Boot Barn Holdings Inc. is back in the saddle again.
Its shares have more than doubled since January when it reported fiscal third quarter results.
The Irvine-based retailer’s first quarter results, posted on Aug. 7, continued to impress investors, with the stock jumping 14% in the following trading session to $137.60. Since then, shares have galloped to an all-time high topping $137.60 with a $4.2 billion market cap. The share price has more than recuperated from the end of 2021 when it hit a previous high around $123 each and then sunk to below $60 in 2022 (NYSE: BOOT).
The company reported first quarter revenue rose 10% to $423.4 million, topping analyst consensus at $419.8 million. Its first quarter profit of $1.26 blew away the expected $1.11 a share. Boot Barn raised its full year guidance to $1.81 billion to $1.85 billion, a growth of 8.9% to 11%, up from a May prediction of 5.9% to 8% growth.
“We believe our 10% revenue growth in the quarter outpaced the industry and has enabled us to continue to build on our recent market share gains,” Chief Executive Jim Conroy told analysts on an earnings call.
“We are encouraged by the building sales momentum we have seen, particularly while maintaining our low promotional posture.”
Conroy acknowledged the macroeconomic headwinds plaguing consumer spending as of late and said Boot Barn was “not entirely immune to broader market pressures.”
Same Stores Uptick
The company, founded in 1978, had a lackluster fiscal 2024 when revenue increased 0.6% to $1.67 billion for the year that ended March 30. It looked like its fashion taste was fading as reported same store sales fell 6.2%. In the recently completed first quarter, same stores increased 1.4%.
Boot Barn “delivered a strong” first quarter that was well above Wall Street expectations with its first positive same store sales (SSS) result in seven quarters, Citi Research analyst Steven Zaccone wrote in a note to investors.
“Simply put, this stock still sets up for healthy and beat-and-raises for the next several quarters if the momentum in the business holds or accelerates,” wrote Zaccone, who has a buy rating with a $154 target price. “We continue to believe Boot is one of the most attractive unit growth stories in retail with SSS momentum right now.”
Boot Barn opened 55 stores in fiscal 2024 and is looking to add 60 new brick-and-mortar units in the current fiscal year that ends in March. The firm is inching closer to its 500-store goal with 411 locations across 46 states as of August and is now eyeing over 900 long-term. Boot Barn has made it a point to maintain a pace of 15% annual unit growth to achieve a larger retail footprint.
“Over the past 12 years, Boot Barn has transformed from a regional retailer to a true national lifestyle brand, and we believe that there is potential for at least 500 more stores in the U.S. alone,” Conroy said in the company’s 2024 annual report.
Overall, Boot Barn prefers second generation spaces between 12,000 and 20,000 square feet in freeway-oriented shopping centers for high visibility from main roads and its preferred co-tenants are home improvement retailers.
California and Texas hold the highest amount of Boot Barn locations, 69 and 81 respectively, and the company is actively searching to fill in its home state with more locations.
The Business Journal learned almost a year ago that Boot Barn struck a deal to relocate its headquarters to the Irvine Co.’s Spectrum Terrace office campus in the current fiscal year.
The lease of its current 84,580-square-foot home base, located at 5345 Barranca Parkway, expires next January, according to the company’s annual report. The new office at Spectrum Terrace spans 116,261 square feet, a 37% increase.
