Could you unpack the work boot strength, including work apparel? Is it due to remerchandising efforts or macro factors like CapEx cycles?

John Hazen attributed the strength to internal initiatives like remerchandising, shifting marketing spend, and going deeper with third-party brands. He noted it was broad-based across Pull-On and Lace-Up boots, not just oil-driven. While individual stores see boosts from large projects, he couldn't broadly link it to a CapEx cycle. “Some of the initiatives were to remerchandise it, as you just mentioned, shift some of the marketing spend into the work business overall as well as market our exclusive brands from a work standpoint and not just a Western standpoint with those stand-alone sites.”

What's your assessment of the longevity of strength in women's Western boots given deceleration, and comment on promotional activity or inventory levels in the industry?

John Hazen stated the industry remains rational with no unusual promotional activity. He sees opportunity in women's boots, particularly in leather categories, with a potential shift to performance boots. He believes July was an anomaly and the team is actively working to improve the women's boot business through merchandising and marketing. “The industry continues to be very rational. We track promotions closely and haven't seen anything that really stands out, especially in -- really in all categories.”

Do you have line of sight into the country music calendar for the balance of the year? And did you see better performance in July during periods without World Cup games?

John Hazen indicated August and September event calendars look similar to last year. Jim Watkins confirmed that hourly transaction data showed outsized declines during World Cup games. Both emphasized that July's softness was against a very strong +11% comp last year and was seen as a short-term hiccup. “August and September look similar to last year. So we don't see a shift in where the pent-up touring and events kind of got pushed into August and September.”

BOOT

Boot Barn (BOOT) Q1 FY27 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Jun 2026 (Q1 FY27)· Consumer Discretionary· Jul 29, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

Boot Barn Q1 FY27 — Strong Start Exceeds Expectations, Raises Full-Year Outlook

Boot Barn delivered a strong first quarter, surpassing expectations with robust revenue and EPS growth, supported by new store expansion and healthy same-store sales. While July saw a temporary moderation in traffic due to external events, management remains confident in its raised full-year outlook, driven by continued strategic execution and merchandise margin expansion.

Highlights

Q1 revenue increased 18% to $594 million, driven by new store openings and consolidated same-store sales growth of 4.7%.
Q1 diluted EPS increased 32% to $2.29, including a $0.38 benefit from tariff refunds.
Merchandise margin exceeded guidance, driven by 60 basis points of product margin expansion and $14.7 million in tariff refunds.
Work boots business delivered high single-digit comp growth for the fifth consecutive quarter, reflecting successful reinvigoration efforts.
E-commerce comp sales increased 13.4%, with strong adoption of omnichannel capabilities like buy online, pick up in store.

Concerns

July consolidated same-store sales were approximately flat, below expectations due to fewer Western lifestyle stadium events and World Cup matches.
Full-year exclusive brand penetration is now expected to be approximately flat to slightly down compared to the prior year, due to strong third-party work boots sales.

