Boot Barn Q3 Earnings & Sales Meet Estimates, FY26 Guidance Up

Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. BOOT reported third-quarter results 2026, with both the top and bottom lines meeting the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increasing year over year. The quarterly result reflects broad-based strength across all regions and core merchandise categories. Strong results prompted management to raise its fiscal 2026 view.

BOOT’s Quarterly Performance: Key Metrics and Insights

BOOT delivered quarterly earnings of $2.79 per share that jumped from $2.43 reported in the year-ago period. Notably, the prior-year period included a 22-cent per-share benefit tied to the former CEO’s resignation.

Net sales came in at $705.6 million, up 16% year over year. The incremental sales from new stores and same-store sales growth contributed to the net sales increase.

Consolidated same-store sales of Boot Barn grew 5.7% year over year, with retail same-store sales increasing 3.7% and e-commerce same-store sales seeing strong growth of 19.6%. BOOT opened 25 new stores during the quarter, taking the total count to 514 stores.

Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. Quote

BOOT’s Margin & Cost Performance

BOOT’s gross profit increased 17.7% year over year to $281.2 million from $238.9 million in the prior year. Gross margin improved 60 basis points to 39.9% from 39.3%. Management informed that merchandise margin expanded 110 basis points year over year, partially offset by roughly 50 basis points of deleverage in buying, occupancy and distribution center costs.

SG&A expenses increased to $166.5 million from $139.4 million in the year-ago period, stemming from higher store payroll and store-related costs tied to operating more stores, higher corporate general and administrative expenses, and increased marketing spend in the current-year period. SG&A as a percentage of net sales deleveraged 70 basis points year over year to 23.6%.

Boot Barn’s income from operations was $114.8 million, up $15.3 million from $99.5 million. However, operating margin contracted 10 basis points to 16.3%.

BOOT’s Financial Health Snapshot

The company ended the quarter with $200 million in cash and cash equivalents, and total shareholders’ equity of $1.28 billion. During the third quarter, the company repurchased 67,279 shares for $12.5 million under its authorization.

Boot Barn also anticipates capital expenditures of $125-$130 million, net of estimated landlord tenant allowances of $45 million.

What BOOT Guided?

For the fourth quarter, BOOT plans to open 15 new stores and expects net sales between $525 and $535 million, suggesting year-over-year growth of 16% to 18%. The consolidated same-store sales are expected to increase between 3% and 5%, with retail and e-commerce same-store sales projected to grow in the range of 2.2%-4.2% and 11%-13%, respectively.

Management expects merchandise margin of $265-$270 million, representing approximately 50.4%-50.5% of sales. Gross profit is projected to be in the range of $187-$193 million, or about 35.7%-36.1% of sales. Income from operations is forecasted to be in the range of  $55-$59 million, representing about 10.5%-11.1% of sales.

BOOT guided EPS between $1.35 and $1.45 compared with $1.22 per share reported in the year-ago period. BOOT informed that fourth quarter-to-date comparable sales are up 5.7%, but winter storms reduced revenue by roughly $5 million. Before the storms (first 26 days of the quarter), comps were running at approximately 9.1%, highlighting healthy underlying demand.

For fiscal 2026, Boot Barn now anticipates net sales between $2.24 and 2.25 billion, representing 17% to 18% year-over-year growth, which is up from the previous guided range of $2.20-$2.23 billion. The consolidated same-store sales growth is now forecasted between 6.5% and 7%, improved from the earlier estimate of 4%-6%. Retail same-store sales are expected to be in the range of 5.5%-6% compared with the previous forecast of 3.3%-5.3%. E-commerce same-store sales are now projected to be in the range of 14.5%-15%, revised upward from 11%-13%.

Boot Barn expects merchandise margin of $1.138-$1.144 billion, representing about 50.8% of sales. Gross profit is projected to be in the range of $850-$855 million, or roughly 37.9%-38.0% of sales. Income from operations is expected to be in the range of $297-$301 million, or about 13.3%-13.4% of sales. The company projected earnings in the band of $7.25 to $7.35 per share, suggesting an improvement from $5.82 reported in fiscal 2025.

This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock has gained 29.7% in the past year against the industry’s decline of 3.4%.

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