Bed Bath & Beyond Tops Targets

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY Quote) surged late Wednesday after the home-products retailer managed to top Wall Street's sales estimates for the fiscal first quarter, despite a year-over-year decline.

The Union, N.J., company earned $76.8 million, or 30 cents a share, for the quarter ended May 31, down from $104.6 million, or 38 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected earnings of 27 cents a share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

During the company's last earnings report, Bed Bath & Beyond said first-quarter profits would probably fall in a range of 26 cents to 30 cents. At the time, analysts were predicting 36 cents.

Sales in the third quarter rose to $1.65 billion from $1.55 billion a year ago and surpassed the consensus expectation of $1.61 billion.

"We continue to take a long-term approach to our business and work to continue to distance ourselves from our competitors by striving to be our customers' first choice for the products we offer domestically, interactively and over the long-term, internationally," said CEO Steven Temares, in a press release.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, inched up 0.8% compared with a 1.6% increase last year in the same period.

Bed Bath & Beyond shares were jumping $2.27, or 8%, to $30.84 in after-hours trading. The stock has been battered this year as investors fretted that the housing slowdown and resulting consumer malaise would slam results. The stock hit a 52-week low of $24.49 in January, although shares are now slightly positive for the year.