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Burlington Stores’ 14-Quarter Earnings Streak: Can The Off-Price Momentum Last?

Burlington Stores reported its fiscal 2026 first quarter results demonstrating continued momentum in sales growth and earnings expansion. The company achieved 14% total sales growth and 6% comp store sales growth, exceeding prior guidance of 2% to 4% comp growth. This marks the 14th consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings growth, with adjusted EPS up 26% year-over-year, driven by strong merchant margin leverage and supply chain productivity improvements. Operating margin expanded by 20 basis points, surpassing expectations that had anticipated a decline due to known Q1 headwinds. The company attributes sales strength to broad-based comp growth across categories and geographies, with particular performance in ladies apparel, beauty, accessories, and warm weather merchandise. Improved allocation and localization capabilities facilitated a more efficient response to seasonal variations, aiding margin and inventory management. Despite a larger inventory balance, the quality of merchandise improved with reserve inventory declining from 48% to 41% of total inventory.