The Dick's Sporting Goods logo is seen at the store in Williston, the United States, on June 19, 2023.
Jakub Porzycki | Nurfoto | fake images
Dick's Sporting Goods increased its dividend by 10% on Thursday as the company posted its biggest quarter of sales in its history and projected another year of growth.
Many retailers benefited from a 53rd week in fiscal 2023, but Dick's said it still broke records during its fiscal fourth quarter even without those extra days.
Here's how the sportswear retailer fared compared to what Wall Street anticipated, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: Adjusted $3.85 vs. expected $3.35
- Revenue: $3.88 billion vs. $3.8 billion expected
The company's reported net income for the three-month period ended Feb. 3 was $296 million, or $3.57 per share, compared with $236 million, or $2.60 per share, a year before. Excluding one-time items related to impairment charges and inventory write-offs, Dick's reported earnings per share of $3.85.
Sales rose to $3.88 billion, up about 8% from $3.6 billion a year earlier.
“With our industry-leading assortment and strong execution, we capped the year with an incredibly strong fourth quarter and holiday season,” CEO Lauren Hobart said in a statement.
“We are on track for another strong year in 2024. We plan to increase our sales and profits through positive comps, higher merchandise margins and productivity gains,” he added.
During the quarter, comparable sales rose 2.8%, well above the 0.8% increase analysts were expecting, according to StreetAccount. “Transaction growth” and increased market share drove the increase, Chief Executive Ed Stack said.
For fiscal 2024, Dick's expects earnings per share to be between $12.85 and $13.25, compared to estimates of $12.90, according to LSEG. It forecasts revenue between $13 billion and $13.13 billion, roughly in line with estimates of $13.13 billion, according to LSEG.
The company expects comparable sales to increase between 1% and 2%.
Following the strong quarter, Dick's increased its quarterly dividend by 10% to $1.10 per share.
Heading into the holiday season, Dick's raised its full-year sales and profit outlook but took a cautious tone about the crucial holiday shopping period, repeatedly saying it was optimistic about things “that were within our control.”
“We are being conservative at the lower end of our guidance,” Hobart said on a call with analysts after Dick's third-quarter results were announced. “We're competing with everyone in the world during the fourth quarter, and also the consumer is going through a lot, and we're just trying to be cautious.”
Read the full earnings release here.
