Floor & Decor reports Q4 EPS 34c, consensus 26c

Reports Q4 revenue $1.05B, consensus $1.01B. Reports Q4 comparable store sales decrease 9.4%. CEO Tom Taylor stated, “We are pleased to deliver better-than-expected fiscal 2023 fourth-quarter diluted earnings per share of $0.34, primarily due to comparable store sales that were better than anticipated. We are proud of how our teams are collaborating to successfully execute our sales-driving initiatives, prudently manage expenses without sacrificing customer service, and strategically grow our gross margin rate. We are particularly proud of accomplishing these results when existing home sales are at record lows, and flooring industry sales continue to contract. As we look to 2024, we remain focused on growing our market share by continuing to capitalize on our everyday low prices and value-driven options, trend-right product assortments, in-stock job lot quantities, and the exceptional customer service provided by our store associates. We are fortunate that our strong balance sheet and cash flow enable us to invest in new store growth during an industry downturn. We opened 14 new warehouse format stores in the fourth quarter and 31 new warehouse stores in fiscal 2023, ending fiscal 2023 with 221 warehouse format stores and five design studios across 36 states. After the end of our fiscal 2023, we opened a warehouse store in Mansfield, Texas, on December 29, 2023, bringing our calendar warehouse stores to 222. We continue to expect to open 30 to 35 new warehouse stores in fiscal 2024 toward our plan of operating 500 warehouse stores in the United States over time.”