BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. shares are trading lower after reporting its second-quarter financial results.

Revenue growth of 4.9% Y/Y to $5.205 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $5.145 billion. Total comparable club sales increased by 3.1%. Comparable club sales, excluding gasoline sales, increased by 2.4%.

Membership fee income increased by 9.1% Y/Y to $113.1 million. Digitally enabled comparable sales climbed 22.0%. Gross profit rose to $956.6 million from $896.8 million a year ago. Merchandise gross margin rate, which excludes gasoline sales and membership fee income, increased by 10 basis points Y/Y.

Operating income for the quarter increased 1.7% Y/Y to $203.7 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased 4.9% Y/Y to $281.3 million. Adjusted EPS of $1.09 beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.00.

BJ’s Wholesale Club held $38.0 million in cash and equivalents as of August 3. Operating cash flow for the six months totaled $422.2 million.

Under its existing share repurchase program, the company repurchased 451,982 shares of common stock, totaling $40.4 million in the second quarter.

Laura Felice, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, BJ’s Wholesale Club said, “Our business model and long-term strategies have allowed us to invest in our value proposition to help our members stretch their dollar. As we do what’s right for our members, we expect our fiscal 2024 merchandise gross margins to remain approximately flat year-over-year.”

Outlook Reaffirmed: BJ’s Wholesale continues to expect its fiscal 2024 adjusted EPS to range $3.75 to $4.00, with its investments for the long term potentially driving it toward the low end of the range. The analyst consensus stands at $3.93.

The company continues to expect fiscal 2024 comparable club sales, excluding the impact of gasoline sales, to increase 1% to 2%, with traffic and unit growth as well as a strong perishables business likely driving it to the higher end of the range.

Also Read: Costco’s Fee Hike Raises Stakes For BJ’s, Advance Auto Parts Faces Rough Road Ahead

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Invesco Dorsey Wright Consumer Staples Momentum ETF and Professionally Managed Portfolios Congress SMid Growth ETF .

Price Action: BJ shares are down 7.3% at $81.20 premarket at the last check Thursday.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.