Citi Trends Q2 sales rise, lifts 2026 outlook

Citi Trends

25/08/2026 13:19

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Overview
    * U.S. off-price apparel retailer's fiscal Q2 sales grew 10.9% yr/yr, comparable store sales up 10.5%
    * Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 improved to $5.5 mln from a loss in prior year
    * Company raised fiscal 2026 outlook for sales and profitability

Outlook
    * Citi Trends raises fiscal 2026 comparable store sales growth outlook to 9%-11% from 8%-10%
    * Company expects fiscal 2026 total sales growth of 10%-12%, up from prior 9%-11% outlook
    * Citi Trends sees fiscal 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $38 mln-$42 mln, above previous $35 mln-$40 mln range

Result Drivers
    * HIGHER BASKET AND TRANSACTIONS - Q2 comparable store sales growth driven by increases in average basket and transaction count
    * MERCHANDISE MARGIN AND SHRINK REDUCTION - Gross margin rose due to improved merchandise margin and investments to reduce shrink, partially offset by higher freight costs
    * SG&A LEVERAGE - Improved profitability attributed to expense control and sales flow-through to profit

Company press release:  ID:nBw5PFBb2a 
Key Details
 Metric    Beat/Mis  Actual    Consensu
           s                   s
                               Estimate
 Q2 Sales  Miss      $211.60   $214.99
                     mln       mln (2
                               Analysts
                               )
 Q2 Loss             $0.11      
 Per                           
 Share                         
 Q2                  10.50%     
 Comparab                      
 le Sales                      
 Growth                        
 Analyst Coverage
    * The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 2 "strong buy" or "buy", no "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"
    * The average consensus recommendation for the apparel & accessories retailers peer group is "buy"
    * Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Citi Trends Inc is $73.00, about 1.8% below its August 24 closing price of $74.35
    * The stock recently traded at 37 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 36 three months ago

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    * Aug 25 - Sportswear maker Xtep International H1 revenue dips 0.6% as core brand weakens

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact .

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)