What happened
Shares of home-furnishing company At Home Group (HOME) shot up on Thursday after the company gave investors a sneak peak of upcoming results for the second quarter of its fiscal 2021. The preliminary results show big sales gains at its more than 200 retail locations.
At Home Group stock is up 34% as of 11:00 a.m. EDT. And it's now a 10-bagger from its absolute bottom earlier this year.
So what
Demand for At Home Group's products soared in Q2. The company tracks sales from stores opened over 15 months with a metric called comparable-store sales. Comp sales increased an eye-popping 42% year over year. For perspective, in the second quarter of last year, comp sales fell 0.4%. And last quarter, comp sales plummeted 46.5% after the company closed all its locations.
Image source: Getty Images.
At Home Group currently has 13 more stores than this time last year. Between the extra locations and the massive comp-sales gains, preliminary results show net sales are up 50% year over year. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, the company's net income is expected to be $82 million. Last year it had just $10.4 million. So its profit is forecasted to be up nearly 700%.
Now what
I believe it was fair to question At Home Group's prospects when the stock fell with the rest of the market in March. Operating brick-and-mortar retail locations has proven to be a liability for many companies this year, and e-commerce appears to be taking market share.
Perhaps At Home Group was able to keep pace with shifting consumer behavior because it allowed customers to buy online and either pick up purchases in a store or have them delivered. The rollout of this feature accelerated during the last few months. Those sales are processed through the store servicing the order, so they are included in the comp-sales gain.
Whatever the reason for this blowout quarter, At Home Group stock could be a good value. The company's $82 million in quarterly net income looks really nice compared to its market capitalization of around $800 million. Of course, its success depends on whether it can deliver similar profits in coming quarters. And At Home Group management did not provide guidance for the rest of 2020.
