Boot Barn Q4 Earnings Call Highlights
Boot Barn (NYSE:BOOT) reported record fiscal 2026 sales and earnings, with executives pointing to continued store expansion, gains in same-store sales and increased penetration of exclusive brands as key drivers of the western and workwear retailer’s performance.
Chief Executive Officer John Hazen said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call that fiscal 2026 revenue rose 18% to $2.25 billion, while earnings per diluted share increased 25% to $7.35. The company opened a record 80 new stores during the year and ended the fiscal year with 539 locations.
“I am very pleased with our fiscal 2026 results, which reflect strong performance across key metrics, broad-based strength across the business, and unprecedented sales and earnings for the company,” Hazen said.
For the fourth quarter, Boot Barn said total revenue increased 19% to $539 million. Consolidated same-store sales rose 6.1%, including a 5.2% increase in retail store comps and a 14.1% increase in e-commerce comps. Earnings per diluted share rose 19% to $1.45, compared with $1.22 in the prior-year period.
Store Growth Remains Central to Expansion Plan
Hazen said the company’s new-store strategy continues to perform ahead of expectations. Over the past five years, Boot Barn has opened 267 stores, doubling its store count. Those stores contributed more than $750 million in incremental revenue in fiscal 2026, according to Hazen.
The company said new stores are on track, on average, to generate about $3.2 million in annual sales in their first full year and pay back their initial investment in less than two years. Hazen said stores opened within the past five years contributed about 150 basis points to consolidated same-store sales growth in fiscal 2026.
Boot Barn is targeting 1,200 stores across the U.S. over the long term. Chief Financial Officer Jim Watkins said the company plans to open 70 stores in fiscal 2027, down from an original plan of 80 because 10 stores were accelerated into the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. About 25 new stores are expected to open in the first quarter, with the remaining 45 spread relatively evenly through the rest of the year.
During the question-and-answer session, Hazen said one of two planned high-traffic, high-visibility stores will be located on the Las Vegas Strip, while the other will be in Southern California.
Exclusive Brands and Work Boots Drive Strategic Focus
Hazen highlighted progress on three priorities he introduced during his first year as CEO: building a sourcing organization, marketing exclusive brands as standalone brands and reinvigorating the work boot business.
The company’s sourcing organization is now fully built out, Hazen said, with run-rate benefits expected to begin late in fiscal 2027 and during fiscal 2028. He said the team’s mitigation efforts and factory negotiations helped drive margin expansion as the tariff environment evolved.
Boot Barn also expanded its efforts to market exclusive brands independently. The company launched dedicated websites for Cody James, Hawx, Shyanne and Cleo Wolf, in addition to its existing Idyllwind site. Hazen said the sites have helped with brand storytelling and new customer acquisition.
Exclusive brand penetration increased 220 basis points for the full year to 40.8%, with fourth-quarter penetration up 90 basis points. Over the past six years, exclusive brand penetration has risen 1,900 basis points. Hazen said Boot Barn remains confident in its long-term target of 50% of sales from exclusive brands, though fiscal 2027 penetration is expected to rise more modestly to 41.3% as the company grows sales in work boots with third-party vendors.
Hazen said the work boot business exited fiscal 2026 with four consecutive quarters of accelerating comp sales growth and maintained momentum into the start of fiscal 2027. In the fourth quarter, work boots delivered mid-single-digit comp growth. Through the first six weeks of the new fiscal year, Hazen said work boots were trending up in the high single digits.
Margins, Inventory and Share Repurchases
Watkins said fourth-quarter merchandise margin decreased 30 basis points, outperforming company guidance. Better-than-expected product margin expansion of 40 basis points was offset by a 70-basis-point headwind from cycling low shrink and low freight expense in the prior-year period. Buying, occupancy and distribution center costs deleveraged by 50 basis points, primarily due to new-store occupancy costs.
SG expenses were $139 million, or 25.7% of sales, representing a 50-basis-point improvement from the prior year. Income from operations was $57 million, or 10.6% of sales.
Inventory increased 13% year over year to $845 million, reflecting new-store growth, exclusive brands and inventory purchased at a volume discount. Watkins said inventory decreased slightly on a same-store basis and markdowns as a percentage of inventory remained below historical levels.
The company repurchased more than 68,000 shares in the quarter for $12.5 million under its $200 million share repurchase authorization. Fiscal 2026 repurchases totaled $50 million for about 287,000 shares. Boot Barn ended the quarter with $141 million in cash and no borrowings on its $250 million revolving credit facility.
Fiscal 2027 Outlook Calls for Continued Growth
At the high end of its fiscal 2027 guidance range, Boot Barn expects total sales of $2.6 billion, representing 16% growth over fiscal 2026. The company expects same-store sales to increase 4%, including a 3% increase in retail store comps and 13% growth in e-commerce comps.
Watkins said the fiscal 2027 outlook assumes merchandise margin of about 51.4% of sales, up 50 basis points year over year, driven by buying economies of scale, moderated promotional activity, supply chain efficiencies and increased exclusive brand penetration. Gross profit rate is expected to deleverage by 20 basis points to about 37.9% of sales, while SG is expected to leverage by 40 basis points.
Boot Barn expects income from operations of $353 million, or 13.5% of sales, and net income of $265 million. Earnings per diluted share are projected to grow 18% to $8.64. Capital expenditures are expected to total $130 million.
For the first quarter, the company guided for total sales of $584 million at the high end of the range and consolidated same-store sales growth of 4%. Earnings per diluted share are expected to be $1.71, compared with $1.74 a year earlier. Watkins said the year-over-year decline reflects a difficult comparison with an “extremely strong” first quarter in the prior year.
Early Fiscal 2027 Trends Remain Positive
Hazen said that through the first six weeks of the fiscal first quarter, consolidated same-store sales were up 5%, cycling high-single-digit growth in the prior-year period. He described the growth as broad-based across categories and geographies, with strength in work boots, denim, men’s western boots and women’s apparel. Women’s boots were softer against a mid-teens comp increase in the prior-year first quarter.
Executives said they had not observed meaningful divergence in purchasing behavior across low-, middle- and high-income customers. Watkins said the company’s guidance reflects recent customer trends and does not assume potential impacts from changes in the macroeconomic environment. The outlook also excludes potential recovery of about $18 million in IEPA tariff refunds that the company is pursuing.
Hazen also discussed Boot Barn’s first year as the official boot retailer for Stagecoach, the country music festival. He said the company hosted events at local stores and on-site at the festival and sponsored the Mustang Stage, which was streamed by Amazon. Hazen said the partnership could support broader brand awareness and customer acquisition over time.
About Boot Barn (NYSE:BOOT)
Boot Barn, Inc is a leading specialty retailer focused on western and work-related footwear, apparel and accessories. The company operates full-price and outlet retail stores under the Boot Barn and BootBarn.com brands, offering a wide assortment of cowboy boots, work boots, casual and fashion footwear, western and work apparel, hats, belts and related accessories. In addition to its brick-and-mortar network, Boot Barn maintains an e-commerce platform to serve customers seeking ranch-and-rodeo style clothing and rugged workwear from coast to coast.
Founded in 1978 in Southern California, Boot Barn began as a single store catering to ranchers, farmworkers and western enthusiasts.
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