Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:WOOF) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Ron Coughlin: Let me build on that. That does not imply we won’t increase the number of coolers. It was a unique deal with a certain vendor where the financial terms were. In that instance, we put in the coolers. There are other instances where the vendors and the majority of instances where the vendors fund the coolers, so we don’t anticipate not putting in more coolers, because the category is growing. It’s just where those dollars get paid for and in most instances its vendor funded.

Steven Forbes: Appreciate the color. And then just a quick follow-up, more of a clarification question around the share count. It looks like the guidance implies 2.5% growth. So maybe just help us understand what’s driving this on a year-over-year basis and what’s the right burn rate to think about as the business stands today as it pertains to the share count?

Brian LaRose: Yes, I think all you have to think about there, Steven is we went public two years ago. We started issuing equity as a company two years ago and there’s a slight increase in share count associated with that.

Operator: Our next question comes from Seth Basham from Wedbush Securities. Please go ahead.

Seth Basham: Thanks a lot and good morning. My question is around inflation, if you could give us some color on how much inflation driven pricing benefited your comps in the fourth quarter and what your outlook is for 2023? That would be helpful.

Ron Coughlin: Hey, Seth. I’ll talk broadly about €˜23 and then Brian can talk about impact into Q4. The pricing we took in €˜21 and €˜22 is sticky. Demand continues to exceed supply, particularly with consumables. We believe the vast majority of vendor pricing has come through and while there may be pockets, we don’t anticipate significant further vendor pricing actions in €˜23. The way I think about €˜23 is there’ll be a balance of some areas where there’s disinflation and some areas where there’s slight inflation. So I’d call it an even year in terms of how to think about it category level and our level. I’ll let Brian talk about that for Q4.

Brian LaRose: Yes. I would just add that Amy College and our Merch Team, they really do a tremendous job managing cost inputs and pricing actions. And I also had that freight costs have improved modestly in the second-half. We expect that to continue into €˜23. One of the benefits of having a differentiated portfolio is the strength of our relationship with vendors. So we typically have long lead time to evaluate any inflationary inputs, analyze the pricing elasticity and then respond in a way that’s in the best interest of customers and the company.

Seth Basham: That’s helpful. And just a follow-up, so flattish in terms of 2023, but there should be some wrap around benefits from the price took in 2022. Is that a low-single-digit contribution to your comps in €˜23?

Brian LaRose: Yes, we’re not going to get into specifics. What I will tell you is that when you look at our basket, we’ve been really pleased with our basket performance, not just in Q4, but for the balance of the whole year in €˜22, we’re about that in ’23, and that is much more than pricing, it has to do with a lot of the hard work that the team is driving.

Operator: Our next question comes from Michael Lasser from UBS. Please go ahead.

Michael Lasser: Good morning. Thanks a lot for taking my question. There’s a lot to unpack with the guidance given the extra week the adjustments you made to the definition of adjusted EBITDA. So on that, can you give us more of an explicit sense on how you’re thinking the comp is going to unfold through the course of the year? You expect the supply business to improve in the back half. Does that mean the overall comp is going to improve in the back-half? And then what is the year-over-year change in margin that’s assumed in — at the midpoint of the guidance?