Over the course of the past decade, Bed Bath & Beyond has been a home-goods store chain, a meme stock, a bankruptcy case and, in 2023, an online resurrection story with more than a few bumps in the road. Now, the company is starting to grow into its new identity.
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond rocketed more than 25% higher in after-hours trading on Monday, after the e-commerce-focused retailer put up a first-quarter sales gain that topped Wall Street’s expectations. Management referred to this as “the first quarter of significant revenue growth in 19 quarters.”
The company is dealing with a belt-tightening consumer base and a weaker housing market. It’s also trying to find ways to revive its store presence. This month, Bed Bath & Beyond said it would buy the Container Store in a $150 million deal that will relaunch Container Store locations under the name The Container Store + Bed Bath & Beyond.
Bed Bath & Beyond had $248 million in sales for the first quarter, a 6.9% year-over-year increase. The revenue figure was above the FactSet consensus view of $240.1 million. The company attributed the sales performance to an improved customer experience and a better merchandise selection.
Bed Bath & Beyond reported a loss per share of 24 cents. Analysts expected a per-share loss of 28 cents.
“Returning customer behavior is strengthening, and average order value is increasing,” CEO Marcus Lemonis said in a letter to shareholders.
The more recent iteration of Bed Bath & Beyond emerged after Overstock acquired the failed retailer’s intellectual property in 2023. But that relaunch ran into hurdles as the company tried to figure out how to best use the two brands. Bed Bath & Beyond had tried to rescue the Container Store, another struggling retail chain, in 2024, but the effort fell through.
Shares were trading at around $7 after hours on Monday. But despite the rally, the stock is still well below its meme-stock glory days, when it was trading at above $90 in 2021.
As of the close of trade, Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock was up 28.7% over the past 12 months, but down 2.2% so far this year.
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