Bed Bath & Beyond Outstrips Forecasts; Shares Jump

Bed Bath & Beyond reported results that topped Wall Street's expectations on Wednesday, including stronger-than-forecast same-store sales, boosting its shares in extended trading.

The home furnishings and domestic retailer said it earned 58 cents a share in its fiscal third quarter, compared with 34 cents a share this time last year.

Sales for the most recent quarter reached $1.98 billion, rising from $1.78 billion in the same period last year.

Analysts who follow the company projected Bed Bath & Beyond to earn 43 cents a share on a topline of $1.90 billion.

The company added that its sales in stores that have existed for more than a year rose 7.3 percent, easily outstripping the 2.7 percent that analysts' had foreseen from the company.

A shopper leaves the Bed Bath & Beyond store in Ellisville, Mo.
James A. Finley
A shopper leaves the Bed Bath & Beyond store in Ellisville, Mo.

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond jumped more than 8 percent in extended trading on Wendesday. Get after-hour quotes for Bed Bath & Beyond. The company's stock finished the regular Nasdaq session at $39.23.

The recession and the collapse of the housing market hurt many home goods retailers in recent years because many would-be buyers stayed home to save money. Since then, investors have been waiting for a turnaround.

In December, rival Pier 1Imports posted a surprise quarterly profit on cost-cuts and higher sales, and the home goods retailer said it saw merchandise margins growing for the rest of the holiday season.

But the store has benefited from the exit of former rival Linens 'n Things, which liquidated in late 2008 after it failed to find a buyer.

For the year, Bed Bath & Beyond expects to earn $2.11 to $2.15 a share, above analyst expectations of $1.91 a share. Last September, its executives said that Wall Street estimates calling for a profit of $1.79 a share for the full year was "reasonable."

Bed Bath & Beyond and its subsidiaries is a chain of retail stores, operating under the names of Bed Bath & Beyond, Christmas Tree Shops, Harmon, Harmon Face Values and Buybuy BABY.

—Wire services contributed to this story.