Bed Bath & Beyond is ‘in the end days’ after ‘dumpster fire’ quarter, analyst says
It may be time to scoop up those fire-sale deals at struggling Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) while the company is still open for business.
That’s the hot takeaway from Loop Capital Analyst Anthony Chukumba, a longtime bear on the home goods retailer who thinks the retailer’s days are numbered in light of its brutal first-quarter report.
“We are looking at a situation in which this company is probably not going to be around,” Chukumba told Yahoo Finance Live (video above). “It’s not going to take years. We could be talking about months at this point. We are in the end days. These results were a dumpster fire, there is no other way to put it.”
Dumpster fire may even be an understatement.
On Wednesday, Bed Bath & Beyond announced a loss of $224 million for its adjusted operating profits, and the company ended the quarter with a worrisome $107 million in cash.
The retailer also said it saw same-store sales crash 27% at its namesake brand in the most recent quarter as shoppers pulled back on discretionary purchases. Shoppers also continued to shun the retailer’s move to scale back coupons.
Shares fell more than 20% during Wednesday trading as of 2:08 p.m. ET. The stock, which more than tripled during the meme trading craze of late 2020 and early 2021, is down over 80% from highs reached in early ’21.
Along with the dismal results, Bed Bath & Beyond announced CEO Mark Tritton is now leaving the company and the board, effective immediately. Tritton had joined Bed Bath & Beyond in 2019 after a successful stint at Target.
Board member and retail veteran Sue Gove is taking over the retailer on an interim basis. Bed Bath & Beyond declined to make Gove available to Yahoo Finance for an interview.
In Chukumba’s view, the company is already heading down the path of going out of business.
“This company was in a lot of trouble even when things were good,” Chukumba said. “Now that things are bad, it’s game over.”
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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