BJ's Wholesale Club profit doubles as members load up during coronavirus

BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. profit surged 96% in the three months through June as members stocked up on goods while sheltering at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Westborough, Mass.-based warehouse club earned $106.6 million, or an adjusted 77 cents per share, as revenue rose 18% year-over-year to $3.95 billion. The results outpaced the adjusted earnings of 60 cents a share and revenue of $3.74 billion that Wall Street analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
BJ	BJS WHSL CLUB HLDGS INC	75.78	+0.86	+1.15%

“We delivered another remarkable quarter with strong comp growth and record profitability,” CEO Lee Delaney said in a statement. “We are extremely well-positioned to continue to win as we invest in digital capabilities, membership, assortment, marketing and geographic expansion to further accelerate this transformation."

Digitally enabled sales grew more than 300% in the quarter as members did more shopping from the comfort of their own homes, helping boost comparable club sales by 24% versus last year.

Improved profitability and sales performance in the company’s general merchandise business were partially offset by rising commodity costs, mostly beef, and expenses related-to COVID-19.

BJ’s invested $31.4 million in wages and bonuses for frontline workers during the quarter.

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Shares rose 91% this year through Wednesday, outperforming the S&P 500’s 4.46% gain.