The Buckle, Inc.

For the 13-week first quarter ended 05/02/2026, Buckle reported net income of $46.9 million, or $0.92 per diluted share, versus $35.2 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, a year ago. Net sales increased 6.1% to $289 million from $272 million, and comparable store sales rose 5.1%; online sales increased 2.8% to $47.7 million. Gross margin was 46.2%, down 50 basis points from 46.7% last year, while operating margin improved to 20.6% from 16.0%; SG&A was 25.6% of sales versus 30.7%, though that included a $19.1 million interchange fee litigation settlement. Inventory was $150 million, up 13.5% year over year, and cash and investments totaled $324 million. The company ended the quarter with 442 stores in 42 states. Management does not provide future sales or earnings guidance, but it said it expects to open an additional 9 new stores and complete an additional 7 full remodeling projects during the remainder of the year.

Dennis Nelson sounded upbeat about traffic and product performance, saying February and March were strong and that spring break helped business. He said April was a bit softer, but emphasized that sell-throughs were good, inventory looked healthy, and the sales teams were doing an excellent job. His tone was confident that Buckle’s in-store value proposition and assortment will continue to resonate with guests.

Thomas Heacock led with the quarter’s hard numbers: $46.9 million in net income, $0.92 diluted EPS, $289 million in sales, 46.2% gross margin, and 20.6% operating margin. He explained that SG&A at 25.6% of sales benefited from the $19.1 million litigation settlement, and that absent it SG&A would have been up 150 basis points due to incentive and equity compensation accruals, store compensation, and other expenses. He also cited $324 million in cash and investments, $150 million in inventory, $14.7 million of capex, and said occupancy expense rose 66.6% because of rent and depreciation tied to recent store projects; he noted fuel-surcharge pressure on freight but said it was manageable.

Analysts focused on the causes of gross margin pressure, fuel costs, customer health, incentive compensation, and tariff refunds. Management said merchandise margin was down just 10 basis points, partly from tariff cost pressure, while occupancy expense rose because of rent and depreciation from a heavier first-half project schedule. On fuel, Buckle said it does not hedge and is seeing higher surcharges on inbound freight and outbound e-commerce shipments, but the impact was not material enough to call out in the quarter. On tariffs, management said it filed for a refund claim, received a small immaterial amount after quarter-end, and expects more later.