Burlington Stores said second-quarter sales rose 11% to $2.998 billion, building on a 10% increase a year earlier, while comparable store sales increased 2% after a 5% gain in the prior-year quarter.
Net income more than doubled to $184 million from $94 million, and diluted earnings per share climbed to $2.88 from $1.47. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share rose 38% to $2.37 from $1.72, marking the company’s 15th consecutive quarter of double-digit EPS growth.
Gross margin improved to 46.2% from 43.7%, a gain of 250 basis points. Excluding the benefit of $55 million in tariff refunds, merchandise margin still expanded 70 basis points, while freight expense rose 10 basis points as a share of sales.
Selling, general and administrative expenses fell to 34.0% of sales from 35.2%. Adjusted SG&A, excluding bankruptcy-acquired lease costs, improved to 26.2% from 26.7%.
Adjusted EBITDA increased to $324 million from $257 million, and adjusted EBIT rose to $210 million from $162 million. The company said adjusted EBIT margin improved by 100 basis points, while adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 130 basis points.
For the first six months, sales rose 12%, net income increased 53% to $299 million from $196 million, and diluted EPS advanced to $4.67 from $3.05. Adjusted net income for the half-year rose to $286 million from $217 million, and adjusted EPS increased to $4.46 from $3.39.
Inventory ended the quarter at $1.541 billion, up 9% from $1.415 billion a year earlier. The company said that reflected 149 net new stores and a 11% rise in comparable store inventory. Reserve inventory fell to 43% of total inventory from 50%.
Burlington ended the quarter with $1.646 billion in liquidity, including $704 million in cash and $942 million of ABL availability. Total debt was $1.914 billion, including $1.712 billion on its term loan and $186 million in convertible notes.
During the quarter, the company repurchased 270,279 shares for $87 million. It had $218 million remaining under its buyback authorization.
For fiscal 2026, Burlington now expects sales to rise 10% to 11%, compared with 9% growth last year, with comparable store sales up 3% to 4% versus 2% in fiscal 2025. It raised adjusted EPS guidance to $11.77 to $11.97 from $10.17 last year, and expects adjusted EBIT margin to improve 20 to 40 basis points. For the third quarter, it sees sales up 9% to 11% and adjusted EPS of $1.60 to $1.70, down from $1.80 a year earlier. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved -2.73%, and are now trading at a price of $305.425. For the full picture, make sure to review Burlington Stores's 8-K report.
