All-rounder: How DICK'S built a sporting retail empire

3/17/24 8:00PM

All-rounder‍

‍DICK’S Sporting Goods has knocked it out of the park with its latest quarterly earnings, setting records for sales and propelling the company’s shares up more than 15% on Thursday to reach a new all-time high.

The sports retailer — which originally started life as a fishing shop in 1948 — has grown to become a staple of American retail, counting more than 800 stores across the country at the end of last year, as sales nearly hit $13bn. Since its IPO in 2002, the company has grown at a rapid clip, becoming America’s go-to retailer for everyone investing in a new hobby, upgrading their gear, or making the annual pilgrimage to buy their kids ever-larger equipment.

The company’s model has been to try and be all things to all people, selling everything from golf gear to athleisure apparel and elite stationary bikes to sleeping bags at its sprawling locations. Although not quite in the same category as Zoom, DICK’S was also a pandemic darling for investors, with sales surging 28% in 2021 as demand for stuff-you-can-use-outside soared.

While 2023 brought the company back down to reality, with supply chain costs squeezing margins, it's since returned to meaningful sales growth (8% in its most recent quarter) — not something that many big-box physical retailers can say in the age of e-commerce. Some things people still prefer to physically try before they buy: sports equipment seems to be one of them.

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JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.