: Build-A-Bear stock soars premarket after earnings beat; company to pay $1.50 special dividend in April

Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. stock BBW soared 12% in premarket trade Thursday, after the maker of teddy bears and other soft toys topped estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter. The St. Louis-based company posted net income of $20.5 million, or $1.39 a share, for the quarter to Jan. 28, down from $24.1 million, or $1.48 a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenues rose 11.6% to $145.1 million from $130.0 million a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $1.12 and revenue of $138.0 million. The company is paying a special dividend of $1.50 a share on April 6, to shareholders of record as of March 23. That’s after paying a special dividend in November. Build-A-Bear is now expecting fiscal 2023 revenue to grow by 5% to 7% from 2022. The current FactSet consensus implies growth of 3.7%. It expects to open 20 to 30 locations, most in the second half. The stock has gained 4.8% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX has fallen 6.7%.

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