Adds executive comment from call in paragraph 5, updates share movement in paragraph 10

By Neil J Kanatt

May 21 (Reuters) - TJX Cos TJX.N maintained its annual forecast on Wednesday and flagged an impact from U.S. tariffs, while resilient consumer demand for off-price goods amid an uncertain economy drove a quarterly sales beat for the TJ Maxx parent.

Fears of a potential recession and accelerating inflation triggered by tit-for-tat tariffs have pushed shoppers toward discount retailers as they rethink their spending patterns to save more money.

TJX reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 forecast for comparable sales growth at 2% to 3% and earnings per share between $4.34 and $4.43.

The company said the annual forecast assumes that it can offset the significant incremental pressure it has experienced and continues to expect from tariffs.

"We can do this primarily through our buying process, ability to adjust our ticket (prices) while maintaining our value gap (relative to other retailers), and our ability to diversify sourcing," TJX finance chief John Klinger said on a post-earnings call.

The company forecast comparable sales growth of 2% to 3% for the second quarter, compared with analysts' estimate of a 2.98% rise, according to data compiled by LSEG. It expects earnings per share between 97 cents and $1, shy of the $1.03 estimate.

TJX said its second-quarter forecast includes an incremental negative impact from tariff costs on the merchandise it had committed to when additional tariffs were announced.

According to analysts and investors, off-price retailers such as TJ Maxx, which rely on expansive sourcing strategies and inventory management, mostly from middlemen in the U.S., could largely sidestep any direct hit from the new China tariffs in near term.

"They $(TJX)$ are typically conservative in their forward guidance and therefore we would not expect them to deviate amid the uncertainty these days," said Simeon Siegel, analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

TJX shares were down 3% in afternoon trading.

Its first-quarter net sales were $13.11 billion, compared with the estimate of $13.01 billion. Its quarterly per-share profit of 92 cents was also ahead of the 91-cent estimate.

(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

((Neil.JKanatt@thomsonreuters.com))