Burlington Stores (NYSE:) saw its shares rise more than 12% in premarket trading on Thursday after the department store chain reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and issued optimistic guidance for the full fiscal year 2025.
The company posted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.42, ahead of consensus expectations of $1.05. Revenue came in at $2.36 billion, also above the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion.
Comparable sales increased 2%, compared to 4% year over year, and exceeded the estimate of 1.51%.
Gross margin increased from 42.3% year-over-year to 43.5%, also exceeding the consensus projection of 43.3%.
For fiscal 2025, Burlington Stores expects earnings per share to be between $7.35 and $7.75, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45. This represents an increase of 18% to 24% from FY23 on a 52-week basis.
“We are very pleased with the way our sales trends have developed in the first quarter. The quarter started slow in February, likely due to poor weather and delayed tax refunds, but our sales trend picked up thereafter,” said Michael O’Sullivan, CEO of Burlington Stores.
“Looking at the 2024 balance sheet, we remain confident in the prospects for our business. Based on our first quarter performance, we are increasing our margin and profit expectations for the year. Nevertheless, much uncertainty remains in the external environment.”
