BJ’s Wholesale Club ‘well-positioned’ following Q2 results

Despite what appears to be mixed second quarter results, BJ’s Wholesale Club is satisfied with its numbers over the 13 weeks ending July 29.

The warehouse retailer saw a modest gain in comparable club sales and increases in membership fee revenue and gross profit, but saw drops in areas like total comparable club sales and net income.

“Our strong performance in the second quarter reflects our continued gains in membership, traffic and market share,” said Bob Eddy, chairman and chief executive officer of BJ’s Wholesale Club. “We continue to balance gross margins with investments in value and in growing the size and quality of our membership with an eye toward the future.

“I’m proud of the team’s execution in the quarter and believe that we are well-positioned for continued growth,” Eddy added.

BJ’s did revise its outlook for FY 2023. Projections for year-over-year comparable club sales call for a 2% increase and membership fee revenue is also expected to rise 5%.

“As we look ahead, we remain confident in our ability to maintain the momentum in our traffic and market share gains due to our unrelenting focus on value,” said Laura Felice, executive vice president, chief financial officer, BJ’s Wholesale Club. “However, we also continue to navigate shifts in consumer behavior driven by the broader macroeconomic environment.

“As a result, we are refining our outlook for the rest of the fiscal year.” 

For Q2, comparable club sales, excluding the impact of gasoline sales, were up 1.1% year-over-year, but total comparable club sales were down 5.3%.

Gross profit increased from $860 million in Q2 2022 to $896 million. However, net income was down to $131.3 million in Q2 2023 compared to $141 million a year ago.

Adjusted EBITDA also dropped 1.8% year-over-year — from $273.7 million to $268.8 million.

Some highlights for BJ’s over the first 26 weeks of the year: