TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) shares are trading lower in the premarket session on Wednesday.

The company reported third-quarter earnings per share of $1.14 (+11%), beating the street view of $1.09. Quarterly sales of $14.06 billion (+6%) beat the analyst consensus estimate of $13.95 billion.

TJX Companies reported a 3% increase in consolidated comparable store sales at the high end of the company’s plan, driven entirely by higher customer transactions.

“I want to specifically highlight our European team for their strong results, which drove the 7% comp increase at our TJX International division,” said Ernie Herrman, Chief Executive Officer and President of The TJX Companies.

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The company achieved a pretax profit margin of 12.3%, up 0.3 percentage points from last year, significantly surpassing its plan.

The gross profit margin for the third quarter was 31.6%, which is up 0.5 percentage points compared to last year, primarily due to an increase in merchandise margin.

Total inventories as of November 2, 2024 were $8.4 billion, compared to $8.3 billion at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2024.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the company generated $1.0 billion of operating cash flow and ended the quarter with $4.7 billion of cash.

During the third quarter, the company returned a total of $997 million to shareholders. The company now expects to repurchase approximately $2.25 billion to $2.5 billion of TJX stock during the fiscal year ending February 1, 2025.

During the third quarter, TJX Companies completed a $179 million cash investment in a joint venture with Grupo Axo, S.A.P.I. de C.V., an operator of global brands in Mexico and South America. TJX owns 49%, while Axo holds 51% of the joint venture.

Outlook: TJX Companies expects fourth-quarter GAAP EPS to be between $1.12 and $1.14, below the consensus estimate of $1.17.

For the fourth quarter, the company continues to expect consolidated comparable store sales to be up 2% to 3%.

For FY25, the company revised its GAAP EPS forecast to $4.15 – $4.17, slightly above the prior guidance of $4.09 – $4.13 and in line with the consensus of $4.16.

For the full year fiscal 2025, the company continues to expect consolidated comparable store sales to be up 3%.

Price Action: TJX shares are trading lower by 2.14% to $117.00 premarket at last check Wednesday.

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