Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) Q2 Earnings Top Estimates, Fall Y/Y

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) reported mixed second-quarter fiscal 2019 results, wherein the bottom line outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate but the top line missed the same. With this, the company’s earnings marked fourth straight beat, while sales lagged for the fifth straight time. Also, its earnings and sales declined on a year-over-year basis. Comparable sales (comps) continued to decline in the second quarter.

Following the quarterly earnings release, shares of Bed Bath & Beyond lost approximately 3% during the trading session on Oct 2. In the past six months, shares of this Union, NJ-based company have declined 43%, wider than the industry’s fall of 20.3%.

Q2 in Detail

Bed Bath & Beyond’s earnings came in at 34 cents per share in the fiscal second quarter, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 26 cents. However, the reported figure declined 5.6% from 36 cents earned in the year-ago quarter.

Net sales fell nearly 7.4% to $2,719 million and also came below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,763 million. This downside can be primarily attributed to comparable sales decline of roughly 6.7%. Comps fell due to lower store transactions, somewhat offset by a rise in the average transaction amount. In fact, comps in stores fell in high single-digit percentage range, while decreased slightly at its customer-facing digital channels.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Gross profit declined roughly 6.9% to $920.7 million in the reported quarter. Nevertheless, gross profit margin expanded 20 basis points (bps) to 33.9%. Improvement in gross margin was mainly driven by progress of the company’s margin enhancement initiatives.

Moreover, SG&A expenses decreased 5.2% to $858.4 million driven by gains from its cost structure optimization efforts. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A increased 80 bps to 31.6% mainly owing to higher technology-related costs. Further, the company incurred operating loss of $182.3 million against income of $78.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

Financial Position

Bed Bath & Beyond ended the second quarter with cash and investments of roughly $983.9 million, which reflects an improvement of roughly 13% from the end of year-ago quarter. Long-term debt totaled $1,488.2 million and total shareholders' equity came in at $1,903 million as of Aug 31, 2019.

At the end of first six months of fiscal 2019, the company generated a cash flow of about $255.9 million from operating activities and deployed nearly $125 million toward capital expenditures.

Share Buyback & Dividend

In the reported quarter, Bed Bath & Beyond repurchased stock worth nearly $16.5 million, reflecting about 1.4 million shares.

Additionally, the company’s board declared a quarterly dividend of 17 cents per share, payable Jan 14, 2020, to its shareholders of record as of Dec 13.

Store Update

In second-quarter fiscal 2019, Bed Bath & Beyond closed two outlets.

As of Aug 31, 2019, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company had 1,534 stores in operation, comprising 993 namesake stores across 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Canada; 277 stores under the labels World Market, Cost Plus World Market or Cost Plus; 126 buybuy BABY stores; 81 stores under the labels Christmas Tree Shops, Christmas Tree Shops andThat! or andThat!; 55 stores under Harmon, Harmon Face Values or Face Values names; and two retail stores under the label One Kings Lane.

Additionally, the company’s joint venture operates 10 flagship stores in Mexico.

Recently, the company-owned One Kings Lane (the digitally-driven home retailer) declared that it will expand its physical retail footprint with a third location in Boston's Seaport District on Oct 17.

Transformation Plan

Management issued updates to accelerate the Transformation Plan. In fact, the company has established four major near-term priorities – stabilize and boost top-line growth; reset the cost structure; review and optimize its asset base with its portfolio of retail banners as well as refine the organization structure.

To meet these priorities, management remains focused on enhancing customers’ experience and maximizing shareholders’ value.

Outlook

Management now expects net sales to be around $11.4 billion and adjusted earnings in the range of $2.08-$2.13 per share for fiscal 2019.

For fiscal 2019, capital expenditures are still expected between $350 million and $375 million.

3 Stocks to Watch

Office Depot, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODP) has a long-term earnings growth rate of 5.2% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Regis Corporation (NYSE:RGS) has a long-term earnings growth rate of 7.5% and flaunts a Zacks Rank #1.

Hibbett Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIBB) has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.9% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a Generation

Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, it’s expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity.

A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 1990s. Zacks’ just-released special report reveals 7 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time.

See 7 breakthrough stocks now>>