Big Lots, the popular retailer, has recently announced a narrower-than-expected loss for the third quarter as part of its ongoing efforts to improve its business. With a third-quarter loss of $4.38 per share on sales of $1.027 billion, the company outperformed analysts’ expectations. FactSet had predicted a loss of $4.68 per share on sales of $1.031 billion.
Despite facing a challenging environment, Big Lots remains confident in its ability to turn the business around. Chief Executive Bruce Thorn emphasized the “significant progress” made in achieving this goal and highlighted the company’s “key strategic actions” that are gaining momentum. One such action is delivering incredible bargains and communicating unmistakable value to customers.
In line with Wall Street expectations, same-store sales for the quarter decreased by 13.2%. However, Big Lots anticipates a better fourth-quarter performance, paving the way for the company’s first quarterly year-over-year improvement in nearly three years. The projected improvement stems from expected increases in sales relative to the third quarter, as well as an anticipated improvement in the gross margin rate to about 38%. This improvement will be driven by reduced promotional activity, lower freight costs, and various cost reduction initiatives.
Awaiting the opening bell, Big Lots’ stock experienced a 1.9% rise in premarket trading on Thursday. Unfortunately, despite this recent increase, the stock has fallen by 67% since the beginning of the year.