BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Tractor Supply Co. missed Wall Street’s expectations for its first-quarter earnings on weakness in the pet products category. The company said revenue increased 3.4% to $3.6 billion as it continued to expand its footprint, opening a record 40 stores in the quarter ended March 28.
Comparable-store sales increased 0.5% compared to a decline of 0.9% in the prior year’s first quarter. Four of five product categories delivered positive comparable sales growth in the quarter, aided by gains in sales of big-ticket items.
“We delivered solid performance across the majority of our business in the first quarter, supported by our needs-based model and ongoing customer engagement,” Hal Lawton, the company’s president and chief executive officer, said in the earnings statement. “We continued to gain market share in farm and ranch and had strong double-digit growth in digital sales. While companion animal trailed the company average, we are taking decisive actions to improve its performance.”
The company maintained its full-year 2026 guidance from January, when it said its capital spending plans for the year include opening about 100 stores while continuing “Project Fusion” updates of existing stores to create a more contemporary shopping experience.
The remodels include a Customer Service Hub with digital tools that help employees serve shoppers and fulfill online orders. Roughly 80% of its online orders are fulfilled in a store, which typically is 15,500 square feet in size. Many of the updated stores also get a Garden Center while others get self-serve pet wash stations or on-site veterinary clinics.
Tractor Supply forecasts full-year earnings of between $2.13 a share and $2.23, with a midpoint of $2.18 a share. It expects same-store sales to increase between 1% and 3%.
The company ended the first quarter with 2,435 Tractor Supply stores in 49 states and 206 Petsense by Tractor Supply stores in 23 states. New store productivity remained in the 65% to 70% range, according to Lawton.
