BJ's Wholesale Stock Rises on Strong Q3 Profits, Membership Fee Hike

Core Insights - BJ's Wholesale Club shares increased after reporting third-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations, despite sales falling slightly short of estimates [1][2] - The company announced its first membership fee increase in seven years and a new stock buyback plan [1][5] Financial Performance - BJ's reported $5.1 billion in revenue for the quarter, a 3% year-over-year increase, but just below the $5.11 billion forecasted by analysts [3] - Net income rose nearly 20% year-over-year to $155.75 million, surpassing the $124.09 million estimated by analysts [3] - Comparable store sales increased by 1.5%, slightly under the expected 1.6% [4] Membership Fee and Stock Buyback - Membership fees will rise to $60 and $120 for Club and Club+ memberships, respectively, effective January 1 [5] - A new $1 billion stock buyback program was approved, set to run through January 2029 [6] Future Guidance - The company raised its expected comparable sales growth for the full fiscal year to 2.3% to 2.4%, up from the previous range of 1% to 2% [7] - Full-year adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be between $3.90 and $4.00, an increase from the previous estimate of $3.75 to $4.00 [7] Market Reaction - Shares of BJ's rose over 6% to $91.42 in early trading following the announcements [8]