Dick’s Sporting Goods store at Los Cerritos Center Mall in Cerritos, California on February 21, 2024.
Kirby Lee | Getty Images News | Getty Images
dick’s sporting goods The company’s fiscal second-quarter profit guidance topped Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, and while the retailer did raise its full-year guidance as a result, the new outlook was in line with expectations.
The sporting goods store lagged behind a string of other retailers in issuing dovish or cautious forecasts for the second half of the fiscal year as the company prepares for November’s presidential election and some worry it could lead to a slowdown in consumer spending. guidance.
Here’s how Dick’s performed compared to Wall Street expectations, according to a survey of analysts by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG):
- Earnings per share: $4.37 Estimated $3.83
- income: US$3.47 billion Expected to be $3.44 billion
The company reported net income of $362 million, or $4.37 per share, for the three months ended Aug. 3, compared with $244 million, or $2.82 per share, in the same period last year.
Sales increased to US$3.47 billion, an increase of approximately 8% from US$3.22 billion in the same period last year. Comparable sales rose 4.5%, higher than analysts’ expectations of 3.6%, according to StreetAccount.
Chief Executive Lauren Hobart said in a statement that comparable sales were driven by a combination of transactions and tickets — a sign that more people are coming to Dick’s stores and spending more there. many.
For fiscal 2024, Dick’s now expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $13.55 to $13.90, up from previous guidance of $13.35 to $13.75 per share. Although Dick’s second-quarter profit was 54 cents higher than expected, it only raised its profit guidance by about 18 cents in the interim. Dick’s profit guidance was slightly below analysts’ expectations of $13.79, according to LSEG.
Dick’s maintained sales guidance of $13.1 billion to $13.2 billion, which was also in line with analysts’ expectations of $13.24 billion, according to LSEG. The company did raise its forecast for comparable sales growth, now expecting growth to be in the range of 2.5% to 3.5%, up from previous guidance of 2% to 3%. The upper end of the guidance beat analysts’ expectations for 3% growth, according to StreetAccount.
Last week, the company disclosed in a securities filing that it was the victim of a cyberattack and that “certain confidential information” was exposed. Dick said it therefore launched a “cybersecurity response plan” and worked with outside experts to investigate and isolate the threat.
Dick’s said in its filing that it had no knowledge of the breach disrupting business operations and that based on the information it had, it did not believe the incident was material.
This time last year, Dick’s shocked investors by saying the theft and steep price cuts on slow-moving inventory would affect its full-year profit forecast, sending its shares down 24%. At the time, profits were down about 23%, but considering Wednesday’s better-than-expected earnings, those woes appear to be a thing of the past for the company.
Many other retailers – including Target and Walmart – said inventory drawdowns or losses due to a range of factors including theft and damage have eased over the past few weeks. Retailers say one of the most important issues they face in 2023 is that after investing in operations, technology and reducing the use of self-checkout machines, some retailers no longer seem to worry about merchandise shrinkage.
Over the past few weeks, a string of retailers have reported second-quarter numbers that topped expectations but issued guidance for the final two quarters of 2024 that was either tame or poor compared to company results. Retailers have been preparing for the upcoming November election and its likely impact on consumer spending. Beyond the election, there is uncertainty about the Fed’s expected rate cuts and their likely impact on discretionary spending.
Dick’s is scheduled to discuss its results with analysts at 8 a.m. ET and share more insights about its guidance.