Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) reported earnings on Wed 10 Apr 2019 (a/h)

** charts before earnings **

 

** charts after earnings **

Bed Bath & Beyond beats by $0.10, reports revs in-line; guides FY20 EPS above consensus; sees double digit EPS growth thereafter; raises dividend 6%; names Patrick Gaston Lead Independent Director

• Reports Q4 (Feb) earnings of $1.20 per share, $0.10 better than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $1.10 -- GAAP EPS was ($1.92), which included a non-cash goodwill and tradename impairments charge; revenues fell 11.0% year/year to $3.31 bln vs the $3.33 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.
• Comparable sales in the fiscal 2018 fourth quarter declined ~1.4% and included strong sales growth from the Company's customer-facing digital channels, and sales from stores that declined in the mid-single-digit percentage range.
• Co issues upside guidance for FY20, sees EPS of $2.11-2.20, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.81 S&P Capital IQ Consensus. 
• In 2020 and long term, incorporating the cumulative effects of its comprehensive transformation plan; its capital allocation strategy; and operating margin improvement of over 300 basis points, the co expects to achieve double-digit growth rates in net earnings per diluted share.
• The Company's Board of Directors today declared an increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share from $0.16 per share, payable on July 16, 2019 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 14, 2019.
• During the fiscal 2018 fourth quarter, the Company repurchased ~$78 million of its common stock, representing ~5.2 million shares.
• The Company's ongoing efforts to implement and execute on organization-wide foundational initiatives are intended to drive four key objectives:
  • Mid-and-long-term revenue growth from portfolio strategy alignment across product assortment, customer experience and customer engagement, including greater focus on growing destinational categories (bed, bath, kitchen, windows and tabletop) and proprietary and private-label brands; the learnings from Next Generation Lab store experiences to enhance the in-store customer experience; an enhanced online experience; as well as efforts to assure that our customers are getting the right value for the products they want and need most.
  • Near-term and ongoing gross margin improvements through changes in assortment mix to drive sales to better margin categories; modifications in pricing algorithms; further optimization of coupon strategy; and supply chain improvements.
  • Near-term and ongoing SG&A improvements from improvements in store labor model; marketing efficiencies; and reductions in occupancy expense relating to ongoing store lease negotiations.
  • Current and sustainable world-class operational support through investments in human capital, data and analytics and process improvements; repositioning and articulating Bed Bath & Beyond brand in the marketplace across all customer interactions including assortment, store and digital experience and marketing; and enhancements in global sourcing capabilities.
• the Board has named Patrick Gaston as Lead Independent Director and has
  reconstituted its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. In addition,
  the Board is accelerating its refreshment program, which has already resulted in
  the addition of three new directors in the past two years.