Buckle Q1 2026 Earnings Report

Buckle EPS Results

• Actual EPS: $0.70
• Consensus EPS: $0.65
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$0.05
• One Year Ago EPS: $0.70

Buckle Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $272.12 million
• Expected Revenue: $264.28 million
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$7.84 million
• YoY Revenue Growth: +3.70%

Buckle Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q1 2026
• Date: 5/23/2025
• Time: Before Market Opens
• Conference Call Date: Friday, May 23, 2025
• Conference Call Time: 10:00AM ET

Buckle (NYSE:BKE), Inc. is a specialty retailer of casual apparel, footwear and accessories for young men and women. The company is particularly known for its selection of denim, along with tops, bottoms, dresses, outerwear, shoes, jewelry and other fashion accessories. Buckle sells merchandise under a combination of national brands and proprietary labels.

The company operates retail stores across the United States and also sells products through its e-commerce platform. Its stores generally offer personalized customer service, including denim fitting and tailoring, and are designed to provide a lifestyle-oriented shopping experience. Buckle serves customers through both its physical store network and digital channels.

Buckle traces its origins to 1948, when it began as a clothing retailer known as Mills Clothing. The company later adopted the Buckle name as it expanded its focus on contemporary casual fashion. Buckle is headquartered in Kearney, Nebraska, and Dennis H. Eck serves as its chairman and chief executive officer.

Buckle Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Net income rose to $35.2 million (EPS $0.70) in Q1, up from $34.8 million (EPS $0.69), with net sales up 3.7% to $272.1 million and comparable store sales up 3%.
• Gross margin expanded by 70 bps to 46.7%, driven by a 60 bps merchandise margin increase and 10 bps of leverage in buying, distribution, and occupancy expenses.
• SG&A expenses rose to 30.7% of sales (vs. 29.8% last year) due to higher incentive compensation, health insurance, and equity compensation costs, which weighed on operating margin (16.0% vs. 16.2%).
• Women’s segment delivered strong momentum with sales up ~10.5%, denim up ~11%, and average price points increasing, while private label penetration grew to 47.5% of total sales.
• Store footprint and capex: Inventory was $132.4 million (+1.3% YoY), cash and investments totaled $320 million, Q1 capex was $11.4 million, and the company ended the quarter with 439 stores, planning seven openings and 16 remodels for the year.

Presentation

[Operator]

Good morning. Thank you for standing by, and Welcome To Buckle's First Quarter Earnings Release Webcast. As a reminder, all participants are currently in a listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will be conducted following the company's prepared remarks, with instructions given at that time. Members of Buckle's management on the call today are Dennis Nelson, President and CEO, Tom Heacock, Senior Vice President of Finance, Treasurer, and CFO, Adam Akerson, Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller, and Brady Fritz, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary. Before beginning, the company would like to reiterate its policy of not providing future sales or earnings guidance. All forward-looking statements made on the call are pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties described in the company's SEC filings.

[Operator]

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise these statements, except as required by law. Additionally, the company does not authorize the reproduction or dissemination of transcripts or audio recordings of the company's quarterly conference calls without its express written consent. Any unauthorized reproductions or recordings of the calls should not be relied upon, as the information may be inaccurate. As a reminder, today's webcast is being recorded. I would like to turn the conference over to your host, Tom Heacock.

[Thomas B Heacock, CFO at Buckle]

Good morning, and thanks for joining us this morning. Our May 23, 2025 press release reported that Net income for the 13-week first quarter ended May 3, 2025, was $35.2 million, or $0.70 per share on a diluted basis, compared to Net income of $34.8 million, or $0.69 per share on a diluted basis for the prior year 13-week first quarter, which ended May 4, 2024. Net sales for the 13-week first quarter increased 3.7% to $272.1 million, compared to net sales of $262.5 million for the prior year 13-week first quarter. Comparable store sales for the quarter increased 3% in comparison to the same 13-week period in the prior year, and our online sales increased 4.5% to $46.4 million. For the quarter, UPTs increased slightly, the average unit retail increased approximately 1%, and the average transaction value increased approximately 1.5%.

[Thomas B Heacock, CFO at Buckle]

Gross margin for the quarter was 46.7%, a 70 basis point increase from 46% in the first quarter of last year, with the current quarter margin improvement being the result of a 60 basis point increase in merchandise margins, along with 10 basis points of leverage buying distribution and occupancy expenses. Selling general administrative expenses for the quarter were 30.7% of net sales, compared to 29.8% for the first quarter of last year. The first quarter increase was due to a 45 basis point increase in incentive compensation accruals, a 25 basis point increase in health insurance-related costs, a 20 basis point increase in equity compensation expense, and a 40 basis point increase in other SG&A expense categories. These increases were partially offset by a 25 basis point decrease in E-commerce shipping expenses and a 15 basis point reduction in certain marketing expenses.

