Bed Bath & Beyond Sales Dip 10th Quarter But Turnaround Promised

(Bloomberg) -- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. reported a tenth straight quarter of falling sales, but assured investors it’s making progress toward stabilization and an organizational overhaul. The shares bounced between losses and gains in late trading.

• Same-store sales, an important measure for retailers, fell 6.7% in the company’s second quarter. That’s more than analysts’ average estimate for a 5.3% decline, according to Consensus Metrix. The company cut its forecast for net earnings this year to between $2.08 and $2.13 a share, compared with its previous outlook at the lower end of $2.11 to $2.20 a share.

Key Insights

• The company remains under pressure to overhaul of its operations. This includes job cuts and streamlining corporate structure. “We are making good progress” on short-term priorities, interim Chief Executive Officer Mary Winston said.
• Bed Bath & Beyond also reported a $194 million inventory write-down in the quarter as part of its plan to reduce up to $1 billion of merchandise at retail locations over the next 18 months. Additionally, the company plans on removing about $350 million of inventory from stores before the 2019 holiday season.
• Investors hoping the company would name a new permanent leader today appear to have longer to wait. The retailer is still looking for a chief executive officer to replace Steven Temares, who left his post in May amid activist pressure. Bed Bath & Beyond “has made substantial progress toward identifying a permanent CEO” and expects to “make an announcement soon,” it said Wednesday.

Market Reaction

• Bed Bath & Beyond shares alternated between losses and gains. The stock has declined 11% this year, compared with a 15% gain for the S&P 500 Index.

To contact the reporter on this story: Donald Moore in New York at dmoore71@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anne Riley Moffat at ariley17@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Roeder

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