TJX sales rise 5%; cites ability to offset tariff pressures

 The TJX Companies reported strong first-quarter sales, with increases in comp sales and customer transactions across all its divisions, both in the U.S. and internationally.

But the off-price giant warned that tariff costs could cause them to fall short of analysts’s earnings projections. TJX said the forecast includes an incremental negative impact from tariff costs on the merchandise it had committed to when additional tariffs were announced.

"While we’re not immune to tariff pressure, we are laser focused on our initiatives to offset them by remaining flexible and executing our opportunistic buying approach," TJX president and CEO Ernie Herrman said on the company's earnings call. "Long term, we remain as confident as ever in our strategic vision for future growth."

Profit fell to $1 billion, or $0.92 per share, for the quarter ended May 3,  from $1.07 billion, or $0.93 per share, in the year-ago quarter.  Analysts had expected earnings of $0.91 per share.

Total sales rose 5% to $13.11 billion, topping estimates of $13.02 billion. Comparable-store sales were up 3%. By division, comp sales rose 2% at Marmaxx (includes Marshalls, TJ Maxx and Sierra) and were up 4% at HomeGoods (U.S.) Comps rose 5% at TJX Canada and at TJX International (Europe and Australia).

 

In its earnings statement, Herrman said the second quarter is off to a strong start and the company is “laser focused” on executing all the key fundamentals of its off-price retail model. 

“I am convinced that our broad assortments of great brands and fashions, at compelling prices, will continue to be a tremendous draw for shoppers seeking value,” he stated. “Further, I am confident that the strength, flexibility, and resiliency of our off-price business model will serve us well in today’s macro environment, as it has throughout our long, successful history.”

Herrman told analysts on the earnings call that the availability of merchandise TJX is seeing is “outstanding and we are in a great position to take advantage of the plentiful opportunities that the marketplace is offering.”

TJX said its second quarter and fiscal 2025 forecast assumes that it can offset the “significant incremental pressure” it has experienced and continues to expect from tariffs.

"We believe we can do this primarily through our buying process, our ability to adjust our ticket while maintaining our value gap, and our ability to diversify our sourcing," CFO John Klinger said on the earnings call. "Further, we are focused on cost efficiencies and productivity initiatives."

For the current quarter, the company expects comparable sales to be up 2% to 3%. It expects earnings of $0.97 per share to $1.00 a share, slightly below Street forecasts.

For the full year, it expects comp sales to rise 2% to 3% and earnings per share to be in the range of $4.34 to $4.43. which would represent a 2% to 4% increase over the prior year’s $4.26.

During the fiscal quarter ended May 3, the company increased its store count by 36 stores overall to a total of 5,121 stores across nine countries,

https://chainstoreage.com/tjx-sales-rise-5-cites-ability-offset-tariff-pressures