[Thomas B Heacock, CFO at Buckle]

Our Operating margin for the quarter was 16%, compared to 16.2% for the first quarter of fiscal 2024. Income tax expense as a percentage of pre-tax Net income for both the current and prior year fiscal quarter was 24.5%, bringing first quarter Net income to $35.2 million for fiscal 2025, compared to $34.8 million for fiscal 2024. Our press release also included a Balance sheet as of May 3, 2025, which included the following: inventory of $132.4 million, up 1.3% from the same time a year ago, and $320 million of total cash and investments. We ended the quarter with $152.1 million in fixed assets net of accumulated depreciation. Our capital expenditures for the quarter were $11.4 million, and depreciation expense was $5.9 million.

[Thomas B Heacock, CFO at Buckle]

First quarter capital spending is broken down as follows: $10 million for new store construction, store remodels, and technology upgrades, and $1.4 million for capital spending at the corporate headquarters and distribution center. During the quarter, we completed five full store remodels, three of which were relocations into new outdoor shopping centers and closed two stores. For the remainder of the year, we anticipate opening seven new stores, completing 16 additional full remodel projects, and closing one youth store as it combines with our full-line location as a part of a remodel. Buckle ended the quarter with 439 retail stores in 42 states, compared with 440 stores in 42 states at the end of the first quarter of last year. Now I'll turn the call over to Adam Akerson, Vice President of Finance.

[Adam Akerson, VP of Finance at Buckle]

Thanks, Tom, and good morning. Our women's business continued its strong momentum from the back half of 2024 through the first quarter of 2025, with merchandise sales increasing about 10.5% against the prior year and representing approximately 50% of sales, which compares to 47% last year. The strong results continue to be headlined by the performance of our denim category. For the quarter, women's denim increased approximately 11%, with average denim price points increasing from $80.85 in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 to $84.85 in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. This AUR increase is primarily the result of continued growth in our Buckle Black label, increasing its percentage of our total denim mix, along with strong performance of higher price point national brands.

[Adam Akerson, VP of Finance at Buckle]

Complementing our strong denim selection, our merchandising team did a great job delivering a balanced assortment of tops, shorts, dresses, outerwear, footwear, and accessories, which all delivered growth for the quarter. For the quarter, average women's price points increased about 2% from $48.00 to $49.05. On the men's side, we were pleased to see sequential improvement throughout the quarter, resulting in positive year-over-year sales in fiscal April. For the quarter, men's merchandise sales were down about 2.5% against the prior year, representing approximately 50% of total sales, compared to 53% in the prior year. For the quarter, our men's denim category was down about 0.5%, with private-branded denim increasing about 1%. Average denim price points increased from $88.65 in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 to $89.70 in the first quarter of 2025. In other categories, we saw stronger performance in our tees, polos, denim shorts, and fragrance selections.

[Adam Akerson, VP of Finance at Buckle]

For the quarter, overall average men's price points increased approximately 1.5% from $53.60 to $54.40. On a combined basis, accessory sales for the quarter increased approximately 3.5% against the prior year, while footwear sales were down about 7%. These two categories accounted for approximately 11% and 5.5%, respectively, of the first quarter net sales, which compares to 11% and 6% for each in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. For the quarter, average accessory price points were up approximately 1%, and average footwear price points were up about 2.5%. Also, on a combined basis, our youth business continued its growth during the quarter, increasing approximately 11.5% year-over-year. For the quarter, denim accounted for approximately 43.5% of sales, and tops accounted for approximately 27%, which compares with 43% and 27.5% for each in the first quarter of 2024.

[Adam Akerson, VP of Finance at Buckle]

As previously mentioned, we continued to see nice growth in our private brands across nearly every category. For the quarter, private label represented 47.5% of sales versus 46% in the first quarter of 2024. With that, we welcome your questions.

[Operator]

Thank you. As a reminder for participants, if you would like to ask a question, please raise your hand in the Zoom app. Prior to asking your questions, please state your name and firm affiliation. Our first question is from Mauricio. Mauricio, I'm going to go ahead and prompt you to unmute at this time.

[Mauricio Serna, Executive Director at UBS]

Great. Good morning. This is Mauricio Serna from UBS Research. Just a couple of questions. Maybe could you elaborate a little bit more on how are you thinking about the China tariffs and other tariffs' impact on your gross margin as we head into second quarter, upcoming quarters? Yeah, how are you thinking about that? And then on the report, just one thing that stuck out just on the balance sheet, we see a big uptick, I think, like 10% increase or so in the operating lease assets right of use. Just wanted to understand what was the driver behind that big increase. Thank you.

