TJX Tops Q3 Estimates, Shares Gain

Shares of

surged over 5 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat results for the third quarter on Tuesday. The Framingham, Massachusetts-based company company posted quarterly net income of $587.3 million, or $0.86 per share, compared to $595 million, or $0.85 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue climbed to $7.75 billion from $7.37 billion. Analysts were projecting earnings of $0.85 per share on revenue of $7.73 billion. The average estimate among 52 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.85 per share and revenue of $7.71 billion. Its comparable store sales climbed 5 percent in the latest quarter, versus a 2 percent growth in the year-ago period. Gross profit margin declined 0.4 percentage points to 29.0 percent for the third quarter. As of October 31, 2015, total inventories were $4.4 billion, versus $4.0 billion at the end of the year-ago quarter. During the third quarter, TJX repurchased a total of $459 million of its stock. Carol Meyrowitz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The TJX Companies, Inc., said, "We are delighted that strong customer traffic drove our entire consolidated comp and was the primary driver of our comp increases at every division. Our excellent traffic gains and strong performance across our apparel, accessories and home categories, demonstrate that our brands globally are offering the right values and merchandise mix. Again this quarter, we saw strong sales at every division." TJX expects Q4 earnings of $0.91 to $0.93 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.98 per share. For the fiscal year ending January 30, 2016, TJX continues to project earnings of $3.26 to $3.28 per share. TJX shares climbed 5.88 percent to $69.51 in pre-market trading.