BJ’s Wholesale Club posts solid quarter as consumers seek value

Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss earnings for BJ's Wholesale Club and the current environment for consumer spending.

Video transcript

BRAD SMITH: Before that, though, shares of BJ's Wholesale Club were unconfirmed if they sell some of those speakers or not that are also showerproof. They are lower here right now by about 8%. And that's following a third quarter earnings beat, actually, as the retailer, they beat out estimates on the top and bottom line and saw total comparable club sales increase by 9.7% year over the year.

There, you're taking a look at some of the actual versus the estimates. Beat on top and bottom, but of course, much of the market activity right now pointing lower here out of the gate this morning. And so BJ's getting caught up in that just a little bit right now.

BRIAN SOZZI: Yeah, good quarter from BJ's and just continues a strong year for BJ's Wholesale. I think one of the most underrated years in retail this company has had. Same store sales up 5.3%. The Street was looking for about a 2 and 1/2% increase. Good quarter for them and good quarter for Costco a couple of weeks ago.

JULIE HYMAN: Yeah, maybe I'm looking too far ahead, but obviously all these warehouse companies are doing well right now because of the tradedown effect that we're seeing because people want to save money, whether it's BJ's or Sam's or Costco. Again, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but are-- what are consumers going to do when things get better? Do they stay at these places typically?

BRIAN SOZZI: I like me some bulk salmon. I'm not trading down from bulk salmon.

BRAD SMITH: Well, the bulk salmon at Costco is way better.

JULIE HYMAN: Right, no, no, no, but you're--

BRIAN SOZZI: Oh, good.

JULIE HYMAN: But you know what I'm saying. Like, if people are trading down to a BJ's, when things improve, do they snap right back and go to wherever they were going before?

BRAD SMITH: Yeah, no, it's a great point. Sam's Club, I mean that remained pretty stable. We've seen kind of consistent year over year for kind of the quarter comps over the course of 2022 be stable at about 10% growth year over year versus 2021. We saw that in this most recent quarter. BJ's similar. So, yes, I mean, in this time period where customers are looking for a deal or buying in bulk to save on a per unit cost, you know, does that transition, or is it just transitory?

BRIAN SOZZI: You know how much fun and joy it is I have picking up the 72 egg counts from BJ's Wholesale?

BRAD SMITH: 72 eggs?

BRIAN SOZZI: 72 eggs. It comes in, like, a stack. It's fun.

JULIE HYMAN: You buy that?

BRIAN SOZZI: Yeah. It's fun.

JULIE HYMAN: For one person--

BRIAN SOZZI: It's just fun to put in your bag and take a photo of it. But I mean, I eat eggs.

BRAD SMITH: Are you running around, egging people, Sozz?

JULIE HYMAN: Wait, wait, wait. You're one person. How do you eat 72 eggs?

BRIAN SOZZI: Egg whites, egg whites.

JULIE HYMAN: Every day?

BRIAN SOZZI: I mean, a couple of times a week, yeah.

JULIE HYMAN: How many at a time?

BRIAN SOZZI: A lot, probably, like, eight or nine. Yeah, egg whites, egg whites. Less egg.

BRAD SMITH: It is bulking season.

BRIAN SOZZI: It's exciting, though, when you find that, like, big case in BJ's. Oh, man, it's great. That's how my weekend is. How's yours?

JULIE HYMAN: Not like that.