Bed Bath & Beyond Shares Whacked After Sales Miss
In the company's fiscal third quarter ending November 29, sales total $2.94 billion, missing Wall Street expectations for sales of $2.97 billion.
On a same-store sales basis, sales rose 1.7% during the quarter, better than the 1.3% increase seen during the same quarter last year. Year-to-date same-store sales are up 1.9% against 2.7% for the same period a year ago.
The company's third quarter profit and outlook for the rest of the year, however, beat expectations. Bed Bath & Beyond earned $1.23 per share in the quarter, better than the $1.19 expected by analysts, and said that in its current quarter earnings per share would total $1.78-$1.83 against expectations for earnings of $1.80.
For the fiscal year, Bed Bath & Beyond sees earnings per share coming in between $5.05-$5.09, roughly in-line with Wall Street estimates.
Bed Bath & Beyond said that in December the company completed the $1 billion accelerated share repurchase plan it announced back in July.
On Thursday shares of the retailer rose 1.6% amid a broad market rally that saw the Dow gain more than 320 points ahead of Friday's December jobs report.