Burlington Stores, Inc. has reported impressive second-quarter fiscal 2024 results, wherein sales and earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Also, both the bottom and top lines grew year over year. The company raised its fiscal 2024 outlook driven by robust performance.
Burlington Stores has been focusing on strategic initiatives to drive growth and profitability, including a significant expansion of its store footprint. The company is also working on optimizing its merchandise assortment by increasing the mix of better brands, which will help attract more customers and reinforce its value proposition.
Additionally, the company is enhancing its supply chain through productivity initiatives, which include modernizing its distribution centers with more automation. This focus on operational improvements, along with better inventory management resulting in faster turnover and lower markdowns, supports overall profitability.
Burlington Stores, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Burlington Stores, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Burlington Stores, Inc. Quote
More on Burlington Stores' Q2 Financial Results
Burlington Stores reported adjusted earnings of $1.20 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 95 cents. The bottom line rose 100% from 60 cents in the year-ago quarter. Excluding the acquisition of Bed Bath & Beyond leases, earnings were $1.24 per share compared with 63 cents in the year-ago period.
Total revenues of $2,465.5 million increased 13.4% from the prior-year quarter and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,421 million. The company's comparable store sales jumped 5% from the year-ago period. Net sales were $2,461.2 million and other revenues were $4.3 million.
Insight Into BURL's Margins
The gross margin was 42.8%, up 110 basis points (bps) from second-quarter fiscal 2023. We expected the gross margin to increase 60 bps year over year. The merchandise margin expanded 90 bps due to lower markdowns. Freight expenses improved 20 bps year over year driven by lower freight rates and cost savings initiatives.
Adjusted selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses rose 13.7% year over year to $667.1 million. Adjusted SG&A expenses, as a rate of sales, was 27.1%, up 10 bps from second-quarter fiscal 2023. We estimated adjusted SG&A expenses to grow 9.6% year over year in the second quarter.
Product sourcing costs were $192 million, up from $183 million in the year-ago quarter. This is due to supply-chain expense leverage from continued progress on the ...
