Burlington Stores Inc. BURL stock is up 1.3% in premarket trades Thursday after the retailer said it expects to top Wall Street analyst expectations for its first-quarter profit, while its fourth-quarter profit also beat estimates. Burlington said its fourth-quarter profit rose to $185.2 million, or $2.83 a share, from $121.64 million, or $1.80 a share in the year-ago quarter. Burlington reported an adjusted profit of $2.96 a share, ahead of the estimate of $2.73 a share, according to FactSet data. Burlington’s revenue rose 5% to $2.74 billion, ahead of the analyst forecast of $2.6 billion. Looking ahead, Burlington expects first-quarter adjusted profit of 85 cents to 95 cents a share, ahead of the analyst estimate of 81 cents a share. For 2023, Burlington Stores is forecasting adjusted earnings of $5.50 to $6.00 a share, below the analyst view of $6.61 a share. CEO Michael O’Sullivan said comparable store sales accelerated and the trend has continued through February. The gains have been driven by improved traffic, “which we interpret as a sign that the headwinds that we saw through most of 2022 are beginning to moderate.”
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