Dick’s Sporting Goods Beats Revenue Expectations After Robust Holiday Season
Dick’s Sporting Goods had a stronger than expected holiday season.
The sporting goods retailer exceeded analysts’ expectations for sales and earnings in the fourth quarter. Revenue was $3.6 billion, a quarterly record for the company, beating an expected $3.45 billion. Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $2.93 compared to an expected $2.88. Net income was $236 million and same-store sales increased 5.3 percent.
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The company has managed to buck weaker trends in retail — and in the sporting goods category as a whole.
The chain’s leadership previously cited consistently strong consumer demand for its products despite inflation. The company has managed to capitalize on this momentum during key shopping holidays like back-to-school and, more recently, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.
“Our fourth quarter was a strong end to another strong year,” Dick CEO Lauren Hobart said in a statement, adding that the retailer had addressed “targeted inventory excesses,” which puts it in a strong position to enter the brought the year 2023. “We couldn’t be more excited about our spring range,” she said.
Like other retailers, Dick’s took action in the third quarter to reduce excess apparel inventory through various online and in-store discount schemes.
“There is still some excess inventory to be worked off, but that’s relatively small and Dick’s is succeeding in eliminating that through its traditional stores and its own discount Go, Go, Gone concept,” says Neil Saunders , CEO of GlobalData. said in a note.
For the full year, net sales were $12.37 billion, up 0.6 percent from 2021.
Given the strong results over the holiday season, Dick’s expects full-year 2023 earnings per share to be in the range of $12.90 to $13.80, up from $10.78 per share in fiscal 2022. Same-store sales are expected to be between stagnate and rise 2 percent. While this outlook is softer than current results, it doesn’t predict sales declines, which Saunders says is “a very clear win and something that sets it apart from a lot of other retailers.”
“After two consecutive record-breaking years, we are extremely pleased with our performance in 2022, which was the busiest year in revenue in our company’s history,” Executive Chairman Ed Stack said in a statement. “These results and our outlook for 2023 demonstrate the strength of our business as we continue our multi-year transformation through focused strategies and strong execution.”
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