[Dennis Nelson, CEO at Buckle]

Good morning, Mauricio. Thank you for the question. We have vendors and brands where we have had no increases in our costs as we look even forward to the second quarter. As well, we've had others that have low to mid-single-digit increases. We think we're working with our vendors, managing the tariffs, and our product has worked out well. Do you want to comment on the other?

[Thomas B Heacock, CFO at Buckle]

Mauricio, was your second question just on the lease liability on the Balance sheet? Is that what the question was? I'm sorry, it looks like we lost Mauricio. Yeah, Mauricio, that's really just a function of new stores and remodels over the last 12 months. Every one of those at the inception of the lease would have both assets and liabilities that are recognized on the Balance sheet.

[Operator]

Okay. There are no further questions in queue. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, oh, I believe Mauricio is raising his hand again. Let me go ahead and prompt him to unmute.

[Mauricio Serna, Executive Director at UBS]

Great. Yeah, thanks for taking a follow-up. Maybe could you talk about, in the Gross margin result this quarter, saw a nice uptick on the contribution for merchandise margin? What is driving that? On the part that is actually the occupancy, it seems that you had a little bit of leverage. I was just curious on that, too, because I think you have recalled that maybe in the first quarter, you kind of require a higher comp sales growth to kind of leverage expense. Just lastly, again, just following up on the tariff commentary, anything that you're doing on your side in terms of relocating the production for your private labels, how are you dealing with the tariffs for the private labels, I guess? That is the part that I'm just concerned because I recall that that particular business had a huge exposure to China. Thank you.

[Dennis Nelson, CEO at Buckle]

Correct. Yes. As I mentioned, we're working closely with our vendors. They are sourcing other countries as well, as well as wanting to maintain our business and long history of working with key vendors and helping us out on holding price and working ahead. As well as the first quarter, we're very excited about our ladies' business. The trends have been very good. Strong denim, but also all categories were having good sell-throughs at regular price. The men's business is still 50% of our business, and we're having good sell-throughs in all our key categories there, and we're feeling really good about the inventory. Do you want to comment on the other?

[Thomas B Heacock, CFO at Buckle]

Mauricio, I think your second questions were about merchandise margin drivers during the quarter. That is a function of what we have seen, continued growth there. Increase in private label is a big driver, and we saw an increase there again in the first quarter, and also strong regular price selling during the quarter. Both of those were contributing factors to the 60 basis point increase. On the leverage that we saw, which was about 10 basis points for Q1, looking at total occupancy costs for Q1, we are up about 3.5%. With total sales better than that, we did get a little bit of leverage.

[Mauricio Serna, Executive Director at UBS]

Got it. Sorry, can you hear me? I don't know if I'm still on mute or not.

[Thomas B Heacock, CFO at Buckle]

We can hear you.

[Mauricio Serna, Executive Director at UBS]

Oh, perfect. I guess just the other one on SG&A seems like was elevated. Anything there that's like you called out, you do a very good job breaking down the components, but anything on how should we think about maybe the ability opportunity to actually see some leverage on SG&A if we continue to see actually the good progress in the comp sale?

[Thomas B Heacock, CFO at Buckle]

They're kind of walking through the drivers, and we called them out in the script, but total SG&A dollars were up just a little bit over $5 million. For the quarter, looking at store payroll was flat as a percentage of sales, which was the first quarter that's been the case for several quarters. Even with that, total payroll dollars during the quarter were up just over $2 million. That was the biggest driver of SG&A expense. A lot of that is, again, store labor, sales labor that's variable based on top-line results. The other components that we called out were incentive comp and, again, the strong performance during the quarter with pre-bonus Net income being up year-over-year. Again, looking for our expectation for the rest of the year for that, and the accrual was up year-over-year.

[Thomas B Heacock, CFO at Buckle]

Equity comp and health insurance, which health insurance we are self-funded. A little bit is just reactive to claims that come in, and we had better performance a year ago during Q1. Equity comp is largely a function of stock price on the date of grant for new shares.

[Mauricio Serna, Executive Director at UBS]

Understood. Thank you so much.

[Operator]

There are no further questions in queue. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please raise your hand in the Zoom app. Okay. Looks like there are no further questions. I will now turn the call back over to Buckle for any closing remarks.

[Thomas B Heacock, CFO at Buckle]

Thank you, everybody, for participating in the call, and we hope you enjoy the rest of the day and have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Participants

Executives

• Dennis Nelson, CEO
• Adam Akerson, VP of Finance
• Thomas B Heacock, CFO

Analysts

• Mauricio Serna, Executive Director at UBS