11:08 AM EDT, 05/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Shares of Chewy (CHWY) were soaring intraday Wednesday after the online pet store reported stronger-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results and lifted its full-year margin guidance.

Revenue rose to $2.88 billion for the three months ended April 28 from $2.79 billion the year earlier and topped the $2.84 billion average analyst estimate on Capital IQ. Adjusted earnings per share advanced to $0.31 from $0.20, which was Wall Street's view. Shares of Chewy surged 28% in Wednesday trade.

"Fiscal year 2024 is off to a solid start. We delivered strong net sales as well as record-breaking adjusted (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in the first quarter," Chief Executive Sumit Singh said in a statement.

Key factors that contributed to the quarter's revenue were strong demand for non-discretionary categories such as consumables and health, and record-level Autoship sales, Singh told analysts on a conference call, according to a Capital IQ transcript. Autoship allows customers to save on regular items.

Net sales per active customer reached $562 during the quarter, with 20 million active customers. The year earlier, Chewy averaged $513 in net sales per active customers. Gross margin advanced to 29.7% from 28.4% year over year while adjusted EBITDA margin jumped 170 basis points to 5.7%.

For fiscal 2024, Chewy reiterated net sales in the $11.6 billion to $11.8 billion range, implying growth of 4% to 6% over fiscal 2023's top line. It now sees an adjusted EBITDA margin of 4.1% to 4.3%, an increase from the guidance of 3.8% it gave in March and above the 3.3% figure it reported for 2023.

Second-quarter revenue is expected to rise 2% to 3% year over year to between $2.84 billion and $2.86 billion.

Chewy announced its first share repurchase program on Wednesday, which Chief Financial Officer David Reeder told analysts was in light of the company's strong balance sheet, margin expansion and long-term strategy that he expects will deliver "incremental profitability." The company's board authorized a buyback program of up to $500 million.

Price: 21.64, Change: +4.73, Percent Change: +27.94