Cabelas share rose sharply Tuesday after it disclosed ahead of an investor conference that its comp store sales accelerated and are now expected to grow in the high teens in the first quarter.
The retailer said it expects earnings per share to exceed previous guidance of 46 by 10 to 15 cents. Investors bid up the stock nearly 13 percent as of 3:45 pm.
During our fourth quarter conference call, we indicated our business had accelerated into the first quarter, Cabelas CEO Tommy Millner said in a statement. We are pleased to report that this trend has continued through today. These improvements are in both our Retail and Direct channels. This growth is coming from most of our merchandise categories. As a result, we expect first quarter comparable store sales to increase at least at a high-teens rate. We also expect direct revenue to increase at a low to mid-teens rate. Accordingly, first quarter earnings per diluted share are expected to be $0.10 to $0.15 above current external consensus estimates.