Guidance & targets

Category	Target	Timeline	Confidence
Q2 FY27 Total Sales	$582 million medium materiality	Q2 · FY27	High
Q2 FY27 Consolidated Same-Store Sales	+2% medium materiality	Q2 · FY27	High
Q2 FY27 Merchandise Margin Rate	approximately 51.8% of sales medium materiality	Q2 · FY27	High
Q2 FY27 Gross Profit Rate	approximately 36.6% of sales medium materiality	Q2 · FY27	High
Q2 FY27 SG&A Expense Rate	approximately 25.1% of sales medium materiality	Q2 · FY27	High
Q2 FY27 Income from Operations	$67 million or 11.5% of sales medium materiality	Q2 · FY27	High
Q2 FY27 Earnings Per Diluted Share	$1.65 high materiality	Q2 · FY27	High
FY27 Total Sales	$2.6 billion high materiality	FY27	High
FY27 Consolidated Same-Store Sales	+4% high materiality	FY27	High
FY27 Retail Store Comps	+3% medium materiality	FY27	High
FY27 E-commerce Comps	+13% medium materiality	FY27	High
FY27 Merchandise Margin Rate	approximately 52.2% of sales high materiality	FY27	High
FY27 Gross Profit Rate	approximately 38.7% of sales medium materiality	FY27	High
FY27 SG&A Leverage	40 basis points medium materiality	FY27	High
FY27 Income from Operations	$374 million or 14.3% of sales high materiality	FY27	High
FY27 Net Income	$281 million high materiality	FY27	High
FY27 Earnings Per Diluted Share	$9.23 high materiality	FY27	High
FY27 Net Capital Expenditures	$130 million medium materiality	FY27	High
FY27 Effective Tax Rate	25.7% low materiality	remainder of FY27	High
FY27 New Store Openings	70 stores high materiality	FY27	High
FY27 Exclusive Brand Penetration	approximately flat to slightly down medium materiality	FY27	Medium
FY27 Merchandise Margin Expansion (ex-tariff)	approximately 60 basis points high materiality	FY27	High
FY27 AUR Growth	up 2% to 3% medium materiality	FY27	High
FY27 Transactions Growth	flat to up 1% medium materiality	FY27	High
Long-term Store Opportunity	1,200 stores high materiality	long-term	High

Segment performance

Segment	Revenue	YoY	QoQ	Margin
Consolidated First quarter results exceeded our expectations and reflected broad-based strength across the business.	$594 million	18%	—	—
Retail Store Store comp growth was driven by a 3% increase in average unit retail and approximately flat transactions. Average Unit Retail growth: 3%Transactions: approximately flat	—	3.8%	—	—
E-commerce In the first quarter, e-commerce comp sales increased 13.4%, driven by double-digit growth on bootbarn.com.	—	13.4%	—	—
Men's Western Boots Men's Western boots increased mid-single digits.	—	mid-single digits	—	—
Ladies Western Boots Ladies Western boots decreased mid-single digits as they cycled mid-teen comps in the prior year.	—	mid-single digits	—	—
Men's and Ladies Apparel Men's and ladies apparel increased high single digits, led by double-digit growth in denim, which also cycled exceptional growth last year. Denim growth: double-digit	—	high single digits	—	—
Work Boots Business Our work boots business delivered high single-digit comp growth during the quarter, which marks the fifth consecutive quarter of growth in this category and the strongest growth over the past few years.	—	high single-digit	—	—

BOOT operating KPIs by quarter

BOOT operating KPIs stated on its earnings calls, by fiscal quarter
KPI	Mar 2026 Q4 FY26	This call Jun 2026 Q1 FY27	Change vs prior quarter
New stores opened	25 Turning to our fourth quarter results, total revenue increased 19%, driven by the opening of 25 new stores during the period and consolidated same-store sales growth of 6.1%. Source: earnings call transcript	27 Revenue increased 18%, driven by the opening of 27 new stores during the quarter and consolidated same-store sales growth of 4.7%. Source: earnings call transcript	+8%
Stores	539 Over the past 5 years, we have opened 267 stores, which doubled our store count at 539 locations at fiscal year-end. Source: earnings call transcript	566 We opened 27 stores during the first quarter, ending the period with 566 locations across 49 states. Source: earnings call transcript	+5%

Operating figures the company stated on at least two of the calls shown, checked against each call's transcript. Click a figure to read the sentence. A dash means it was not stated that quarter.

Deals & partnerships

Lenders Amendment to revolving credit facility, doubling capacity and extending maturity. $500 million to 2031

Completed an amendment to the revolving credit facility, doubling its capacity to $500 million and extending the maturity date to 2031.

Risks & headwinds

July Sales Deceleration first 4 weeks of the fiscal second quarter

Consolidated same-store sales approximately flat in first 4 weeks of Q2, below expectations.

Mitigation:Management believes it's a temporary impact from fewer Western lifestyle stadium events/concerts and World Cup matches; confident in balance of year outlook.

Exclusive Brand Penetration full year

Full-year exclusive brand penetration expected to be approximately flat to slightly down.

Mitigation:Viewed as a positive outcome due to continued strength in third-party work boots, driving incremental sales and attracting new customers.

