Tractor Supply misses quarterly results estimates on soft big ticket spending

Tractor Supply Co

30/01/2025 13:19

Jan 30 (Reuters) - Farming supplies retailer Tractor
Supply  TSCO.O  missed Wall Street expectations for
fourth-quarter results on Thursday, hurt by tepid demand for
big-ticket items such as garden equipment and power tools.
    Shares of the Brentwood, Tennessee-based retailer were down
about 3% in premarket trading.
    Budget-strapped customers have pulled back spending on
expensive non-essential items amid persistent inflation, with
comparable average ticket declining 1.7% in the quarter.
    "We expect our 2025 comparable store sales to improve
throughout the year as the macro headwinds impacting our
business abate," said Tractor Supply CEO Hal Lawton. 
    Lawton added that all merchandise categories performed
within a relatively tight band.
    At its December analyst day event, the company signaled a
soft 2025 sales outlook and noted normalizing inflation in costs
for commodities such as corn and other grains towards the end of
2024.
    Its selling, general and administrative expenses increased
5.5% to $1.01 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 28, fueled by an
expansion that has so far included opening of a distribution
center as well as more stores.
    Comparable store sales rose 0.6%, missing estimates of 1.4%
rise estimated by analysts, according data compiled by LSEG.
    Its fourth-quarter sales came in at $3.77 billion, compared
with analysts estimates of $3.79 billion. 
    It earned 44 cents per share, below expectations of 46
cents.
    For 2025, the company expects net sales between 5% to 7%
rise, compared with analysts' expectation of 4.9% growth,
according to data compiled by LSEG. 
    
 

 (Reporting by Aamir Sohail in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
 ((Aamir.Sohail@thomsonreuters.com;))