Buckle Beats Q1 Revenue Estimates, Allaying Fears Of All-Out Retail Slump: Retail Turns Bullish

Fashion brand Buckle, Inc. (BKE) reported first-quarter sales above Wall Street expectations on Friday, prompting optimism among Stocktwits users.

Buckle is a U.S.-based fashion retailer known for its denim and casual wear, and is popular among younger shoppers. While the brand has faced sales declines over the past two years, it continues to maintain a loyal customer base.

The company's performance also signals that consumers continue to spend, albeit selectively, and a slowdown in retail activity from macroeconomic uncertainty driven by U.S. trade policy is less than feared.

Buckle's Q1 revenue rose to $272.1 million from $262.5 million last year and was higher than the $268.1 million estimate from two analysts polled by FactSet.

Profit rose in line with expectations to $0.70 per share, on an adjusted basis, up from $0.69 a year earlier.

Comparable store net sales increased 3%, while online sales increased 4.5%.

Recent price hikes are partly driving the company's earnings. In January, Buckle reported a 4.5% increase in average price points for women's apparel and a 0.5% uptick for men's apparel from a year earlier.

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment and message volume jumped to 'extremely bullish' from 'neutral' a week ago.

A user posted earlier that "Buckle always has been and is seen as [a] trendy place to buy clothes," making it harder for even Amazon to compete.

Buckle stock is down nearly 20% this year.

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