Oct 28, 2026 earnings call — New store growth and margin outlook
Boot Barn updated full-year guidance, expecting total sales of $2.6 billion for fiscal 2027.
Revenue $0.6B (est $0.6B) · EPS $1.68 (est $1.64)
Key quotes
"During the second quarter, we opened 19 new stores bringing our total store count to 584 locations across 49 states."
"Excluding the impact of tariffs, second quarter merchandise margin exceeded our expectations, increasing 150 basis points on top of 80 basis points of expansion in the prior year period."
"Boot Barn workforce generated approximately $100 million in sales last fiscal year, and we see a meaningful opportunity to expand from this base."
Analyst Q&A 13
Sales moderation and outlook
Q (Matthew Boss · JPMorgan): They asked why comps slowed from Q2 to October and whether the company still expects low-to-mid single digit same-store sales as its baseline.
A: Management said Q2 strength was broad across many categories but boot categories softened, and October saw a point or two step-down across those categories. They said the Western lifestyle remains strong and they remain confident in the long-term algorithm and growth assumptions. Merchandise margin and store expansion remain tailwinds into next year.
"We have grown merch margin about 100 basis points on average for the last 10 years." — James Watkins (CFO)
Women's boots and B2B growth
Q (Steven Zaccone · Citi): He wanted timing for improvement in weak boot areas and asked about the scale and timeline for the rebranded B2B (Boot Barn Workforce) effort.
A: Management said women's assortments were refreshed quickly and will be in place for the holiday season, and men's softness is more price-sensitive and may be more macro-driven. They said Boot Barn Workforce has been growing about 20% the last few years and they believe it can grow to around 40%, 50% going forward.
"it is been growing in the 20% range for the last couple of years, and we think that can get up to around 40%, 50% growth." — John Hazen (CEO)
Men's boots softness cause
Q (Dylan Carden · William Blair): He asked if men's western boot softness reflects price sensitivity and whether weather or other factors explain it, and how that affects guidance into the holidays.
A: Management said the softness is concentrated in rubber-soled men's boots and their customer survey showed price is the main pressure point. They also said weather—extraordinarily hot conditions in the Southwest and West—likely contributed to some of the softness.
"we believe a portion of that softness is coming from how extraordinarily hot it has been out west." — John Hazen (CEO)
Supplier competition (Ariat)
Q (Peter Keith · Piper Sandler): He asked whether Ariat growing its own stores hurts Boot Barn or if Ariat's growth benefits Boot Barn.
A: Management said Ariat is a strong partner, routinely collaborates on product and ideas, and occasionally opens stores but it is not a concern. They said they are excited to keep working with Ariat season after season.
"Overall, they are a great partner, and we are excited to work with them season in and season out." — John Hazen (CEO)
New distribution center costs
Q (Janine Stichter · U. S. Bancorp): She asked about product margin outlook, exclusive brand progress, and whether new store openings or the new Kansas City DC change occupancy leverage or add cost.
A: Management said buying economies of scale and sourcing initiatives support continued merchandise margin improvement, and exclusive brands are still early in growth. For the new Kansas City DC, they expect rent expense late next year for "probably 4 or 5 months" at around "3 or $400 thousand a month," causing a small near-term pressure.
"we will start having some rent expense late in the next year, probably 4 or 5 months of rent expense." — James Watkins (CFO)
Promotions and category spillover risk
Q (Christmas Nardone · BofA): He asked whether the company will use promotions and if boot softness could spread to other categories.
A: Management said they run a full-price business and will use targeted promotions only to clear specific styles, keeping overall pricing discipline. They also said other big categories like men's apparel and cowboy hats remain healthy, so they do not expect softness in boots to broadly shift Western demand.
"we will run this holiday season very similar to how we ran it last year." — John Hazen (CEO)
Store merchandising changes
Q (Maksim Rakhlenko · TD Cowen): He asked why the company is making more store changes now and whether the customer or assortment has shifted.
A: Management said the customer profile has not changed but apparel penetration has risen, and most changes are merchandising tweaks—visuals, product placement, sizing—rather than large department moves. They cited prior big efforts like remerchandising work boots by size as an example of a larger change.
"these are tweaks to how we merchandise in a lot of categories to your point." — John Hazen (CEO)
E-commerce performance and fixes
Q (Jonathan Komp · Baird): He asked why e-commerce growth has slowed versus last year's strong comps and what new initiatives are planned.
A: Management said e-commerce comps last year were unusually strong due to viral products, new CDO initiatives, and site launches, so current periods face tough comps. They said the digital team is working on new ideas to attract customers, feel good about bootbarn.com plans for the holiday season, and expect improved ROAS.
"they feel great about the approach on bootbarn.com for the holiday season and what that digital marketing looks like and how we can achieve the best ROAS possible." — John Hazen (CEO)
Traffic, transactions, conversion
Q (Jay Sole · UBS): He asked for store-level detail on traffic, transactions, basket, and conversion trends.
A: Management said in Q2 transactions were down and basket metrics improved; units per transaction and AUR rose. They said October looked similar except transactions were down slightly more, and conversion rates and basket growth show stores are executing well while overall traffic is the issue.
"As we got into October, that looks almost identical with the exception of transactions being down 2 instead of a point and a half." — James Watkins (CFO)
Holiday discounting and new store effects
Q (Jonathan Keypour · Goldman Sachs): He asked how heavy holiday discounting to clear boots squares with guidance, whether women's price sensitivity is category or macro, and how boots perform in new stores.
A: Management said recent markdowns cleared specific ladies' styles ahead of new holiday assortments and they expect strong full-price holiday selling overall. They also said new stores often attract women shoppers first, which can make ladies' results in new stores stronger than comp stores and slightly affect comps.
"we have often talked about some of the stereotypes when we open a new store that the lady shoppers typically will find those stores first and men's business is kind of slower to follow." — James Watkins (CFO)
Compares and EPS leverage
Q (Jeremy Hamblin · Craig Hallum Capital Group): He asked about two-year stack changes, easier compares later in the quarter, and clarification that a 3% comp next year would drive mid-teens EPS growth.
A: Management said their guide was built from recent sales trends and easier comps in December, and they feel positioned for holiday. They confirmed EPS growth this year excluding the $0.45 tariff benefit is about 16%, and a 3% comp next year should produce mid- to high-teens EPS growth.
"the growth rate on EPS this year excluding the $0.45 is about 16%." — James Watkins (CFO)
Marketing and TV holiday plan
Q (Ashley Owens · KeyBanc): She asked whether new-store outperformance or better four-wall margins drive EBIT leverage, and whether higher TV impressions mean more marketing spend.
A: Management said EBIT leverage this year came from higher first-year sales in new stores plus stronger merchandise margin. On TV, they moved to programmatic buying to raise impressions without materially increasing marketing; overall marketing spend remains 3% of sales and some radio and direct mail increased.
"We had traditionally gone to different dedicated regional buys and markets that made sense fiscally to us." — John Hazen (CEO)
Newer vs mature stores and boot mix
Q (Samuel Poser · William Trading): He asked how newer comp stores perform versus mature stores and whether that drags comps, plus exclusive brand penetration and rubber-soled share in men's boots.
A: Management said stores opened in the past 5 years added about 150 basis points to last year's comp but are adding roughly 100 basis points this year; new stores are outperforming with higher unit sales. They said exclusive brand penetration (excluding work) was up about 80 basis points and rubber-soled men's boots are about 40% of the category.
"excluding the work boots, our exclusive brand penetration was up about 80 basis points." — James Watkins (CFO)