Benzinga - by Nabaparna Bhattacharya, Benzinga Editor.
Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) reported third-quarter FY23 sales growth of 4.3% year-on-year to $3.41 billion, missing the consensus of $3.47 billion.
EPS of $2.33 beat the Wall Street view of $2.29.
Comparable store sales decreased by 0.4%, driven by a comparable average ticket decline of 0.3% and a flat comparable average transaction count.
Gross profit increased 7.3% to $1.25 billion from $1.17 billion in the prior year's third quarter. Gross margin expanded 101 basis points to 36.7% from 35.6% in the prior year's third quarter.
The gross margin rate increase was primarily attributable to lower transportation costs driven by improvement in the global supply chain and efficiencies from a new distribution center, modestly offset by a negative product mix.
Operating income increased 11.3% to $340.9 million from $306.4 million in the third quarter of 2022.
Tractor Supply exited the quarter with $421.69 million in cash and equivalents. The company's long-term debt stands at $1.73 billion.
TSCO repurchased approximately 0.6 million shares of its common stock for $135.4 million and paid quarterly cash dividends totaling $112.0 million, returning $247.4 million of capital to shareholders in the third quarter of 2023.
Lowers FY23 Outlook: The company expects adjusted EPS of $10.00- $10.10 versus the $10.22 estimate (prior view: $10.20 - $10.40 ).
The company sees revenue of $14.5 billion-$14.6 billion versus the $14.82 billion estimate (prior view: $14.8 billion-$14.9 billion).
Price Action: TSCO shares are trading lower by 5.68% at $186.82 on the last check Thursday.
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