BJ's Wholesale Q4 Earnings Beat as Membership Strength Drives Growth

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. BJ came up with fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results, wherein both top and bottom lines surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improved year over year. The results reflected strength in membership trends, solid digital engagement and steady traffic growth. Management highlighted record membership levels and continued expansion of its club footprint, which helped drive performance during the quarter.

BJ’s Fourth-Quarter Insights

BJ’s Wholesale Club reported adjusted earnings of 96 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 93 cents and increased 3.2% from the year-ago period. The improvement reflected disciplined cost management and steady operating momentum.

This operator of membership warehouse clubs generated total revenues of $5,575.4 million, which increased 5.6% year over year and topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,546 million. Net sales grew 5.5% to $5,445.6 million, while membership fee income rose 10.9% to $129.8 million, driven by strong member acquisition, retention and higher-tier membership penetration.

Total comparable club sales rose 1.6% year over year, falling short of our estimate of 2%. Excluding gasoline sales, comparable club sales improved 2.6%, reflecting solid traffic growth and strong member engagement. Digitally enabled comparable sales advanced 31%, building on two-year stacked growth of 57%, underscoring continued adoption of digital services such as buy-online-pickup-in-club, same-day delivery and ExpressPay.

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. Quote

A Look at BJ’s Margins

Gross profit increased to $1,009.6 million from $949 million in the year-ago quarter. However, the merchandise gross margin rate (excluding gasoline sales and membership income) declined about 50 basis points year over year due to changes in merchandise mix.

Operating income came in at $178.1 million, down 0.2% from the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA increased 0.7% year over year to $266.5 million, reflecting steady operational execution.

SG&A expenses rose to $818.2 million from $758.2 million a year earlier. The increase mainly reflects higher labor, occupancy and operational costs tied to new club and gas station openings, as well as higher depreciation expenses due to a greater number of owned clubs.

BJ’s Membership Strength & Club Expansion

BJ’s Wholesale Club continues to expand the size and quality of its membership base. The company maintained a 90% tenured member renewal rate and reported strong growth in membership fee income, supported by the membership fee increase implemented in January 2025.

During the fourth quarter, the company opened seven new clubs and seven gas stations, bringing the total to 263 clubs and 199 gas stations across 21 states. Management remains focused on expanding its footprint, with plans to open 25-30 clubs over fiscal 2025 and 2026 combined.

BJ’s Wholesale Financial Snapshot

BJ’s Wholesale Club ended fiscal 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $46.2 million, while long-term debt totaled $399.1 million. Stockholders’ equity stood at $2,197.7 million.

Net cash provided by operating activities for the quarter was $391 million, while adjusted free cash flow totaled about $189.9 million. The company continues to invest in expansion and infrastructure, including new distribution centers to support growth.

During the fourth quarter, BJ’s repurchased 1.26 million shares for approximately $117.7 million. For fiscal 2025, it bought back 2.6 million shares totaling $252.4 million, with $749.7 million remaining under its authorization.

Here’s What BJ Guided

For fiscal 2026, BJ’s Wholesale Club expects comparable club sales (excluding gasoline) to increase 2% to 3% year over year. Management anticipates adjusted earnings per share in the range of $4.40-$4.60 compared with $4.40 reported in fiscal 2025.

The company also expects capital expenditures of about $800 million, reflecting continued investments in club openings, supply-chain enhancements and its distribution network.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have advanced 7.6% over the past three months compared with the industry’s rise of 13.2%.

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