Dick’s Sporting Goods shares fall despite earnings beat and hiked outlook

Dick’s Sporting Goods shares fell Tuesday despite the company reporting fiscal third-quarter earnings that outpaced analysts’ expectations, which led it to hike its annual forecast.

The drop comes as Dick’s stock has been on a tear, rising nearly 150% year to date as of market close on Monday. Shares were down more than 10% by Tuesday afternoon.

Dick’s Chief Executive Lauren Hobart said that consumer demand remained strong after the summer season and back-to-school rush, and that the company’s broad assortment of products — from golf clubs to running gear — allowed it to meet many shoppers’ needs.

Here’s how the sporting goods giant did in its fiscal third quarter compared with what analysts were expecting, according to a poll compiled by Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: $3.19 adjusted vs. $1.97 expected
• Revenue: $2.75 billion vs. $2.50 billion expected

In the three-month period ended Oct. 30, net income rose to $316.5 million, or $2.78 per share, from $177.2 million, or $1.84 a share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, it earned $3.19 per share, ahead of the $1.97 that analysts had been expecting.

Revenue rose roughly 14% to $2.75 billion from $2.41 billion a year earlier. That topped expectations for $2.50 billion.

Same-store sales, which track revenue at stores open for at least 12 months, rose 12.2%. Analysts surveyed by StreetAccount had been calling for a gain of 1.9%.

Dick’s said its online sales rose just 1% from a year earlier, when many consumers resorted to shopping online, and were up 97% on a two-year basis. E-commerce sales made up about 19% of its total business, up from 13% in 2019.

As its sales have accelerated and new customers have shopped its website and stores during the pandemic, Dick’s has invested in its business to keep shoppers coming back for more. It launched a men’s athleisure brand, VRST, in March. It opened its largest store yet, called House of Sport, in a suburb of Rochester, New York, in April. The store includes an indoor rock climbing wall, putting green, health and wellness shop, and a track and turf field outside.

And in August, it announced a tie-up with its biggest brand vendor, Nike. Nike’s membership program now links to Dick’s loyalty program to allow customers to shop for exclusive Nike shoes and apparel on Dick’s website.

GlobalData Retail Managing Director Neil Saunders said the company should be applauded for its innovation efforts, which kept going during the health crisis.

“These results are exceptional and mark Dick’s out as one of the clear winners from the pandemic churn,” Saunders said in a research note.

Dick’s now expects to earn between $12.88 and $13.06 per share on sales of between $12.12 billion and $12.19 billion. After adjustments for Covid-19-related expenses, Dick’s said it would earn between $14.60 and $14.80 per share.

Previously, it estimated full-year adjusted earnings to be between $12.45 and $12.95 per share, on sales of $11.52 billion to $11.72 billion.

Analysts had been looking for fiscal 2021 adjusted earnings per share of $13.13 on sales of $11.84 billion.

Dick’s market value is about $11.2 billion, including Tuesday’s losses.

Find the full earnings press release from Dick’s Sporting Goods here.