
The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how BJ's (NYSE: BJ) and the rest of the large-format grocery & general merchandise retailer stocks fared in Q4.
Big-box retailers operate large stores that sell groceries and general merchandise at highly competitive prices. Because of their scale and resulting purchasing power, these big-box retailers–with annual sales in the tens to hundreds of billions of dollars–are able to get attractive volume discounts and sell at often the lowest prices. While e-commerce is a threat, these retailers have been able to weather the storm by either providing a unique in-store shopping experience or by reinvesting their hefty profits into omnichannel investments.
The 4 large-format grocery & general merchandise retailer stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.2% below.
In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results.
Weakest Q4: BJ's (NYSE: BJ)
Appealing to the budget-conscious individual shopping for a household, BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ) is a membership-only retail chain that sells groceries, appliances, electronics, and household items, often in bulk quantities.
BJ's reported revenues of $5.58 billion, up 5.6% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a slower quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 2% since reporting and currently trades at $97.95.
Read our full report on BJ's here, it’s free.
Best Q4: Target (NYSE: TGT)
With a higher focus on style and aesthetics compared to other large general merchandise retailers, Target (NYSE: TGT) serves the suburban consumer who is looking for a wide range of products under one roof.
Target reported revenues of $30.45 billion, down 1.5% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. The business had a strong quarter with full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 3% since reporting. It currently trades at $116.53.
Is now the time to buy Target? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT)
Known for its large-format Supercenters, Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) is a retail pioneer that serves a budget-conscious consumer who is looking for a wide range of products under one roof.
Walmart reported revenues of $190.7 billion, up 5.6% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a slower quarter as it posted full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and EPS guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.
The stock is flat since the results and currently trades at $125.83.
Read our full analysis of Walmart’s results here.
Costco (NASDAQ: COST)
Designed to be a one-stop shop for the suburban consumer, Costco (NASDAQ: COST) is a membership-only retail chain that sells groceries, apparel, toys, and household items, often in bulk quantities.
Costco reported revenues of $69.6 billion, up 9.2% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ gross margin estimates but a slight miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
Costco achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat and fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 1.9% since reporting and currently trades at $1,002.
Read our full, actionable report on Costco here, it’s free.
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