Off-price retail company Burlington Stores (NYSE: BURL) beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q4 CY2025, with sales up 11.3% year on year to $3.65 billion. The company expects next quarter’s revenue to be around $2.75 billion, close to analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $4.89 per share was 2.9% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Burlington (BURL) Q4 CY2025 Highlights:
- Revenue: $3.65 billion vs analyst estimates of $3.59 billion (11.3% year-on-year growth, 1.6% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $4.89 vs analyst estimates of $4.75 (2.9% beat)
- Revenue Guidance for Q1 CY2026 is $2.75 billion at the midpoint, roughly in line with what analysts were expecting
- Adjusted EPS guidance for the upcoming financial year 2026 is $11.20 at the midpoint, in line with analyst estimates
- Operating Margin: 14.9%, up from 11.2% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 19.7%, up from 5.8% in the same quarter last year
- Locations: 1,212 at quarter end, up from 1,108 in the same quarter last year
- Same-Store Sales rose 4% year on year (6% in the same quarter last year)
- Market Capitalization: $18.7 billion
BURLINGTON, N.J., March 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE: BURL), a nationally recognized off-price retailer of high-quality, branded apparel, footwear, accessories, and merchandise for the home at everyday low prices, today announced its results for the fourth quarter and full year ended January 31, 2026. Michael O’Sullivan, CEO, stated, “We are very pleased with our strong performance in the fourth quarter. Comparable store sales increased 4%, on top of a robust 6% increase the prior year. This represents a very strong 10% two-year comp stack. Adjusted EBIT margin was 100 basis points higher than last year, and 50 basis points above the high end of our expectations. This sales and margin performance drove 21% earnings per share growth. This was a very strong performance in our largest quarter of the year.”
Company Overview
Founded in 1972 as a discount coat and outerwear retailer, Burlington Stores (NYSE: BURL) is now an off-price retailer that has broadened into general apparel, footwear, and home goods.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term sales performance can indicate its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years.
With $11.57 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Burlington is a mid-sized retailer, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from better economies of scale.
As you can see below, Burlington’s sales grew at a mediocre 9.9% compounded annual growth rate over the last three years, but to its credit, it opened new stores and increased sales at existing, established locations.
This quarter, Burlington reported year-on-year revenue growth of 11.3%, and its $3.65 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 1.6%. Company management is currently guiding for a 10% year-on-year increase in sales next quarter.
Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 8.3% over the next 12 months, a slight deceleration versus the last three years. We still think its growth trajectory is attractive given its scale and indicates the market is forecasting success for its products.
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Store Performance
Number of Stores
The number of stores a retailer operates is a critical driver of how quickly company-level sales can grow.
Burlington sported 1,212 locations in the latest quarter. Over the last two years, it has opened new stores at a rapid clip by averaging 10.1% annual growth, among the fastest in the consumer retail sector. This gives it a chance to become a large, scaled business over time.
When a retailer opens new stores, it usually means it’s investing for growth because demand is greater than supply, especially in areas where consumers may not have a store within reasonable driving distance.
Same-Store Sales
The change in a company's store base only tells one side of the story. The other is the performance of its existing locations and e-commerce sales, which informs management teams whether they should expand or downsize their physical footprints. Same-store sales is an industry measure of whether revenue is growing at those existing stores and is driven by customer visits (often called traffic) and the average spending per customer (ticket).
Burlington’s demand has been healthy for a retailer over the last two years. On average, the company has grown its same-store sales by a robust 3% per year. This performance gives it the confidence to meaningfully expand its store base.
In the latest quarter, Burlington’s same-store sales rose 4% year on year. This performance was more or less in line with its historical levels.
Key Takeaways from Burlington’s Q4 Results
We enjoyed seeing Burlington beat analysts’ EBITDA expectations this quarter. We were also happy its revenue outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its EPS guidance for next quarter missed. Zooming out, we think this was a mixed quarter. The stock traded up 7.6% to $323.71 immediately after reporting.
So should you invest in Burlington right now? We think that the latest quarter is only one piece of the longer-term business quality puzzle. Quality, when combined with valuation, can help determine if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
