15,296 % 15,296 100% — Capitalized marketing (3yr amort, DP3)
Goodwill (accounting) 2,669 % 0 0% — ALWAYS 0 in RV (DP12). Components reconstructed individually
Brand / Trademarks EST Brand value based on brand strength, DTC revenue, and customer loyalty. Premium athleisure leader.
Supplier Network (28M+ listings) EST Cost to replicate 700+ stores, wholesale distribution, and e-commerce platform.
Technology Platform EST DTC platform, mobile app, customer data, and loyalty program. Conservative est.
Customer Data / Behavioral Intelligence EST S&M Asset from capitalized SGA (3yr useful life). Sum of unamortized cohorts.
Other Intangible Assets (Book) 918 % 459 50% — Amortized book intangibles, partially captured by brand/tech
Subtotal Intangibles (Reproduction) 18,883 26,755
Other Assets
Deferred Tax Assets (DTA) 0 % 0 70% — DP14. Zero book DTA in LTM
Long-Term Investments 0 % 0 50% — Non-marketable equity (zero in LTM)
Other Non-Current Assets 2,606 % 1,824 70% — ROU assets, deferred charges, misc.
Subtotal Other 2,606 1,824
Total Assets (Reproduction) 51,344
Liabilities (100% — contractual)
Total Current Liabilities 16,698 100% 16,698 100% — Contractual
Long-Term Debt 16,856 100% 16,856 100% — Contractual
Lease Liabilities 557 100% 557 100% — ASC 842
Deferred Tax Liabilities 17 100% 17 100% — Tax obligations
Other Non-Current Liabilities 714 100% 714 100% — Contractual
Total Liabilities 34,842
Reproduction Value Calculation
Total Assets (Reproduction) 51,344
(−) Total Liabilities 34,842
Reproduction Value ($M) 16,502
Diluted Shares (M) 32.639
Reproduction Value per Share $505.58
Note: Reproduction Value does not capture time-to-build — replicating Lululemon Athletica would take 10+ years. The brand, supplier network, and behavioral data are virtually irreplicable. This is a conservative estimate.
Reproduction Value Composition
RV Total (Equity) $16,502M
PIM Intangibles Detail ($M)
Brand Value (Lululemon)$12,063M
Store Network & Distribution$1,500M
Customer Relationships / DTC Platform$800M
S&M Asset (Capitalized)$11,181M
Total Intangibles PIM$25,544M
Goodwill excluded$0M
Key Decisions — RV
Goodwill (DP12)0% — rebuild from scratch
DTA Recognition (DP14)70% del book value
S&M Useful Life3 years (capitalized)
Total Liabilities−$34,842M (contractual)
Price / RV8.6×
Earnings Power Value — Sustainable Earnings Power
EPV Operations ($M)
$16,150M
NOPAT ÷ WACC
EPV Equity ($M)
$14,869M
Post financial bridge
EPV / Share
$125
118.55M diluted shares
Price / EPV
1.28×
Market paying implied growth premium
EPV Assumptions — Edit in Real Time
Normalized NOPAT ($M) $7,420M
$4,000M$12,000M
GAAP $8,825M + impairment $662M − S&M growth $774M − tax @20%
WACC 8.61%
5%15%
Base: 10.61% · β 1.20, Ke 9.23%, ERP 4.23% (Damodaran Jan 2026)
Effective Tax Rate 20.0%
15%30%
Mediana ETR FY2022-2025 ≈ 20.5% (Decision #5)
No growth assumed — EPV is pure steady-state value
Bridge EPV — EBIT → Equity
EPV Build ($M)
Normalized EBIT$2,381M
× (1 − Tax Rate 28%)× 0.72
Normalized NOPAT$1,714M
(+) D&A (non-cash add-back)+$495M
(−) Maintenance CapEx (= D&A)−$495M
÷ WACC10.61%
EPV Operations$16,150M
(+) Excess Cash (Cash − 5% Rev buffer)+$482M
(+) Non-Operating Assets$0M
(−) Total Debt$0M
(−) Lease Liabilities−$1,763M
EPV Equity$14,869M
EPV / Share$125
WACC — Componentes
Risk-Free Rate (Rf)4.23%
Beta (β)1.35
Equity Risk Premium5.50%
Ke (CAPM)11.66%
Kd after-tax4.05%
Debt Weight D/(D+E)8.9%
Peso Equity E/(D+E)91.1%
WACC Final8.61%
Item EPV: EPV assumes current earnings persist indefinitely with no additional growth. It is the "valuation floor" for a moated business. A price > EPV implies the market assigns value to future growth.
Sensitivity Table — P/EPV by NOPAT × WACC
≤ 1.5× attractive price   ≤ 2.0× fair price   > 2.0× growth premium
