Good morning, everyone. I'm Ralph Lauren, the Executive Chairman of the Ralph Lauren Corporation. I'm pleased to welcome all of you to our 2026 annual meeting. I call the meeting to order. I'm here today with the director nominees of the corporation, including Angela Ahrendts, Frank Bennack, Cesar Conde, Debra Cupp, Linda Findley, Michael George, Valerie Jarrett, David Lauren, Patrice Louvet, Darren Walker, and Wei Zhang. I'm proud of our strong performance this year. You will hear today from our President and CEO, Patrice Louvet. First, I will turn it over to Avery Fischer, our Chief Legal Officer.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, everyone. My name is Avery Fischer, and I am the Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of the corporation. Thank you all for joining us today for our annual virtual stockholder meeting. In addition to Mr. Ralph Lauren and our other members of the board of directors, joining today are Patrice Louvet, President and CEO, and certain other members of our executive leadership team who will be available to answer any of your questions at the appropriate time later in the meeting. Also present are representatives from Broadridge, who are conducting our virtual stockholder meeting, including Tracy Oates, who is acting as Inspector of Elections, and representatives from Ernst & Young LLP, the corporation's independent registered public accounting firm.
The agenda and the rules of conduct that govern this meeting are available on the annual meeting website as disclosed in our 2026 proxy statement, notice of Internet availability of proxy materials and proxy card. We will conduct this meeting in strict accordance with the agenda and rules. Only business matters appropriate for action by stockholders will be considered at this meeting. We ask that those of you who submit questions for our question-and-answer portion of the agenda be considerate to the other stockholders who may wish to ask a question by asking only one question each. We have allotted approximately 15 minutes for Q&A and will try to answer as many questions germane to the meeting and compliant with the rules of conduct as time allows.
In the interest of being responsive, questions from multiple stockholders on the same topic or that are otherwise related may be grouped, summarized, and answered together. If there are any matters of individual concern or if a question was not answered, please contact our investor relations team at 212-813-7868 or ir@ralphlauren.com. For more information, please see the rules of conduct. Note that this meeting is being recorded and an audio replay with a list of questions received and the company's answers to those questions will be posted on our investor relations website as soon as practicable after our meeting. Please see the agenda and rules of conduct for more information. For technical assistance during this meeting, please contact Broadridge at the applicable technical support number available on the virtual meeting login screen.
Please also remember that statements made during this meeting may contain forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties. To find out more about the factors that could cause actual results to differ from management's expectations, please see the agenda for today's meeting and our most recent 10-K filing on our investor relations website or on the SEC's website. The first order of business is the presentation of Broadridge's affidavit of mailing, which certifies that notice of this meeting was properly given to stockholders beginning on June 18th, 2026, based on a record date of June 2nd, 2026. The affidavit is available for inspection on our annual meeting website. The affidavit of mailing will be filed with the records of the corporation.
I hereby certify that the holders of more than one-third of all of the outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote at this meeting are participating via the annual meeting website or by proxy, and that a quorum has been met in accordance with our bylaws and the meeting is able to duly proceed. The final number of shares voted today will be available on a Form 8-K filed within four business days of this meeting. We will now review the items set forth in the proxy statement. If you have any questions related to these items, please submit now using the Ask a Question option on the annual meeting website, and they will be addressed during the Q&A portion of the meeting. If you have any other questions, these will also be addressed later in the meeting. The polls are open for voting online during the meeting.
If you've already voted by proxy, you do not need to vote now unless you wish to change your vote. The polls will be closed after we have announced the items to be voted upon. The first item on the order of business is the election of directors. At the direction of the board of directors, I hereby place in nomination the following individuals, each as set forth in the proxy statement, to hold office until the next annual meeting or until his or her successor has been elected and qualified. Angela Ahrendts, Linda Findley, and Darren Walker for election by the holders of Class A common stock of the corporation. Frank A. Bennack Jr., Cesar Conde, Debra Cupp, Michael George, Valerie Jarrett, Ralph Lauren, David Lauren, Patrice Louvet, and Wei Zhang for election by the holders of Class B common stock of the corporation.
There being no other nominations made in accordance with the bylaws, I hereby declare the nomination for directors closed. The second item is the ratification of the corporation's independent registered public accounting firm. The audit committee of the board of directors has appointed Ernst & Young as the corporation's independent registered public accounting firm for our fiscal year ending on April 3rd, 2027, subject to ratification of the appointment by the stockholders at this meeting. Representatives of Ernst & Young have joined us today and are available to answer any questions that you may have during the Q&A portion of the meeting. The third and final proposal is the adoption of a say-on-pay advisory resolution by the stockholders.
