BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. stock BJ rose in premarket trade Thursday, after the company posted better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter. The company had net income of $129.8 million, or 95 cents a share, for the quarter to Jan. 28, up from $107.6 million, or 78 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.00, ahead of the 88 cent FactSet consensus. Sales rose 13.2% to $4.828 billion from $4.264 billion, also ahead of the $4.786 billion FactSet consensus. Same-store sales rose 9.8% to beat the 5.5% FactSet consensus. “We look ahead to fiscal 2023 with the understanding that there is still significant uncertainty in the macroeconomic backdrop as well as its influence on the U.S. consumer,” Chief Financial Officer Laura Felice said in a statement. BJ’s is now expecting fiscal 2023 EPS to be about flat, while same-store sales are expected to rise 4% to 5% excluding gas sales. The stock has gained 22% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX has fallen 6.7%.
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