Bed Bath & Beyond on Wednesday said it is replacing CEO Mark Tritton as part of a leadership shakeup, after the home goods retailer sharply missed Wall Street’s expectations on quarterly earnings and revenue.
Shares fell nearly 16% in premarket trading.
The company’s board said Sue Gove, an independent director on the board, will step in as interim chief executive.
“We must deliver improved results,” she said in a news release. “Our shareholders, Associates, customers, and partners all expect more.”
Here’s how the retailer did in the three-month period ended May 28 compared with what analysts were anticipating, based on Refinitiv data:
Loss per share: $2.83 vs. $1.39 expectedRevenue: $1.46 billion vs. $1.51 billion expected
The company’s net loss widened to $358 million, or $4.49 per share, from $51 million, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company’s net loss was $2.83 per share. That was more than the $1.39 that analysts expected, according to Refinitiv.
Sales declined fell to $1.46 billion from $1.95 billion a year earlier. That was lower than estimates for $1.51 billion.
Bed Bath has been under pressure from activist investor Ryan Cohen, chairman of GameStop and founder of Chewy. Early this year, Cohen’s firm, RC Ventures, revealed a 10% stake in the company. Cohen called for sweeping changes, criticized top executives’ high pay and urged the sale or spinoff of the company’s baby gear chain, Buybuy Baby.
Bed Bath and Cohen came to a truce in late March. The retailer agreed to add new independent directors to its board and look into alternatives for the Buybuy Baby chain.
But the challenges for the home goods retailer have not let up.
Shares of the company have dropped 55% so far this year and hit a fresh 52-week low earlier this month. On Tuesday, shares of the company closed at $6.53, down more than 3%.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
