TCS closed out an era with solid results all around. The company put up EPS of $0.45 vs the Street at $0.38, and $0.05 last year. This was the last conference call for outgoing CEO (now Chairwoman) Melissa Reiff, as it marked Day 2 on the job for new CEO Satish Malhotra, former CEO of Retail for Sephora. The call had its share of farewells to Ms. Reiff and gratitude for her contributions. But quite frankly, this organization is ready for the management team and operational strategy to be turbo charged, and with the new CEO, we think the growth trajectory is about to get a shot in the arm. And the good news is that the new team has assumed control from a position of strength, with the business putting up significant momentum. As we outlined in our note from this weekend (see below), this name has ‘3-year, 3-bagger’ written all over it.
Revenue for the quarter grew by 20.5% -- highest yy increase ever by 3x -- all in comp (no stores added). Ecomm was up an impressive 98%, which is notable because TCS’ e-comm platform leaves much to be desired. Gross Profit was the one knock on the quarter, as it was down by 90bp vs last year despite lower promotional activity and a favorable mix of higher margin product sales in the quarter. Lower margin ecomm (freight) was a small part of the decline. But the bigger hit was the incremental shipping surcharges instituted by third party carriers – in large part due to port congestion and tight capacity on the West Coast. SG&A was only up 3.5% on a 20.5% comp, resulting in 690bps of SG&A leverage – which is a win. Though we suspect that the new CEO will open up the company’s purse strings to kick start the growth strategy such that 20%+ top line becomes the norm rather than the exception. Interest expense down by 20% as the company used the cash flow to continue to chop away at its debt load – exactly what we want to see. 4Q guidance of $0.52-$0.57 – vs $0.45 consensus – calling for another 20-25% top line growth quarter.
All in, the freight costs is the only ding on the quarter, and guidance looks fantastic despite the fact the the new CEO could well have lowered the bar. But the top line momentum is super bullish, and it’s only going to continue/accelerate under new management.
HERE'S OUR NOTE FROM THE WEEKEND ON WHY WE LIKE THIS NAME |
TCS | NEW LONG IDEA Takeaway: Forgotten retailer, new management, new industry tailwinds, new unit growth and margin opportunity. Solid Quad2 name. 3 year, 3 bagger. |
We’re adding The Container Store (TCS) to our Long Bias list while we complete our research on what we think is setting up for a Best Idea Long. TCS is another forgotten public retailer. There is minimal sell side coverage, just 2 hold ratings and seemingly ignored estimates. It was acquired by Leonard Green in 2007, and came public in late 2013. The stock was quickly crushed as comps went negative in several quarters in 2014-2016, shares fell over 90% over a 2 year time period. Quickly the finger was pointed at losing share to Amazon, which is only partially correct, but regardless the name was quickly relegated to the basket of 'small cap dying brick and mortar retail that should never have come public.' We think that narrative is likely to start rapidly changing. If you review the model, the business has been incredibly consistent on a margin level, and comps were positive 3 years running before covid, resembling a much better business than most investors likely think. There simply hasn’t been much happening, declining store growth, managing costs, LSD comps… a boring story. Now a new CEO is coming in, Satish Malhotra, former COO and Chief of Retail for Sephora -- he starts his new role tomorrow. We think there is a new growth opportunity emerging for this company – as evidenced by product tie-ins with Home Edit and Tidying Up – TV shows that have gone viral around home organizing. With accelerated square footage growth comes multiple expansion, as we can count on one hand the number of retailers that are actually accelerating square footage. When we look at margins, the company is currently sitting at 5-6% EBIT margins – something we think will see upside to 8-9% as the category tailwind accelerates, new product categories come to fruition, and management streamlines the organization to operate from a better position of strength. The stock also fits the Macro framework and style factors we are looking for in this Quad2 market. It’s small cap, higher beta, high short interest (at 17.4%), and consumer discretionary. The company reports its fiscal 3Q (Dec end) on Tuesday. For this Q we could see some squirrely guidance around 4Q given that the new CEO will likely want a low bar as he starts his new job and runs with his agenda. We’d be buyers of any weakness as we continue to dive deeper on this name that we think is setting up to be a solid multi-year call. What is The Container Store? Long Term Tail Trend Upside |