Bed Bath & Beyond Pulls Profit off Cost Cuts

Bed Bath & Beyond(BBBY Quote) may have reported an unexpected jump in first quarter earnings -- which is nice and all -- but the increase, in truth, has come from cost-cutting initiatives, and not from an overwhelming demand for home furnishings.

Still, a gain is a gain, to investors anyway, and shares spiked 6% to $30.10 in after-market trading.

During the quarter, the company earned $87.2 million, or 34 cents a share, up 13% from $76.8 million, or 30 cents, in the year prior. Analysts expected earnings of 25 cents.

Sales rose 3% to $1.69 billion, but same-store sales fell 1.6%.