In our proxy statement, we have described for you our compensation philosophy and practices, and outlined key takeaways impacting executive compensation for fiscal 2026 that was designed to link pay and performance, reward sustained business growth and results, and drive stockholder value. The Board of Directors recommend a vote for each of the proposals described. If you have not yet voted or if you wish to change your vote, please vote online now before we close the polls. The polls are now closed. I ask that the Inspector of Elections tally all votes received. The Inspector of Elections has certified that the preliminary voting tally has now been completed.
The holders of a plurality of the shares of Class A common stock voting have voted in favor of the election of each of the nominees for Class A directors, and the holders of all of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock have voted in favor of the election of each of the nominees for Class B directors. The appointment of Ernst & Young as the independent registered public accounting firm of the corporation for our fiscal year ending April 3rd, 2027 was ratified by a majority vote of stockholders. The compensation of our named executive officers and our compensation philosophy, policies, and practices were approved on an advisory basis by the majority vote of stockholders. The final results will be available on a Form 8-K filed within four business days of this meeting.
We have now completed the business portion of the meeting, and I declare the business portion adjourned. I will now turn it over to Patrice Louvet, our President and CEO.
Thank you, Avery. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for our annual stockholders meeting. As we reflect on this past year, our teams around the world executed with excellence and agility to deliver a strong first year of our Next Great Chapter: Drive strategic plan. We drove broad-based performance across our lifestyle categories, geographies, and channels, all while continuing our long-term journey of elevating our positioning in the marketplace. Our consumers' passion and unique loyalty are a testament to the power of our iconic brand and our ability to connect authentically across generations and cultures. These deep connections are translating into healthy, consistent, sustainable growth and value creation across our business. In the first year of our Drive plan, both our top and bottom-line results exceeded expectations, supported by our diversified drivers of growth and our strongest quality of sales to date.
Our reported full-year revenues surpassed $8 billion for the first time, driven by growth across our retail and wholesale channels in every region. Operating margin exceeded our expectations, reflecting gross margin expansion more than offsetting the meaningful impact of tariffs and disciplined expense leverage with our cost savings used to fuel investments in our long-term strategic priorities, from our rolling thunder of brand activations to new AI capabilities and expanding our key city ecosystems. This established model of balancing operating discipline and agility with investments in long-term growth gives us the confidence to continue expanding margins, including over the remainder of our plan and longer term.
While we are in touch with the dynamic global operating environment as we look ahead to fiscal 2027, we remain on offense, focused on what differentiates Ralph Lauren and our ability to create value to our diverse growth drivers, including our powerful brand, our iconic core with acceleration in our high-potential categories, and significant geographic expansion opportunities with a focused approach on our top cities. All of this is supported by our key enablers, including our talented teams around the world, our advanced analytics and technology capabilities, and our fortress balance sheet. These provide the company with a strong, durable foundation. With that, I'll turn it over to Corinna Van der Ghinst, Head of Global Strategy and Investor Relations, so we can answer some of your questions.
Thank you, Patrice. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We will now conduct our question- and- answer session. The first question submitted through the portal, which I'll hand over to Patrice, is, "Your performance in the first year of your Next Great Chapter: Drive strategic plan was ahead of expectations. What are the key drivers that will continue to drive growth ahead, especially if the operating environment becomes more challenging?
Thank you for the question. Our Next Great Chapter: Drive plan is off to a strong start with our fiscal 2026 results demonstrating the resiliency that we've built into our business. Both our top and bottom line results exceeded expectations, supported by our diversified drivers of growth. We have strong brand momentum with significant opportunity across all regions and channels, and we remain laser-focused on our consumer and continue to strengthen our brand desirability across generations. Our key strategies have been pretty consistent and center really on three key areas. First, elevate and energize our lifestyle brand. This includes engaging with consumers in more powerful ways than ever before, through unique storytelling and supported by our advanced data and analytics. Second, drive the core and expand for more.
We're committed to quality and timeless styling that can transcend generations with a focus on driving both our core iconic products, which represent about 70% of our business, as well as our high-potential categories such as outerwear, handbags, and women's apparel. Third, win in key cities with our consumer ecosystem. We're bringing Ralph Lauren to life in our top 30 cities around the world, while also laying the groundwork for long-term growth in our next 20 cities. At the same time, we're making strategic investments in marketing, technology, and talent that positions us for profitable, sustainable growth. I'm very confident in our direction and excited about what lies ahead for our company.
Thanks, Patrice. The second question, which I'll turn over to Justin Picicci, is there any chance of a stock split?
Thanks for the question. Our focus remains on driving long-term value creation through strong business performance and disciplined capital allocation. As part of that process, we regularly review our capital structure and priorities, including potential actions such as a stock split. At this time, however, we have nothing to announce.
Thank you all for submitting your questions. As there are no further questions at this time, I will now turn the call back to Avery Fischer.
Thank you, Cori. There being no further business, this meeting is hereby adjourned. Thank you all very much for attending our annual meeting, and we look forward to connecting with you again next year.
The meeting has now concluded. Thank you for joining, and have a pleasant day.