Bed Bath & Beyond stock sinks on earnings miss, CEO calls bad quarter 'pothole in the road'

Brian Sozzi
·Executive Editor
3 min read
6
In this article:

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) has hit its first speed-bump in a turnaround that had been going very well. The triple whammy of the Delta variant in Texas, Florida, California (which hurt store traffic), supply chain inflation and a decision to pull back on paper circulars weighed heavily on the retailer's most recent quarter.

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond fell 21% on Thursday as the retailer's results surprised Wall Street across the board.

Bed Bath & Beyond CEO Mark Tritton didn't shy away from the challenges seen in the quarter in a phone interview with Yahoo Finance, and reiterated that his company's transformation remains on track.

"From a strategic point of view and a tactical point of view we are unchanged from our strategy, we have the team, we have the talent, we have the strategy. The strategic tools are working incredibly well, whether it's our owned brand, the reformation of supply chain momentum, all the work we've been doing with assortment, pricing and promotions. We've been really good about store models. All those things are moving, absolutely beyond our expectations. This is the pothole in the road, and so we have to manage the goodness now of our green shoots and continue to share that with the Street and the media. So, we are on track for our overall transformation goals," explained Tritton.

Here were the main results from Bed Bath & Beyond's fiscal second quarter, compared to analysts' estimates:

  • Total Revenue: $1.99 billion vs. $2.06 billion expected

  • Adjusted EBITDA: $85 million vs. $156.2 million expected

  • Adjusted EPS: $0.04 vs. $0.52 expected

Bed Bath & Beyond missed analysts' sales and profit forecasts for its second fiscal quarter. The company pinned the blame on shortfalls in traffic late in the quarter (see Delta variant and circular issues) and stubborn transportation inflation.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 28: A Bed, Bath & Beyond is photographed in Pasadena on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 28: A Bed, Bath & Beyond is photographed in Pasadena on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Dania Maxwell via Getty Images)

Tritton tells Yahoo Finance traffic sluggishness has persisted into September, but remains hopeful on the holiday shopping season given pent-up demand among consumers. The company has ramped back up its circulars to customers to reignite store traffic.

Nevertheless, Bed Bath & Beyond also cut its full-year sales and profit forecasts following challenges in its most recent quarter:

  • Total Revenue: $8.1 billion to $8.3 billion (previous: $8.2 billion to $8.4 billion) vs. $8.3 billion

  • Adjusted EBITDA: $425 million to $465 million (previous: $520 million to $540 million) vs. $530.3 million

  • Adjusted EPS: $0.70 to $1.10 (previous: $1.40 to $1.55) vs. $1.52

Added Tritton on the path from here, "We've got a fix it plan, we own it, we're accountable. The Delta piece, we have to create more trust and outreach for the customer, and hope that vaccinations and the confidence levels return."

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit

Advertisement

Recommended Stories