Boot Barn says preliminary earnings beat the Street

Boot Barn Holdings Inc. BOOT, +0.59% shares rose 3% in Friday premarket trading after the retailer pre-announced fiscal third-quarter results, delivering numbers that beat Street expectations. Boot Barn expects sales of $485.9 million, up from $302.3 million last year and ahead of the FactSet consensus for $452.7 million. Earnings per share are expected to be $2.27, up from 99 cents last year and also ahead of the FactSet consensus for $1.93. Comparable sales soared 61% compared with 2019. “Despite supply chain and labor challenges in the retail industry at large, we were able to successfully maintain a strong inventory position and recruit enough seasonal associates for our stores to drive outsized sales performance and continue to grow our market share,” said Jim Conroy, Boot Barn chief executive, in a statement. “The performance was further highlighted by strong full price selling and expansion of our exclusive brand penetration which helped fuel a 420-basis point increase in merchandise margin when compared to the period 2 years ago and a 175% improvement in earnings per share.” The news comes ahead of the ICR Conference, which begins on Monday. Boot Barn stock has skyrocketed 154.5% over the last year while the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.41% is up 23.5%.