Potential Future Freight Cost Increases next year

Rising oil prices and fuel surcharges could impact freight costs.

Mitigation:Management will monitor market conditions and adjust pricing accordingly; current year freight improvement is modeled and locked in.

What to watch in Q2 FY27

Consolidated same-store sales trend

Q2 FY27

Current approximately flat

Target Recovery to Q2 guidance of +2%

Why it matters

To confirm July's slowdown was temporary and not indicative of a broader demand issue, impacting full-year guidance.

Through the first 4 weeks of the fiscal second quarter, consolidated same-store sales are approximately flat. While this represents a moderation from our first quarter performance, it was largely anticipated as we lap the strongest sales month of the second quarter from last year. July sales did, however, come in below our expectations due to a couple of factors that were not contemplated in our original outlook.

Find out whether BOOT delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

Could you help bridge the delta between June and July comps, specifically the impact of transitory events on traffic and the underlying trend in July?

John Hazen explained that the deceleration in July was broad-based across Western categories and geographies, primarily a traffic issue due to fewer stadium country music tours and World Cup distraction. AUR remained healthy, and the work business was strong (high single-digits). Jim Watkins added that July last year was a tough +11% comp, and the Q2 guide adds 1 point of comp to July's trend to account for artificially low sales.

“What's important to note, it was across all geographies, again, so there wasn't something specific around weather in a particular geo or something else going on, oil, et cetera. And the work business was incredibly healthy.”

asked by Matthew Boss · answered by John Hazen

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

Q1 Performance Highlights

Boot Barn delivered a strong first quarter, exceeding expectations with 18% revenue growth to $594 million and consolidated same-store sales growth of 4.7%. This performance was driven by the opening of 27 new stores and effective expense management. Diluted EPS increased 32% to $2.29, significantly boosted by a $0.38 benefit from tariff refunds and stronger-than-expected product margins.

July Sales Moderation and Outlook Confidence

The first four weeks of Q2 saw consolidated same-store sales approximately flat, a moderation from Q1 performance and below expectations. This was attributed to fewer Western lifestyle stadium events and the temporary impact of World Cup matches on customer traffic.

Despite these factors, management remains confident in its raised full-year outlook, citing easier comparisons later in the quarter and the short-term nature of the July headwinds.

Strategic Initiative: New Store Growth

Boot Barn opened 27 new stores in Q1, bringing its total to 566 locations across 49 states. The company remains on track to open 70 stores this fiscal year, with new stores consistently exceeding expectations. These new locations are projected to generate $3.2 million in average annual revenue with an investment payback of less than two years, supporting the long-term goal of 1,200 stores across the U.S.

Strategic Initiative: Same-Store Sales & Merchandising

Q1 consolidated same-store sales grew 4.7%, with brick-and-mortar sales increasing 3.8%, driven by a 3% increase in average unit retail and approximately flat transactions. The work boots business was a standout, delivering high single-digit comp growth for the fifth consecutive quarter, a result of successful remerchandising efforts, increased marketing focus, and strategic investments in key third-party brands.

Strategic Initiative: Omnichannel & Exclusive Brands

E-commerce comp sales increased 13.4%, with strong adoption of omnichannel capabilities like buy online, pick up in store and ship-to-store, which enhance customer engagement and reduce fulfillment costs. While exclusive brand penetration was lower than anticipated in Q1 due to the exceptional performance of third-party work boots, the company still expects full-year merchandise margin (excluding tariff refunds) to expand by 60 basis points, driven by buying economies of scale and improved full-price selling.

Tariff Refund Impact and Financial Flexibility

Q1 results included a significant $0.38 EPS benefit from tariff refunds, comprising a $14.7 million merchandise margin benefit and $0.5 million in interest income. Further tariff benefits are anticipated in Q2 ($0.06 EPS) and Q3 ($0.02 EPS), contributing to an estimated $0.46 EPS benefit for the full year.

The company also enhanced its financial flexibility by doubling its revolving credit facility capacity to $500 million and extending its maturity to 2031.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.