Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) Q2 2024 Earnings

Dick Sporting Goods On Wednesday, Amazon.com Inc.'s earnings beat Wall Street estimates for its fiscal second quarter, and while the retailer raised its full-year guidance as a result, the new forecast was in line with expectations.

The sporting goods store follows a string of other retailers that have issued muted or cautious guidance for the second half of the fiscal year as companies prepare for the November presidential election and what some fear will be a slowdown in consumer spending.

Here's how Dick's performed compared to what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts conducted by LSEG:

Earnings per share: $4.37 vs. $3.83 expectedRevenue: $3.47 billion vs. $3.44 billion expected

The company reported net income for the three-month period ended Aug. 3 of $362 million, or $4.37 per share, compared with $244 million, or $2.82 per share, a year earlier.

Sales rose to $3.47 billion, up about 8% from $3.22 billion a year earlier. Comparable sales rose 4.5% — topping the 3.6% analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount.

In a statement, CEO Lauren Hobart said comparable sales were driven by transactions and tickets — indicating that more people are coming to Dick's stores and spending more while they're there.

For fiscal 2024, Dick’s now expects diluted earnings per share to be between $13.55 and $13.90, up from its previous guidance of $13.35 to $13.75 per share. At the midpoint, Dick’s raised its earnings guidance by just 18 cents, though fiscal Q2 earnings came in 54 cents higher than expected. On the low end, Dick’s earnings guidance is slightly below the $13.79 analysts were expecting, according to LSEG.

Dick’s maintained its sales forecast of $13.1 billion to $13.2 billion, which was also down from the $13.24 billion analysts had expected, according to LSEG. The company raised its comparable sales growth forecast and now expects to grow 2.5% to 3.5%, up from previous guidance of 2% to 3%. The high end of the guidance exceeds the 3% growth analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount.

Last week, the company disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had been the victim of a cyberattack and that “certain confidential information” had been compromised. Dick said it activated its “cybersecurity response plan” as a result and worked with outside experts to investigate and isolate the threat.

In its filing, Dick said it had no knowledge that the breach had disrupted business operations, and based on the information available to it, it did not believe the incident was material.

This time last year, Dick’s shocked investors when it announced that the theft — along with massive markdowns on stagnant inventory — would hit its full-year earnings outlook, sending its shares tumbling 24%. At the time, earnings were down about 23%, but given Wednesday’s better-than-expected earnings, those struggles appear to be behind the company now.

A number of other retailers – including: goal and Walmart – He said over the past two weeks, shrinkage, or inventory loss due to a range of factors including theft and spoilage, has slowed. Shrinkage, which was one of the top issues retailers said they faced throughout 2023, appears to be in the rearview mirror for some after investing in operations and technology and reducing the use of self-checkout machines.

Over the past few weeks, a handful of retailers have reported second-quarter numbers that beat expectations but issued guidance for the final two quarters of 2024 that was either muted or weak compared to the company’s performance. Retailers are bracing for the upcoming November election and the impact it could have on consumer spending. Beyond the election, there is also uncertainty surrounding the expected rate cut by the Federal Reserve and the impact that could have on discretionary spending.

Dick's is scheduled to discuss its results with analysts and share more thoughts on its guidance at 8 a.m. ET.