BJ's Wholsale Earnings Jump 37%

People are still shopping....they are just demanding value..

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE:BJ) said Wednesday that third-quarter earnings were $28.2 million, or 48 cents a share, compared to $22.7 million, or 35 cents, a year ago. Sales were $2.4 billion, an increase of 13.4% over the third quarter of 2007. Analysts polled by FactSet Research estimated, on average, earnings per share of 46 cents and sales of $2.4 billion. For the full year 2008, BJ's now expects earnings per share of $2.20 to $2.30, up from $2.10 to $2.20 previously forecast. For 2009, BJ's expects earnings of $2.27 to $2.39 a share.

This jives with results at Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) who saw Sam's Club sales and earnings jump. As people flock to the clubs for shopping, results at higher priced retailers like Whole foods (NASDAQ:WFMI) should not come as a surprise and, ought to be expected going forward.