Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) said fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 28%, hurt by expenses related to the recent US tax reform. The shares plunged after the company's per-share earnings forecast missed estimates and as analysts cut their price target for the stock.
Net income dropped to US$1.94mln from US$268.7mln a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Revenue gained 5.2% to US$3.7bn.
To grow comparable sales
The shares fell 19% to US$17.51 at 9:49 am.
The retailer said it forecasts net earnings per diluted share for fiscal 2018 to be in the “low-to-mid US$2.00 range.” Analysts were expecting US$2.77 a share. Wedbush analyst Seth Basham cut his price target for Bed Bath & Beyond to US$18 from US$23.
The company said it expects to grow comparable sales beginning in this fiscal year, while “moderating the declines in its operating profit and net earnings per diluted share” in fiscal 2018 and 2019.