Dick’s Sporting Goods Q1 2025 slides: Record sales continue as premium store formats expand

Introduction & Market Context

Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) continues to strengthen its position as the leading U.S. sporting goods retailer, according to its May 2025 investor presentation. The company now commands nearly 9% of the estimated $140 billion total addressable market across footwear, apparel, and hardlines, with approximately 50 basis points of market share gained over the past year.

The retailer operates 885 stores across 47 states and the District of Columbia, with an increasingly diverse portfolio of store formats designed to enhance the customer experience. Despite broader retail headwinds, Dick’s has positioned itself at what it calls "the intersection of sport and culture," capitalizing on growing consumer interest in sports, health, and wellness.

As shown in the following U.S. map highlighting the company’s store distribution and market opportunity:

Quarterly Performance Highlights

Dick’s Sporting Goods reported record first quarter sales of $3.17 billion, representing comparable sales growth of 4.5% - marking the company’s fifth consecutive quarter with comp growth exceeding 4%. The company achieved a non-GAAP earnings before tax (EBT) margin of 11.4%, slightly improving from 11.3% in Q1 2024, while non-GAAP diluted earnings per share reached $3.37, compared to $3.30 in the same period last year.

These results align with the company’s recent earnings report, which showed Q1 EPS of $3.62, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.48. Despite the strong performance, DKS stock experienced a modest 1% decline in pre-market trading following the earnings announcement, though it has since recovered with shares trading at $175.84 in the pre-market session, up 0.93%.

The following slide highlights the company’s Q1 2025 financial performance:

This performance builds on a strong fiscal 2024, during which the company achieved:

Strategic Initiatives

The centerpiece of Dick’s Sporting Goods’ growth strategy is its premium store concept, House of Sport. These approximately 120,000-square-foot experiential stores feature climbing walls, batting cages, and other interactive elements designed to create immersive shopping experiences.

"We are incorporating key House of Sport learnings into our most typical 50K sq ft DICK’S store (’DICK’S Field House’)," the company noted in its presentation. "We haven’t seen growth opportunities like these since we went public in the early 2000s."

The company ended FY24 with 19 House of Sport locations and plans to open approximately 16 additional stores in FY25. More significantly, Dick’s is targeting between 75 and 100 House of Sport locations by the end of FY27, signaling confidence in the format’s performance and return on investment.

As illustrated in the following images of the House of Sport concept:

The company is also expanding its DICK’S Field House concept, which incorporates elements of the House of Sport experience into the company’s traditional 50,000-square-foot stores. Dick’s ended FY24 with 27 Field House locations and plans to open approximately 16 additional locations in FY25.

Both store formats are delivering strong financial returns. House of Sport locations generate approximately $35 million in gross profit with a cash-on-cash return of around 25% and a payback period of less than four years. DICK’S Field House locations deliver approximately $14 million in gross profit with a cash-on-cash return of around 40% and a payback period of approximately 2.5 years.

Another growth driver is GameChanger, the company’s digital platform for youth sports. The service provides live streaming, scoring, and statistics for youth sports events and has seen significant growth:

Detailed Financial Analysis

Dick’s Sporting Goods has demonstrated consistent sales growth over the past five years, with a 54% increase since FY19. This growth has been accompanied by significant margin expansion, with non-GAAP gross margin improving by 656 basis points over the same period.

As shown in the following sales growth chart:

The company’s omni-channel strategy continues to be a key differentiator. Over 65% of FY24 sales came from omni-channel customers, who spend more than twice as much as single-channel customers. Additionally, 90% of sales were enabled by stores, and 80% of online orders were fulfilled by stores in FY24, highlighting the continued importance of physical retail in the company’s digital strategy.

Dick’s has also developed a portfolio of vertical brands that now represent 13% of total sales, generating $1.7 billion in combined sales in 2024. These brands, which include CALIA, DSG, and VRST, have become the company’s second-largest vendor behind Nike (NYSE:NKE).

The company remains committed to returning capital to shareholders, having returned approximately $2.2 billion over the past three years through dividends and share repurchases, representing about 110% of free cash flow. The company recently announced its eleventh consecutive annual dividend increase, with an expected annualized payout of $4.85 per share, a 10% increase.

Forward-Looking Statements

For fiscal year 2025, Dick’s Sporting Goods provided the following guidance:

The company expects net sales between $13.6 billion and $13.9 billion, representing comparable sales growth of 1.0% to 3.0%. Earnings per share are projected to be between $13.80 and $14.40, with gross margin expected to improve by approximately 75 basis points at the midpoint of guidance.

These projections include the expected impact from all tariffs currently in effect, though management noted during the earnings call that the company has minimal exposure to potential tariff changes.

CEO Lauren Hobart emphasized the company’s strategic positioning: "We are a nation obsessed with sport, and no one is better positioned to harness this opportunity than DICK’S Sporting Goods." Meanwhile, CFO Navdeep Gupta highlighted the company’s financial discipline: "We will always be very flexible and nimble in making sure that we are operating our business financially responsibly."

With its expanding premium store formats, growing digital platforms, and strong financial performance, Dick’s Sporting Goods appears well-positioned to continue gaining market share in the competitive sporting goods retail landscape.

Full presentation:

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