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By Neil J Kanatt
(Reuters) -Off-price retailer TJX Cos on Wednesday forecast annual comparable sales growth and profit below Wall Street estimates amid concerns of muted consumer spending, even as it beat expectations for the crucial holiday quarter.
TJX's tepid forecast follows that of several retailers, including behemoth Walmart and home improvement chains Home Depot and Lowe's, all of which gave cautious annual projections.
U.S. customer spending has taken a hit from high interest rates and persistent inflation for two years. The uncertainties in the economy are exacerbated by President Donald Trump's new tariff on Chinese goods and proposed levies on some other countries.
TJX, which sources its products globally, particularly from China, India and southeastern Asia, is also vulnerable to disruptions in operations from the impact of the tariffs.
"Per usual, (TJX) followed up the (quarterly) beat with what we expect will be conservative guidance," said BMO Capital Market analyst Simeon Siegel.
"We continue to believe TJX wins because they are becoming an increasingly important value option for consumers."
Shares of the TJ Maxx parent were up nearly 1% in volatile trading, as the company also announced a plan to repurchase shares worth $2 billion to $2.5 billion during fiscal 2026.
TJX expects comparable store sales to grow between 2% and 3% during fiscal 2026, compared with analysts' average estimate of a 3.4% rise, according to data compiled by LSEG.
It forecast annual earnings per share in the range of $4.34 to $4.43, compared with the estimate of $4.59.
The company's net sales of $16.35 billion for the quarter ended February 1 beat the estimate of $16.20 billion.
Its per-share profit of $1.23 was also above analysts' expectation of $1.16.
(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)