Academy Sports and Outdoors reported larger-than-expected declines in fiscal third-quarter results, prompting a revision of its full-year revenue guidance on Tuesday. Revenue decreased to $1.34 billion for the three months ending Nov. 2, down from $1.4 billion in the same period a year prior, falling short of the $1.39 billion average analyst estimate on FactSet.
Adjusted earnings per share dropped to $0.98 from $1.38, marking a 24% deviation from the $1.28 consensus. Comparable store sales dipped by 4.9%, which was worse than the 3.5% expected by analysts but showed slight improvement from the 6.4% decline noted in the first half of the year which ended on Aug.
3. Following this report, shares of Academy Sports experienced a 4.6% increase in midday trading. 'We delivered third-quarter sales in line with expectations and were encouraged to see an improvement in comparable sales trends compared to the first half of the year,' stated Chief Executive Steve Lawrence.
In the outdoor division, sales for the sporting goods retailer increased by 7% year-over-year, according to Lawrence. Truist Securities noted that adverse weather conditions, including hurricanes and an abnormally warm October, likely affected results, while financial pressures faced by Academy Sports' core middle-income customer base continued to pose challenges.
For the entirety of the year, Academy Sports is now forecasting revenue between $5.895 billion and $5.94 billion, reducing the upper limit of its earlier projection of $6.08 billion. The company anticipates comparable sales to decline between 5% and 6%, a shift from the previously expected drop of 3% to 6%.
Analysts participating in the FactSet poll are estimating revenue of $6.03 billion, coupled with a 5% decline in comparable sales. Additionally, the company's adjusted EPS guidance has been revised to a range of $5.80 to $6.10, down from $5.75 to $6.50 previously. The current consensus calls for adjusted EPS of $6.23 for the year..