Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.77 EPS

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.77, FiscalAI reports. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 39.93% and a net margin of 5.24%.The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Burlington Stores updated its Q3 2026 guidance to 1.600-1.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance to 11.770-11.970 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Burlington Stores’ conference call:

• Q2 results exceeded expectations: Excluding the $55 million tariff refund benefit, operating margin expanded 100 basis points and adjusted EPS rose 38% year over year to $2.37, driven by stronger merchandise margin, supply-chain productivity, and SG&A leverage.
• Burlington raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $11.77-$11.97, representing 16%-18% growth, while maintaining forecasts for 10%-11% total sales growth and 3%-4% comparable-store sales growth.
• The company plans to reinvest the entire $55 million tariff refund into sharper customer pricing, making the refund’s full-year earnings impact neutral; this is expected to pressure Q3 and Q4 operating margins but could support customer demand and value perception.
• Store expansion remains aggressive, with 178 gross and 149 net new stores added over the past 12 months. Management expects approximately 115 net openings in fiscal 2026 and remains confident in reaching or exceeding 1,500 stores by the end of 2028.
• Management expressed greater caution about consumers and the back half due to elevated gas prices, broadly weak retail trends, and potential warmer weather from a super El Niño, which could weigh on outerwear demand. Q3 and Q4 sales guidance was therefore maintained rather than raised.

Burlington Stores Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BURL opened at $289.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Burlington Stores has a 1-year low of $240.49 and a 1-year high of $378.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $340.27 and its 200-day moving average is $325.21.

Insider Activity at Burlington Stores

In related news, CAO Stephen Ferroni sold 2,343 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.22, for a total value of $790,106.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,073.02. This trade represents a 62.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Pasch sold 3,773 shares of Burlington Stores stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.21, for a total transaction of $1,196,833.33. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,523 shares in the company, valued at $2,069,160.83. This represents a 36.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,392 shares of company stock worth $10,280,271. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Burlington Stores

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BURL. Compound Planning Inc. raised its position in Burlington Stores by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Burlington Stores by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Burlington Stores by 207.0% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 2,851 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 55.2% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,608,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 2,356.1% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BURL has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Burlington Stores from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Burlington Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Burlington Stores from $365.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Burlington Stores in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Burlington Stores from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.50.

Key Headlines Impacting Burlington Stores

Here are the key news stories impacting Burlington Stores this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Burlington reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.96, well above the approximately $2.19 analyst consensus, while revenue increased 11% year over year to about $3.0 billion. The company delivered its 15th consecutive quarter of double-digit EPS growth, helped by a 100-basis-point operating-margin improvement. Burlington Stores second-quarter earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised full-year fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $11.77-$11.97, above the $11.23 consensus, and expects revenue of $12.7-$12.8 billion. The outlook implies continued earnings momentum and 10%-11% annual revenue growth. Burlington Stores fiscal 2026 earnings update
• Positive Sentiment: The retailer plans to open 20 stores across 12 states in September, supporting its long-term sales growth strategy. Burlington ended the quarter with 1,287 locations, up 13.1% from a year earlier.
• Positive Sentiment: Burlington intends to use tariff refunds to reduce prices, which could improve customer value and help sustain traffic in its off-price retail model. Burlington tariff refund pricing plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparable-store sales rose 2%, producing a solid 7% two-year increase, but growth slowed from 5% in the prior-year quarter. This suggests expansion and margin gains remain strong while underlying demand is moderating. Burlington Stores share-price analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue of roughly $3.0 billion fell short of the $3.03 billion consensus, making the earnings beat less convincing to investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter EPS guidance of $1.60-$1.70 was materially below the approximately $2.04 analyst expectation. Investors viewed the outlook as lackluster, with tariff-related costs and comparisons weighing on the near-term forecast. Burlington shares and quarterly guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Ross Stores’ stronger performance has raised concerns that Burlington is lagging some competitors within the off-price retail sector. Off-price retail competitor comparison

About Burlington Stores

Burlington Stores, Inc is an American off-price retailer that sells apparel and home goods at discounted prices. The company’s merchandise assortment includes clothing for women, men and children, plus baby products, footwear, accessories, beauty items, toys and home décor. Burlington’s merchandising strategy focuses on offering branded and private-label goods at lower prices than traditional department stores by sourcing excess inventory, closeouts and opportunistic buys from manufacturers and other retailers.

The business traces its roots to the Burlington Coat Factory name established in the early 1970s and has since evolved into a broader off-price retailer that carries a wide range of seasonal and everyday merchandise.