The Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOVE) share price falls today.

Shares in S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) the jewelery retailer yesterday closed trading at $26.82. In morning trading on Friday, shares changed hands at $26.05 each, down 2.9%.

For context, the ASX 200 is up 0.7% at the same time.

This underperformance follows the release of a trading update ahead of today’s annual general meeting.

Here’s what we know.

Lovisa’s share price falls when trading is updated

The price of the Lovisa share falls despite the company reporting a 1.0% year-over-year increase in its global comparable store sales in the first 20 weeks of FY 2025.

Management noted that sales for the 20-week period were up 10% compared to the same timeframe in fiscal 2024, citing benefits from continued growth in Lovisa’s store network over the past year.

Commenting on the 2025 year-to-date performance, outgoing CEO Victor Herrero said: “We continue to maintain our ongoing focus on expanding our global store footprint in all markets where we operate.”

Lovisa has opened 27 new stores net during the financial year so far. It includes 40 new store openings and 13 closures, two of which were related to the conversion of Lovisa’s franchise operations in the UAE to company ownership and two relocations.

The store network now has 927 stores in 49 markets, with three new franchise markets opened for the year so far in Ivory Coast, Republic of Congo and Panama.

“Compared to this time last year, we are currently shopping from 91 more stores in nine more markets,” Herrero said.

What do analysts say?

If you look again at the Lovisa share price chart at the top, you will see that this company has high growth expectations.

And according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Wei-Weng Chen, the first 20 weeks of FY 2025 have fallen short of high expectations.

“Comparable sales, total sales and net new stores were lower than the market expectations“, said Chen (quoted by Australian Financial Review).

After this morning’s trading update, Chen expects Lovisa to open 34 new stores in H1 FY 2025, compared to consensus expectations of 48 new stores.

With the slower growth forecast in mind, RBC maintained its underperform rating on Lovisa stock with a price target of $25. That’s about 4% below current levels.

Lovisa share price snapshot

Despite this morning’s return, it has been a good year for Lovisa’s shareholders.

Long-term investors will have received 87 cents per share in partial franking dividends during the last 12 months. This means that the Lovisa share is traded with a trailing dividend return of 3.3%.

On top of the practical passive income, the Lovisa share price has risen by 41% since this time last year.