Burlington Stores Reports Strong Q1 Sales Growth

By Chris Stiles • Thursday, May 28 10:33 • Permanent Link

Burlington Stores said first-quarter fiscal 2026 sales rose 14% to $2.852 billion from the year-earlier period, while comparable store sales increased 6%.

Net income climbed to $115 million from $101 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $1.79 from $1.58. On an adjusted basis, net income increased to $134 million from $107 million, and adjusted diluted EPS rose 26% to $2.10 from $1.67.

Gross margin widened to 44.1% of net sales from 43.8%, a 30-basis-point increase. Merchandise margin improved 20 basis points and freight expense improved 10 basis points as a share of net sales.

Adjusted EBITDA increased to $284 million from $244 million, while adjusted EBIT rose to $179 million from $152 million. Adjusted EBIT margin expanded 20 basis points.

SG&A was unchanged at 34.7% of net sales, while adjusted SG&A moved to 26.8% from 26.6%.

Product sourcing costs rose to $216 million from $197 million.

The effective tax rate fell to 19.6% from 24.1%, and the adjusted effective tax rate declined to 20.1% from 24.1%.

Merchandise inventories ended the quarter at $1.444 billion, up 10% from $1.315 billion a year earlier. Reserve inventory accounted for 41% of total inventory, down from 48%.

Liquidity at quarter-end was $1.689 billion, including $747 million in unrestricted cash and $942 million of ABL availability. Total debt was $1.917 billion, including $1.716 billion on the term loan and $186 million in convertible notes.

During the quarter, Burlington repurchased 257,906 shares for $81 million and bought back $111 million of principal amount of its 1.25% convertible notes in transactions valued at $173 million.

For fiscal 2026, the company raised its outlook and now expects total sales growth of 9% to 11%, compared with 9% growth last year. Comparable store sales are projected to rise 2% to 4%, versus 2% in fiscal 2025. Adjusted EPS is now expected to be $11.45 to $11.80, up from $10.17 last year.

For the second quarter, Burlington forecast total sales growth of 10% to 12%, comparable store sales growth of 1% to 3%, and adjusted EPS of $2.05 to $2.20, versus $1.72 a year earlier. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved -0.48% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $324.995. Check out the company's full 8-K submission here.

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