“We remain on track to buy back a total of $950 million in stock for the year.”

In context

“n by higher traffic. Operating margin increased 135 basis points to 11.2%. Cost of goods sold improved by 260 basis points in the quarter. Merchandise margin was the main driver with a 235-basis point increase, primarily from lower ocean freight costs. Distribution expenses improved by 45 basis points, mainly due to favorable timing of packaway-related costs. Domestic freight and occupancy levered by 40 and 25 basis points, respectively. Partially offsetting these benefits were higher buying costs that increased 85 basis points, mainly from higher incentives. SG&A costs for the period increased by 125 basis points, primarily driven by higher incentive costs and store wages. During the third quarter, we repurchased 2.1 million shares of common stock for an aggregate cost of $239 million. We remain on track to buy back a total of $950 million in stock for the year. Now let's discuss our fourth quarter guidance. We continue to face macroeconomic volatility, persistent inflation and more recently, geopolitical uncertainty. In addition, we are up against our most difficult quarterly sales comparisons versus 2022 in the fourth quarter. As a result and while we hope to do better, we believe it is prudent to maintain a cautious approach in forecasting our business and reiterating our prior sales guidance for the fourth quarter. For the 13 weeks ending January 27, 2024, we continue to plan same-store sales to be up 1% to 2%. Earnings per share for the 14 weeks ending February 3, 2024, are projected to be in the range of $1.56 to $1.62 compared to $1.31 in the fourth quarter of 2022. This guidance range includes an approximate $0.02 per share unfavorable”