TJX Beats Sales Forecasts Amid Tariff Uncertainty in Canada
By Neil J Kanatt
()-TJX Companies upheld their yearly projections on Wednesday and highlighted the effects of US tariffs. Despite these impacts, strong consumer appetite for discounted products persisted during economic uncertainties, leading to higher-than-expected sales for the quarter for the parent company of TJ Maxx.
Concerns about a possible economic downturn and rising inflation spurred by reciprocal trade barriers have led consumers to gravitate towards cheaper stores as they reassess their purchasing behaviors with an aim to increase savings.
TJX restated its prediction for fiscal 2026, expecting comparable sales growth to be within the range of 2% to 3%, along with an earnings per share figure between $4.34 and $4.43.
The firm stated that the yearly prediction anticipates it will be able to counterbalance the substantial additional strain it has faced and still projects due to tariffs.
“Primarily, we can achieve this via our purchasing procedures, our capacity to modify prices while keeping our price advantage over competitors, and our capability to expand supplier diversity,” stated TJX’s financial director, John Klinger, during a conference following the earnings report.
The firm projected a 2% to 3% increase in like-for-like sales for the second quarter, as per data from LSEG, which contrasts slightly with analysts’ prediction of a 2.98% gain. The company anticipates an earnings per share range of 97 cents to just under $1, falling short of the expected $1.03.
TJX stated that their projection for the second quarter encompasses extra financial strain due to tariff expenses on products they had already agreed upon when further duties were imposed.
Analysts and investors believe that off-price retailers like TJ Maxx, which depend on extensive sourcing strategies and inventory management primarily through intermediaries within the U.S., may largely avoid significant impacts from the recent China tariffs in the short term.
“They (TJX) are typically conservative in their forward guidance and therefore we would not expect them to deviate amid the uncertainty these days,” said Simeon Siegel, analyst at BMO Capital Markets.
TJX shares were down 3% in afternoon trading.
Its first-quarter net sales were $13.11 billion, compared with the estimate of $13.01 billion. Its quarterly per-share profit of 92 cents was also ahead of the 91-cent estimate.
(Reported by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Edited by Shilpi Majumdar)