Financial Statements — FY2020–2025
Revenue · Op. Income · Net Income ($M)
Operating Expenses — LTM Composition
Cash Flow by Activity ($M)
Adjusted NOPAT vs. Reported Net Income ($M)
Balance Sheet
Assets · Liabilities · Equity ($M)
Income Statement Summary — FY2020–2025 ($M)
Item FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 LTM
Balance Sheet — FY2020–2025 ($M)
Item FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 LTM
Cash Flow Statement — FY2020–2025 ($M)
Item FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 LTM
NOPAT Normalization — DCE Adjustments LTM
GAAP Operating Income
$8,825M
Reportado LTM (10-K)
Adjusted NOPAT DCE
$7,420M
Post-normalization + tax
S&M Asset Capitalizado
$4,564M
Activo de marketing en RV
EPV Impact (÷ WACC 8.61%)
$86,224M
EPV Operaciones resultante
Bridge GAAP → Adjusted NOPAT DCE
Adjusted NOPAT DCE (post-tax) $7,420M
S&M Capitalization
Capitalizable marketing treated as investment. Creates S&M Asset in RV and reduces NOPAT by incremental growth spend.
S&M Useful Life (years) 3 years
1 year6 years
Performance mktg: 2-3 years · Brand: 4-6 years
% Marketing that is Growth 9.4%
0%30%
YoY Δ Marketing / Revenue LTM = $774M / $26,917M
Total Marketing LTM$8,186M
S&M Growth Expense$774M
S&M Asset (useful life × avg 3yr)$4,564M
NOPAT Impact (−growth, post-tax)−$619M
Non-Recurring Items
Non-recurring items excluded to normalize sustainable earnings power. Toggle to include/exclude each item.
Total Addbacks pre-tax+$662M
NOPAT Impact (post-tax @20%)+$530M
Normalized Tax Rate
Normalized ETR applied to adjusted EBIT. Historical median FY2022-2025 ≈ 20.5%.
Normalized Tax Rate 20.0%
15%30%
Reported ETR LTM: 20.9% · 3yr Median: 20.5%
Reported ETR LTM20.9%
ETR FY202419.3%
ETR FY202321.7%
ETR FY202222.1%
Selected Tax Rate20.0%
Adjusted EBIT pre-tax$9,487M
Normalized Tax Expense−$1,897M
Note: Normalized ETR applied to adjusted EBIT (post non-recurring addbacks), not GAAP EBT which includes non-operating items.
Detailed Normalization Table — LTM ($M)
Item Importe ($M) Fuente / Decisión
ROIC & Invested Capital
ROIC LTM
10.0%
NOPAT $1,617M / IC $16,227M
ROIC 3yr Avg (FY22-24)
14.7%
FY2022: 15.3% · FY2023: 15.3% · FY2024: 13.5%
WACC
10.6%
Rf 4.23% · β 1.35 · ERP 5.50%
ROIC − WACC Spread
+2.3%
Marginal value creation
Adjusted ROIC vs. WACC — FY2020–2025 (%)
Invested Capital — LTM Composition ($M)
Marginal ROIC
Marginal ROIC (1yr Δ)
N/M
ΔNOPAT −$196M / ΔIC $2,841M
Acc. Growth CapEx 2yr
$1,231M
CapEx+S&M growth investment
Acc. Growth CapEx 3yr
$2,635M
CapEx+S&M growth investment
Selected ROIC (IRR input)
~13%
3yr avg FY2022-2024 for reinvestment growth
Note: ROIC declining from 15.3% (FY2022-23) to 10.0% (LTM) as IC grows faster than NOPAT. SGA-heavy model with large capitalized S&M Asset drives IC expansion.
Invested Capital — FY2020–2025 ($M)
Item FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 LTM
NOPAT Build-Up — FY2020–2025 ($M)
Item FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 LTM
Implied IRR — Total Shareholder Return
Total Equity Return
13.9%
Recalculado en tiempo real
Margin of Safety
+7.7%
vs. Hurdle Rate 10.0%
EV / NOPAT Actual
30.2×
Assumed exit multiple: 30×
Assumptions — Edita y ve el impacto en tiempo real
Selected ROIC 398%
50%800%
Marginal 3yr: 136% · Accounting: 99.9% · Selected: 91.5%
Organic Growth 2.00%
0%20%
Pricing + viajes digitales — Decision #17
Exit Multiple (EV/NOPAT) 20×
15×50×
Actual: 18.5× · Reversión a media — Decision #15
Sustainable Buybacks ($M) $6,500M
$5B$20B
LTM reportado: $6,440M — Decision #16
Horizon (years) 5 years
310
Investment horizon
DCE Hurdle Rate 12.0%
6%18%
Decision #9 — Minimum return
Assumptions base corresponden al modelo LTM aprobado por el CIO.
Return Decomposition
Distribution Yield
2.88%
