BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) has reported lower second-quarter sales and earnings as it was held back by lower gasoline sales.
While the earnings decline wasn’t as bad as expected, the company’s shares fell close to 2% in Tuesday premarket trading.
The warehouse membership chain said comparable club sales fell by 5.3% over the quarter ended July 29, 2023. Excluding gasoline sales, they were up 1.1% from a year earlier.
Total revenues for the quarter declined by 2.7% to $4.96 billion, below the $5.2 billion expected by analysts, according to Zacks Investment Research.
While earnings per share fell 5.8% to $0.97, they came in above the $0.90 expected by the Street.
“Our strong performance in the second quarter reflects our continued gains in membership, traffic and market share, driven by the great value that we provide our members every day,” BJ’s chairman and CEO Bob Eddy said in a statement.
“We continue to balance gross margins with investments in value and in growing the size and quality of our membership with an eye toward the future."
For fiscal 2023, the company has updated its guidance and now expects comparable club sales, excluding the impact of gasoline sales, to increase by approximately 2% year-over-year.
Earnings per share are expected to be in the $3.80 to $3.92 range.
The company’s shares were 1.8% down at $68.48 ahead of the market open.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com