TJX holiday quarter same-stores sales beat estimates

Off-price apparel retailer TJX Cos Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly same-store sales on Wednesday, as steep discounts drove more shoppers to its T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores during the holiday season.

Shares of the Framingham, Massachusetts-based company rose 2 percent before the bell.

TJX has opened more stores and largely depended on its deep in-store discounts to drive traffic unlike other brick-and-mortar retailers, which have shuttered shops and invested in e-commerce as shoppers move online.

The company reported a 6 percent rise in comparable-store sales, beating analysts’ average estimate of a 3.54 percent rise, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Same-store sales at Marmaxx, the company’s biggest and most profitable unit which includes T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores, rose 7 percent during the quarter, beating estimates of 4.45 percent growth.

Net income fell to $841.5 million, or 68 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended February 2, from $877.3 million, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier.

Net sales rose 1.5 percent to $11.13 billion, beating analysts estimate of $11 billion.