Burlington Stores Q2 2026 earnings: tariff refunds to lower prices

Burlington Stores Q2 2026 earnings: tariff refunds to lower prices

Thu, August 27, 2026 at 3:37 PM GMT+3 2 min read

• BURL -0.41%

Burlington Stores reported second-quarter net income of $184 million, or $2.88 per diluted share, on Thursday, and said it plans to reinvest $55 million in tariff refunds into lower prices for shoppers rather than booking them as a profit windfall.

Total revenue climbed 11% to $3.00 billion, and comparable-store sales edged up 2%. Stripping out tariff refunds and costs related to bankruptcy-acquired leases, adjusted EPS landed at $2.37, a 38% jump from $1.72 in the same period last year. Analysts had expected adjusted EPS of $2.19 and revenue of $3.03 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Chief Executive Michael O'Sullivan said the company intends to pass the refunds on to customers over the second half of the fiscal year. "Over the last few years, the rising cost of living has made life difficult for many customers. At Burlington, we already offer great deals. We plan to use the refunds to make these deals even better," O'Sullivan said in a statement.

Burlington plans to reinvest roughly 40% of the $55 million in the third quarter and the remaining 60% in the fourth quarter, the company said. Burlington's decision to put all $55 million back into the business means the refunds wash out of the full-year earnings picture entirely.

Burlington lifted its full-year adjusted EPS target to $11.77–$11.97 from the previous $11.45–$11.80, while tightening its annual revenue growth forecast to a band of 10% to 11%. It now expects full-year comparable store sales growth of 3% to 4%.

For the current quarter, Burlington guided for adjusted EPS of $1.60 to $1.70, below analyst expectations of $2.04, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company projects total sales growth of 9% to 11% and comparable store sales growth of 1% to 3% for the period.

Burlington raised its full-year adjusted EPS target after its first quarter to a range of $11.45 to $11.80, citing outperformance it passed directly into its annual outlook. First-quarter net sales had climbed 14% year over year to $2.85 billion, with same-store sales up 6%.

Burlington operated 1,287 stores at the end of the second quarter across 47 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, the company said. The retailer is targeting approximately 115 net new store openings in fiscal 2026.