Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: GO) reported Q3 EPS of $0.50, $0.27 better than the analyst estimate of $0.23. Revenue for the quarter came in at $764.1 million versus the consensus estimate of $759.42 million.

For the Third Quarter Ended September 26, 2020:

• Net sales increased by 17.1% to $764.1 million from $652.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2019; comparable store sales increased by 9.1% compared to a 5.8% increase in the same period last year.
• The Company opened 10 new stores ending the quarter with 372 stores in six states.
• Net income increased 225.2% to $40.5 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, compared to net income of $12.4 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2019.
• Primarily as a result of tax benefits associated with employee stock option exercises, the Company recorded a $15.0 million net tax benefit resulting in an effective tax rate of (58.8)%. Relative to our normalized rate, these stock option-related tax benefits increased net income in the quarter by $21.9 million, or $0.22 per diluted share.
• Adjusted EBITDA(1) increased 25.1% to $55.3 million compared to $44.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2019.
• Adjusted net income(1) increased 141.8% to $49.9 million, or $0.50 per non-GAAP diluted share, compared to $20.6 million, or $0.22 per non-GAAP diluted share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2019.

Eric Lindberg, CEO of Grocery Outlet, stated, “I am extremely proud of our strong execution throughout the third quarter as our corporate teams and IOs continue to focus on what we do best: offering exciting deals and delivering exceptional value to our customers. While we continue to navigate COVID, we are actively reinvesting in our people and operational initiatives in support of our long-term growth objectives. We remain excited about our ample white space for retail expansion and the opportunity to continue to deliver tremendous values to our loyal customers.”

Fiscal 2020 Outlook:

• Grocery Outlet currently expects to open 34 stores this year with no additional closures planned. The Company continues to build its real estate pipeline to support 10% annual unit growth.
• Quarter-to-date comparable store sales growth for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 is in the positive mid-single digits driven by an increase in average basket size partially offset by declines in store traffic. Based on current trends, the Company expects comparable store results for the full fourth quarter to remain consistent at these levels.
• Excluding the impact of discrete items, the Company anticipates a normalized tax rate of 28%.
• Weighted average diluted share count is expected to be approximately 100 million shares for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (GO) click here.