Apparel retailer The Buckle Inc. (BKE) saw its stock climb Friday after posting fiscal second-quarter results that topped Wall Street's expectations on both the top and bottom lines. The company reported diluted earnings of 87 cents per share, beating the 81-cent analyst estimate. Net sales rose 4.6% year over year to $319.8 million, edging past the $314.6 million consensus. Net income came in at $44.4 million, slightly below the $45 million from the same period last year.

Women's Business Steals the Show

Comparable-store sales increased 2.1%, while online sales grew 2.3% to $44.6 million. Average unit retail rose about 4.5%, and average transaction value climbed roughly 3.5%.

The real standout was women's apparel. Sales in that category jumped 9.5% and now account for 50% of quarterly sales, up from 47.5% a year ago. Women's denim sales rose 11%, alternative pants surged nearly 50%, and tops grew about 10.5%.

The men's business, meanwhile, was roughly flat. Men's denim sales dipped about 3.5%, though men's tops managed a 3.5% gain. The kids' segment grew 11%.

During the earnings call, management highlighted healthy merchandise trends beyond just the tariff benefit. Full-price selling remained strong, markdowns declined, and new products posted solid sell-through rates across both men's and women's categories. Even excluding tariff refunds, merchandise margin improved by 45 basis points, helped in part by a higher mix of private-label sales.

Margins Get a Tariff Refund Boost

Gross margin expanded 40 basis points to 47.8%. Merchandise margin improved 110 basis points, including a 65-basis-point benefit from tariff refunds. Strong regular-price sales, fewer markdowns, and a higher private-label mix also contributed to the margin gains.

However, operating margin narrowed to 17.4% from 18.4% as Buckle ramped up spending on marketing, store labor, and other expenses.

Inventory rose 13.3% year over year to $161.4 million. The company ended the quarter with $322.9 million in cash and investments.

Buckle operated 446 stores across 42 states at quarter's end, up from 440 a year earlier.

BKE Price Action: Shares were up 3.03% at $43.93 at the time of publication Friday, according to market data.