By Neil J Kanatt

Feb 25 (Reuters) – TJX Cos forecast annual sales and profit below Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, signaling strained discretionary spending ‌among budget-conscious consumers amid economic uncertainty.

The TJ Maxx and Marshalls parent ‌faces mounting concerns over declining nice-to-have purchases as living costs rise. Margin pressures are also intensifying, ​with economic challenges weighing on its primarily lower-income shopper core customer base, leading to smaller basket sizes and softer demand.

Meanwhile, businesses are expected not to lower prices despite the U.S. Supreme Court striking down President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs, casting a pall ‌on consumer spending.

The company ⁠also faces fierce competition from rivals such as Ross Stores, Burlington Stores, Amazon.com and fast-fashion chains like Shein, all of which are ⁠expanding their discount offerings.

TJX expects annual comparable sales to rise between 2% and 3%, compared to analysts’ average estimate of a 3.5% growth, according to data compiled by ​LSEG.

It forecasts ​earnings per share for fiscal 2027 to ​be between $4.93 and $5.02, compared to ‌analysts’ average estimate of $5.18 per share.

Shares of the company were down nearly 2% before the bell.

Analysts view the muted forecasts as conservative. Simeon Siegel, senior managing director at Guggenheim Securities, said TJX was historically known to issue guidance below expectations. David Wagner, Head of Equity and Portfolio Manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, said the ‌market had grown accustomed to the company’s conservative ​forecasts.

The off-price retailer reported a quarterly comparable sales ​rise of 5%, above an ​estimate of 3.6% growth.

Adjusted earnings per share for the fourth ‌quarter came in at $1.43, surpassing an expectation ​of $1.39 per share, ​according to data compiled by LSEG.

Overall store traffic increased 2.8% at TJ Maxx outlets and 3.3% at Marshalls outlets in the quarter compared to ​the year-ago period, according to ‌data from Placer.ai, boosted by the holiday season.

TJX also announced an ​additional share repurchase plan of up to $3 billion.

(Reporting by Neil J ​Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)