BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.36 for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.17 and rising 19.3% from the prior-year period. Revenue totaled $6.09 billion, topping estimates of $5.97 billion and up 15.9% year-over-year, while net sales reached $6.1 billion.
The company’s shares rose 1.81% in premarket trading to $92.95 following the results. Comparable club sales, excluding gasoline, increased 3.1%, while comparable fuel gallons climbed 10.5% against a broader market decline of about 5%. Adjusted EBITDA grew 14.3% to $347.2 million, and operating cash flow generated $401 million in net cash from operating activities.
Membership metrics strengthened, with total members reaching a record 8.5 million. The tenured renewal rate held steady at 90%, and higher-tier penetration reached 42%, both all-time highs. Comparable club membership grew at a 2% to 3% pace, while digitally enabled comparable sales surged 30% in the quarter. Digital penetration accounted for 16% of merchandise sales in fiscal 2025, up from 2% in fiscal 2018, with over 90% of digital orders fulfilled in-club. The company’s AI shopping assistant, Bev, has conducted more than 100,000 member conversations.
On the balance sheet, BJ’s reduced net debt to adjusted EBITDA to 0.5x as of August 1, 2026, down from 5.1x in fiscal 2017 and 3.1x in fiscal 2018. Principal debt fell to $599 million from $2.75 billion in fiscal 2017. Capital expenditures are projected at $800 million for fiscal 2026, up from $137 million in fiscal 2017.
The company returned $124 million to shareholders through share repurchases in the quarter, bringing year-to-date buybacks to $331 million and cumulative repurchases since fiscal 2018 to over $1 billion. Merchandise gross margin declined approximately 20 basis points, while membership fee income grew 9.9% to $135.6 million.
Looking ahead, BJ’s raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $4.60 to $4.80. Comparable club sales, excluding gasoline, are expected to rise 2% to 3%, with management targeting the high end of the range. CEO Bob Eddy noted that the company earned more in the second quarter of fiscal 2026 than it did in the entire year of its 2018 IPO, emphasizing long-term value creation over short-term margin pressure.
