Bed, Bath & Beyond Posts In-Line Q4 Earnings, But Sales Miss Estimates

Shares of

dropped over 3 percent in after-hours trading after the company reported downbeat sales for its fiscal fourth quarter and issued a weak forecast. However, the company reported in-line earnings for the latest quarter. The Union, New Jersey-based company posted a quarterly profit of $321.1 million, or $1.80 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $333.3 million, or $1.60 per share. Its sales climbed to $3.337 billion from $3.203 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.80 per share on revenue of $3.37 billion. Comparable sales in the fourth quarter rose around 3.7 percent, versus a rise of around 1.7 percent, in the year-ago quarter. During the fourth quarter, Bed, Bath & Beyond repurchased around $947 million of its common stock. The average estimate among 45 Estimize users was for earnings of $1.79 per share and revenue of $3.36 billion. For the first quarter, Bed, Bath & Beyond expects a profit of $0.90 to $0.95 per share, including the impact of around $0.24 per share related to non-recurring items. Analysts had projected earnings of $1.02 per share. The company also projects a 2.0% to 3.0% growth for comparable sales for the first quarter and full year. Bed, Bath & Beyond shares dropped 3.80 percent to $74.73 in the after-hours trading session.