Organic Growth
8.00%
Reinvestment Growth
2.72%
Multiple Adjustment
−0.16%
Leverage Equity
+0.46%
Total Equity Return
19.7%
Enterprise-First Return Framework (Modigliani-Miller Lever-Up)
Enterprise Value Build
Market Cap$17,973M
(+) Total Debt$0M
(+) Lease Liabilities$1,763M
(−) Cash & STI−$1,036M
Enterprise Value$18,700M
EV / NOPAT Multiple10.9×
Distributions ($M)
Dividends Paid$0M
Sustainable Buybacks (DP16)$800M
Interest Expense (pre-tax)$0M
Total Distributions$800M
Distribution Yield (Dist/EV)4.28%
Payout Rate (Dist/NOPAT)46.7%
Reinvestment ($M)
Growth CapEx (CapEx − D&A)$237M
Δ Working Capital (est.)$0M
S&M Growth Expense$294M
R&D Growth (N/A)$0M
Total Reinvestment$531M
Reinvestment Rate31.0%
Growth Decomposition
Selected ROIC (3yr avg)~13%
× Reinvestment Rate31.0%
= Reinvestment Growth6.2%
(+) Organic Growth (DP12)2.0%
Total Growth8.2%
Cash Sanity Check
Normalized NOPAT$7,420M
(−) Total Reinvestment−$774M
(−) Total Distributions−$9,365M
NOPAT − Reinv. − Dist.−$2,719M
% of NOPAT−36.6%
Positive excess cash — LULU retains ~22% of NOPAT after distributions and reinvestment. Sustainable capital allocation.
Health Check — LTM  ·  12 PASS  ·  2 FAIL  ·  2 MONITOR
MetricValueThresholdStatus
Financial Strength
Debt / EquityN/A<2.0×≈ Negative Equity
Cobertura de Intereses5.46×>3.0×✓ PASS
Current Ratio1.33×>1.0×✓ PASS
Net Debt / EBITDA0.22×<3.0×✓ PASS
Debt (Leases) / Equity39.2%<100%✓ PASS
Profitability
Operating Margin34.5%>20%✓ PASS
Net Margin20.1%>15%✓ PASS
FCF Margin33.8%>15%✓ PASS
ROIC − WACC Spread+600%>0%✓ PASS
MetricValueThresholdStatus
Growth
Revenue CAGR 3yr (FY22-25)13.4%>5%✓ PASS
FCF CAGR 3yr (FY22-25)13.7%>5%✓ PASS
EBITDA Growth YoY16.0%>5%✓ PASS
LULU / OTA Specific
SBC % Revenue2.3%<5%✓ PASS
CapEx % Revenue1.2%<5%✓ PASS
Marketing % Revenue30.4%<35%✓ PASS
Buyback Yield4.7%>3%✓ PASS
Revenue / Employee ($K)$1,108K>$500K✓ PASS
Perfil de Calidad por Categoría
CIO Decisions — Audit Sheet
Methodological Decisions
#1
S&M Proxy
Marketing Expenses — direct 10-K line item, performance + brand marketing.
#2
R&D Capitalization
N/A — LULU does not report separate R&D in 10-K.
#3
S&M Useful Life
3 years — Performance marketing with moderate organic retention.
#4
SBC Treatment
SBC already in Personnel (OpEx). No additional NOPAT adjustment per DP5.
#5
Normalized Tax Rate
20% — Median ETR FY2022-LTM ≈ 20.5%.
#6
Normalization LTM
Excludes Impairment $457M + Transformation $205M = $662M total non-recurring.
#7
Leases — ASC 842
Already on balance sheet. $557M lease liabilities — as-is treatment.
#8
Non-Op Assets
Excess Cash = Cash+STI ($17,785M) − 2% Revenue buffer ($538M) = $17,247M. LT Inv: $0.
Valuation Parameters
#9
Hurdle Rate
12% — Above DCE standard due to elevated beta (1.20) and cyclical retail model.
#10
Sustainable Buybacks
$6,500M/yr — normalized FY2022-LTM, excluding FY2023 outlier ($10,377M).
#11
WACC
8.61% — Rf 4.15%, β 1.20, ERP 4.23% (Damodaran Jan 2026), Kd 5.1% post-tax 4.05%.
#12
Selected ROIC (IRR)
3yr avg ROIC = 91.5% as reinvestment growth input. FY23: 78.3%, FY24: 96.5%, FY25: 99.9%.
#13
Goodwill in RV
0% — rebuild each component individually (Brand, Tech, Customers).
#14
DTA
70% — consistently profitable company, multi-jurisdictional complexity.
#15
Exit Multiple
20× EV/NOPAT — mean reversion; quality capital-light duopoly.
Normalization Window
FY2022–LTM (post-COVID). Excludes FY2020 (COVID, goodwill impairment $1,062M) and FY2021 (recovery).
LTM clean: excludes Impairment $457M + Transformation $205M.
CIO Notes
Investment Memo — Lululemon Athletica (LULU)
DCE Holdings — Investment Office
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU)
NASDAQ · Consumer Cyclical · Apparel Retail
Model date
12-Mar-2026
Price
$160.20
Market Cap
$142.4B
EV
$144.5B
Last review
12-Mar-2026

