Bed Bath & Beyond Shares Tumble After Quarterly Results

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond were in the red on Thursday, losing a fifth of its value in trading after reporting second quarter financial results.

The company reported sales of $2.94 billion for the quarter, while analysts had expected $2.96 billion. Same-store sales were also down 0.6% compared to the growth of 0.3% that was waited for by Wall Street. Earnings fell to $48.6 million, or 36 cents a share, from $94.2 million, or 67 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts were expecting earnings of 50 cents a share.

Thursday’s trading session was the worst trading day ever for the home goods retailer.

“These poor numbers … need to be set against the context of a robust consumer economy where spending on homewares and home-related products has been strong. Framed in this way, the numbers are little short of terrible and underscore the myriad of missteps Bed Bath & Beyond is making,” said Neil Saunders, Managing Director of GlobalData Retail.

In a more positive note, the retailer told analysts that it saw a jump in its sales from Toys “R” Us’ liquidation and that it was in line with what was expected.

“Understandably, Bed Bath & Beyond reduced its fiscal 2018 sales/EPS outlook, which the Street likely viewed as aspirational,” remarked analyst Zachary Fadem at Wells Fargo.

“With the benefits of Toys “R” Us closures, a strong consumer environment and a host of ambitious company initiatives failing to materialize in our view thus far, we remain bearish on 2018, and see further downside risk ahead.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) and have not been compensated for this article.