Dj Officer Aldous Gifts 1695 Of Chefs' Warehouse Inc >Chef

Upscale and specialty food segments are showing strong, stable demand, with growth in key markets like Texas and Florida. Margin expansion is expected as recent investments mature, and technology, especially AI, is increasingly integrated into operations.

Based on The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. [CHEF] Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference 2025 Audio Transcript — Dec. 2 2025

Upscale dining and specialty food service segments show stable or accelerating demand, with strong growth in key markets like Texas and Florida. Margin expansion is expected as recent investments mature, and technology, especially AI, is increasingly leveraged for efficiency and customer insights.

Based on The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. [CHEF] Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference 2025 Audio Transcript — Dec. 2 2025

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. BJ came up with third-quarter fiscal 2025 results, wherein the top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate but increased year over year, highlighting sustained gains in membership, traffic and market share. On the other hand, the bottom line beat the consensus mark but declined from the year-ago period. Disciplined cost management and healthy membership trends supported an earnings beat. Management also raised its full-year adjusted earnings view.

BJ’s Third-Quarter Insights

BJ’s Wholesale Club reported adjusted earnings of $1.16 per share, which came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.10 but decreased from $1.18 reported in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share increased 8.4% year over year when normalized for last year’s legal settlement benefit. 

This operator of membership warehouse clubs generated total revenues of $5,348.2 million, which rose 4.9% from the year-ago quarter’s level but missed the consensus mark of $5,353 million. Net sales increased 4.8% to $5,221.9 million, while membership fee income jumped 9.8% to $126.3 million, reflecting strength in member acquisition, retention and higher-tier penetration. 

Total comparable club sales during the quarter increased 1.1% year over year, impacted by lower fuel prices. Excluding gasoline sales, comparable club sales jumped 1.8%, led by robust traffic, but came below our estimate of a 2.6% increase. Digital initiatives continued to pay off, with digitally enabled comparable sales jumping 30%, building on two-year stacked growth of 61%, driven by strong adoption of BOPIC, ExpressPay and same-day delivery.

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. Quote

A Look at BJ’s Margins

Gross profit increased to $1,014.3 million from $975.5 million in the year-ago period. The merchandise gross margin rate, which excludes gasoline sales and membership fee income, remained flat year over year, as the company continued to invest in member value while delivering stability in core categories. 

Operating income fell 4.8% year over year to $218.4 million, while the operating margin, as a percentage of total revenues, contracted 40 basis points to 4.1%. We note that adjusted EBITDA decreased 2.2% to $301.4 million during the quarter, while the adjusted EBITDA margin shrank 40 basis points to 5.6%. We anticipated 30 basis points of contraction in the adjusted EBITDA margin.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses rose to $788.2 million from $733.6 million in the year-ago period. This reflects higher labor and occupancy costs stemming from the new club and gas station openings, as well as increased advertising expenses. As a percentage of total revenues, SG&A expenses deleveraged 30 basis points to 14.7%. We anticipated a deleverage of 40 basis points.

BJ’s Membership Strength & Club Expansion

BJ’s Wholesale Club continues to deepen the quality of its membership base while expanding its overall member count. The company hit 8 million members, with a 90% tenured renewal rate and 41% higher-tier penetration. The January 2025 membership fee increase supported double-digit membership fee income growth. BJ opened one new club during the third quarter. The company expects to open 25-30 clubs in two fiscal years.

BJ’s Wholesale Financial Snapshot

BJ’s Wholesale Club ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $45.1 million. The long-term debt was $399 million, while stockholders’ equity was $2,171.9 million.

Net cash provided by operating activities came in at $181.1 million in the quarter, though BJ posted negative free cash flow of $13.7 million as elevated capital spending weighed on cash generation. 

As part of its share repurchase program, the company bought back 905,000 shares for $87.3 million in the quarter, with $866.2 million still available under its buyback authorization.

Here’s What BJ Guided

BJ’s Wholesale Club now expects fiscal 2025 comparable club sales, excluding gasoline sales, to increase between 2% and 3% year over year, narrowing the range from 2% to 3.5% guided earlier. Management raised its adjusted earnings forecast to $4.30 to $4.40 per share compared with the prior view of $4.20-$4.35. The company reported earnings of $4.05 in fiscal 2024. BJ continues to foresee capital expenditures of about $800 million for fiscal 2025.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) dropped 6.9% in the past year compared with the industry’s decline of 16.2%.

Don’t Miss These Solid Bets

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. CHEF, a premier distributor of specialty food products in the United States, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). CHEF has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 14.7%, on average. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CHEF’s current financial-year sales and EPS calls for growth of 8.1% and 29.3%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers.

Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. BOOT, the nation’s leading lifestyle retailer of western and work-related footwear, apparel and accessories, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). BOOT has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.4%, on average. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Boot Barn’s current financial-year sales and EPS implies growth of 16.2% and 20.5%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers.

Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. OLLI, a leading off-price retailer of brand-name household products, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. OLLI has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.2%, on average. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ollie's Bargain’s current financial-year sales and EPS suggests growth of 16.4% and 16.5%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers.

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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