Bed Bath & Beyond’s Q3 Results: Sales Fall, Bankruptcy Approaching

NEW YORK – Bed bath and moreSales fell 33% in the fiscal third quarter as the home goods company works to find the right balance with its customers.

Sales fell to $1.26 billion in the three months ended Nov. 26, from $1.88 billion a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key indicator of a retailer’s health, fell 32%.

Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research had expected higher revenue of $1.43 billion.

​​​​​​​​While the quarterly figures did not come as a surprise, given Bed Bath & Beyond’s update on its results last week, Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said in a statement that it was still a shock.

“A third of the profits have disappeared, plunging an already beleaguered company into the depths of chaos,” he said.

President and CEO Sue Gove said in a prepared statement Tuesday that the company is working to adjust its products and strategy, which has moved away from customer preferences.

“We want our customers to know that we hear them and are charging forward every day to meet their needs,” she said.

The retailer lost $393 million, or $4.33 per share, for the quarter. That compares with a loss of $276.4 million, or $2.78, a year earlier.

Excluding certain items, the adjusted loss was $3.65 per share. Wall Street had called for a loss of $2.36 per share.

Last week, Bed Bath & Beyond warned that it may need to file for bankruptcy defense as it struggles to attract buyers. It said he was considering several options, including selling assets or restructuring his business in bankruptcy court. But the network acknowledged that even those efforts may be unsuccessful.

Bed Bath & Beyond announced in August that it was closing stores and laying off workers in an effort to grow its business. It closed about 150 of its same-name stores and cut its workforce by 20%.

Saunders is not optimistic about the future of retail.

“In our view, Bed Bath & Beyond has completely lost control and is in a tailspin; and with land fast approaching, survival now looks unlikely,” he said.

Shares of the Union, New Jersey-based company jumped more than 6% before the market opened.