Membership warehouse retailer BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ) experienced a strong rally on Thursday morning following the release of its Q3 2024 earnings report. That’s thanks to earnings per share of $1.18, blowing past Wall Street’s estimate of $0.93. It’s also a 20.41% increase year-over-year compared to $0.98.
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BJ’s Wholesale Club has been working to improve its cost management alongside other long-term initiatives. That’s starting to show results and is part of the reason its EPS came in above estimates.
BJ’s Revenue Wasn’t Up to Snuff
Unfortunately, BJ’s didn’t perform as well in the revenue department, with Q3 results coming in at $5.10 billion. That’s just below the $5.11 billion in revenue expected by Wall Street. Even so, it’s a 3.5% improvement over the $4.92 billion reported in Q3 2024.
BJ’s notes that its comparable store sales only increased by 1.5% year-over-year in Q3. However, when excluding the impact of gasoline sales, the company saw comparable store sales rise 3.8% in Q3 2024 compared to last year.
What Is Next for BJ’s?
In this earnings report, BJ’s Wholesale Club also provided new guidance; It now expects Q4 EPS to range from $0.78 to $0.88, with 2024 EPS coming in between $3.90 and $4. For comparison, Wall Street expects EPS of $0.97 in Q4 and $3.85 for the year.
Investors will also note that BJ’s is getting ready to increase the prices of its memberships. Beginning January 1, 2025, the Club membership fee will increase by $5 to $60 per year, while the Club+ membership fee will rise by $10 to $120 per year.
Should Investors Buy BJ Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for BJ’s Wholesale Club is Moderate Buy based on six Buy and nine Hold ratings over the last three months. That comes with an average price target of $88.53, a high of $105, and a low of $75. This represents a potential upside of 3.30% for BJ shares.
