Bed Bath & Beyond's Stock Falls After Same-store Sales Miss Expectations

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.'s stock slumped 2.6% in after-hours trade Thursday, after the home-furnishings retailer reported fiscal second-quarter same-store sales that missed expectations, which overshadowed a profit that was in line with forecasts and a new $2.5 billion stock repurchase program. For the quarter ended Aug. 29, earnings came in at $201.7 million, or $1.21 a share, compared with $224 million, or $1.17 a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for per-share earnings of $1.21. Sales rose to $3 billion from $2.94 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $3.03 billion. Same-store sales increased 0.7% from a year ago, missing the FactSet consensus for 2.2% growth. For the fiscal third quarter, the company expects EPS of $1.14 to $1.21, surrounding the FactSet consensus of $1.19, and same-store sales growth of 1% to 3%, compared with expectations of a 2.6% rise. The stock has dropped 22% year to date through Thursday's close, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 5.1% and the S&P 500 has declined 6.2%.