Third-quarter advances with help from home operations allowed TJX Cos. to post revenue and earnings increases that beat Wall Street estimates and boosted its full-year financial guidance
Net income was $1.44 billion, or $1.28 per diluted share, versus $1.3 billion, or $1.14 per diluted share, for the year-before quarter, the company noted.
A Zacks Investment Research analyst average estimate called for earnings of 1.22 per diluted share and revenue of $14.88 billion.
Company consolidated comparable sales advanced 5% in the quarter year over year, with the Marmaxx division, including the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls banners, up 6%, HomeGoods up 5%, TJX Canada up 8% and TJX International up 3%. Net sales were $15.12 billion versus $14.06 billion in the year-prior quarter, TJX reported.
Guidance for the full fiscal year now includes a consolidated comp increase of 4% versus 3% previously. The company raised its diluted earnings per share outlook to be in the range of $4.63 to $4.66 from $4.52 to $4.57.
In a conference call, John Klinger, TJX senior executive vice president and CFO, said, “Our consolidated comp sales growth of 5% came in well above our plan. This was driven by a combination of a higher average basket and an increase in customer transactions. Further, we saw strong comp increases in both our apparel and home categories.”
At Marmaxx, home and apparel gained, Klinger said, adding strong continued growth in the HomeGoods business supported continued expansion of the banner as the company anticipated taking additional market share in the housewares and home decor sector.
He added that TJX tariff mitigation efforts allowed the company to offset tariff pressure experienced in the third quarter.
In announcing the financial results, Ernie Herrman, TJX president and CEO, said, “Sales, pretax profit margin and earnings per share all exceeded our expectations. Overall comp sales grew 5%, with strength at every division. We believe this is a testament to our value proposition and treasure-hunt shopping experience, which continue to draw consumers to our retail banners worldwide. With our outperformance in the third quarter, we are raising our sales, pretax profit margin, and earnings per share guidance for the full year. The fourth quarter is off to a strong start, the availability of merchandise continues to be outstanding, and we are excited about the deals we are seeing in the marketplace. With our compelling values and ever-changing, fresh assortments of good, better, and best brands, we are convinced that our stores and e-commerce sites are strongly positioned as gifting destinations for value-conscious shoppers this holiday season. Going forward, we see great potential to continue capturing market share and successfully growing TJX around the globe.”
