Shares of Barnes & Noble Education ( NYSE: BNED ) gained 12.4% to $2.54 in morning trading, after the educational books publisher and seller reported strong revenue and comparable store sales growth for what has seasonally been a weak quarter.
BNED earlier today reported Q1 2023 Y/Y revenue growth of 9.6% to $263.9M, which beat estimates by $13.06M . Its GAAP EPS of -$1.01 missed expectations by $0.44 .
The company said its quarterly retail segment gross comparable store sales increased 15% while its general merchandise gross comparable store sales gained 34%.
BNED CEO Michael Huseby attributed the strong quarterly revenue performance to the return of in-person ceremonies in schools, higher genera merchandise sales and a busy graduation season.
"We expanded staffing at stores in response to the greater on-campus activity and to prepare for what we expect to be a strong Fall Rush period," Huseby said in the earnings report .
BNED kept its fiscal year 2023 adj. EBITDA guidance unchanged at a range of $30M to $40M. The bookseller said it expects significant improvement in its retail business, but said that challenges such as higher inflationary pressures on wages and freight will persist.
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Barnes & Noble Education stock rises ~12% on strong Q1 2023 revenue, comp store sales