Columbia Ladder

Reproduction Value / share$252.14
EPV / share (NOPAT ÷ WACC)$125.42
Current price$160.20
EPV / RV (franchise test)5.07× ✓ Moat confirmado
Price / EPV2.17× — market paying growth premium

Valuation — Implied IRR Framework

Normalized NOPAT$7,420M
WACC8.61% (β=1.20, Ke=9.23%, ERP=4.23%)
Distribution Yield6.48%
Growth orgánico1.5%
Growth por reinversión (ROIC 91.5%)9.5%
Assumed exit multiple20× EV/NOPAT (actual 18.5×)
Implied IRR (Equity)19.7%
DCE Hurdle Rate12.0%
Margin of Safety+7.7%

Business Quality

Revenue CAGR 3yr10.9%
FCF Margin LTM10.2%
Operating Margin LTM17.6%
Marginal ROIC 3yr avg14.7%
Business modelAthleisure DTC retail · WC negativo · premium brand leader
Key riskConsumer discretionary cyclicality · SGA-heavy cost structure

CIO Notes

(no notes)
DCE Holdings Investment Office · Columbia Framework Model · Internal use only · No investment verdict — CIO decision
Presentation Mode — Lululemon Athletica (LULU)
$160
Current Price
18.8%
Implied IRR
+7.7%
Margin of Safety vs. Hurdle 12%
$125
EPV per Share
0.50×
EPV / RV — No Moat
1.81×
Price / EPV — Prima de Growth
Normalized NOPAT
$1,714M
FCF Margin
10.2%
Revenue CAGR 3yr
10.9%
WACC
8.61%