Citi Trends raises full-year guidance after Q2 sales growth

On Tuesday, Citi Trends (NASDAQ: CTRN ) discussed second-quarter financial results during its earnings call.

The full transcript is provided below.

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For comprehensive financial data and transcripts, visit View the webcast at Summary Citi Trends reported a 10.5% increase in Q2 comparable sales, marking its eighth consecutive quarter of growth, with a strong 19.7% increase on a two-year basis.

Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 was $5.5 million, a $6.6 million improvement from the previous year, driven by strong sales and effective cost management.

The company increased its full-year guidance, expecting comparable store sales growth of 9% to 11% and total sales growth of 10% to 12%.

Citi Trends is focusing on three strategic priorities for 2026: consistent execution, sales flow-through to profit, and accelerated growth, with plans to open 20 new stores this year and 40 in 2027.

Operational highlights include leveraging AI for inventory management and customer relationship enhancements, and the launch of the Insiders Club to boost customer loyalty.

Management highlighted improvements in gross margin by 60 basis points and reductions in shrinkage, with store payroll leveraged by 70 basis points.

The company is maintaining a strong balance sheet with $55.9 million in cash, no debt, and an undrawn $75 million revolver, allowing flexibility for strategic investments.

Full Transcript OPERATOR Greetings.

Welcome to Citi Trends' second quarter 2026 earnings conference call.

At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode.

The question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation.

If anyone today should require operator assistance during the conference, please press 0 from your telephone keypad.

Please note that this conference is being recorded at this time.

I'll turn the conference over to Lynn Walther with ICR.

Thank you, Lynn.

You may begin.

Lynn Walther, ICR Thank you, and good morning, everyone.

Thank you for joining us for Citi Trends' second quarter 2026 earnings call.

On our call today, Chief Executive Officer Ken Seiple and Chief Financial Officer Heather Plutino.

Our earnings release was sent out this morning at 6:45 a.m.

Eastern Time.

If you have not received a copy of the release, it is available on the company's website at ir.cititrends.com.

You should be aware that prepared remarks made today during this call may contain non-GAAP information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Management may make additional forward-looking statements in response to your questions.

These statements do not guarantee future performance; therefore, you should not place undue reliance on these statements.

We refer you to the company's most recent report on Form 10-K and other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more detailed discussion of the factors that can cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

I will now turn the call over to our Chief Executive Officer, Ken Seiple.

Ken.

Ken Seiple, Chief Executive Officer Thank you, Lynn, and good morning, everyone.

Thank you for joining us today for our second quarter 2026 earnings call.

So, building on the momentum from Q1, our second quarter results were defined by consistency—consistent sales trend, consistent execution, and a consistent customer response across every month of the quarter.

And I'm pleased to report that consistency has continued into the back-to-school season.

Our year-to-date performance on top of strong 2025 results further validates that our strategy is working and that execution is improving.