Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BJ) plunged 7.94% in Friday's pre-market trading session after the membership-based warehouse retailer reported mixed second-quarter results that fell short of revenue expectations despite beating earnings estimates.
For the quarter ended July 31, BJ's reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.14, surpassing the analyst consensus of $1.09. However, the company's total revenue of $5.38 billion missed the Street's forecast of $5.48 billion. Comparable club sales, excluding gasoline, increased by 2.3% year-over-year, falling short of the expected 3.2% growth and indicating a slowdown in market share gains.
Despite the sales miss, BJ's highlighted some positive metrics in its report. The company's membership base reached a record high of 8 million, with membership fee income rising 9% compared to the previous year. Additionally, digitally-enabled comparable sales saw robust growth of 34%, demonstrating strong e-commerce momentum. In light of these developments, BJ's raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $4.20-$4.35, up from the previous range of $4.10-$4.30. However, the company maintained its outlook for comparable club sales growth at 2.0% to 3.5%, which may have contributed to investor concerns about future growth prospects.