(Reuters) – Farming supplies retailer Tractor Supply missed Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter results on Thursday, hurt by tepid demand for big-ticket items such as garden equipment and power tools.
Shares of the Brentwood, Tennessee-based retailer were down about 3% in premarket trading.
Budget-strapped customers have pulled back spending on expensive non-essential items amid persistent inflation, with comparable average ticket declining 1.7% in the quarter.
“We expect our 2025 comparable store sales to improve throughout the year as the macro headwinds impacting our business abate,” said Tractor Supply CEO Hal Lawton.
Lawton added that all merchandise categories performed within a relatively tight band.
At its December analyst day event, the company signaled a soft 2025 sales outlook and noted normalizing inflation in costs for commodities such as corn and other grains towards the end of 2024.
Its selling, general and administrative expenses increased 5.5% to $1.01 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 28, fueled by an expansion that has so far included opening of a distribution center as well as more stores.
Comparable store sales rose 0.6%, missing estimates of 1.4% rise estimated by analysts, according data compiled by LSEG.
Its fourth-quarter sales came in at $3.77 billion, compared with analysts estimates of $3.79 billion.
It earned 44 cents per share, below expectations of 46 cents.
For 2025, the company expects net sales between 5% to 7% rise, compared with analysts’ expectation of 4.9% growth, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Aamir Sohail in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
