By Rob Curran

Shares of Carter's were higher premarket after the children's-wear chain logged surprisingly strong first-quarter sales growth.

The Atlanta-based retailer posted earnings of $14.3 million, or 39 cents a share, for the quarter ended April 4, down from $15.5 million, or 43 cents a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out certain onetime items, Carter's adjusted earnings were still 39 cents a share, eclipsing the average Wall Street estimate of 13 cents a share, as tallied by FactSet.

First-quarter sales rose 8.1% to $681 million, handily beating the average analyst target of $660.6 million, as per FactSet. Comparable store sales in the U.S., a measure of sales changes in stores or digital outlets open a year or more, surged 10.5%.

Shares of Carter's rose 6.5% to $35.50, premarket.

For 2026, the seller of baby onesies and other children's wear projected sales growth in the low-single-digit to mid-single-digit percentage range from $2.898 billion in 2025. On average, analysts anticipate 2026 revenue of $3.004 billion for the year.

Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 06, 2026 07:51 ET (11:51 GMT)

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