Bed Bath & Beyond Issues Muted Guidance as Earnings Fall

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. posted muted guidance for the current quarter, as earnings fell 15% in the May period.

Shares fell 1.2% in recent after-hours trading.

For the current quarter, Bed Bath & Beyond projects per-share earnings between $1.18 to $1.23, along with a 2% to 3% increase in comparable sales. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had called for $1.23 a share in earnings.

Like other retailers, New Jersey-based Bed Bath & Beyond's margins have been hurt in recent quarters by sales promotions and a shift away from traditional brick-and-mortar stores.

Comparable sales in the latest quarter rose 2.2% though they would have risen 2.5% on a constant-currency basis.

Overall, Bed Bath & Beyond reported a profit of $158.5 million, down from $187.1 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings were flat at 93 cents.

The company had projected per-share earnings between 90 cents and 95 cents.

Sales increased to $2.74 billion from $2.66 billion. Analysts had expected sales of $2.75 billion.

(By Angela Chen)