Business Analytics

Chesapeake, Va. -- Dollar Tree Inc. reported a higher-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter ended on Jan. 28. But the chain forecast quarterly earnings and sales below Wall Street estimates amid rising gasoline prices and increased competition from larger rivals.

For the quarter, net income rose to $187.9 million, from $162.5 million a year earlier.

Sales rose about 12.8% to $1.95 billion. Same-store sales were up 7.3%.

Duluth, Ga. -- NCR Corp. announced that the company’s point-of-sale terminals will now be the preferred checkout technology at Springdale, Ark.-based Harp’s Food Stores, an employee-owned company, which operates 66-plus grocery stores in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

NCR’s RealPOS 60 checkout terminals will be used in all new Harp’s stores and will replace checkout equipment at 10 existing Harp’s stores. The grocer chose the NCR technology due to its high serviceability, compact size and price-to-performance ratio.

DALLAS — Zale Corp. reported increased revenues and earnings for its second quarter ended Jan. 31, thanks to a successful holiday season.

The company reported that revenues for the quarter were $664 million, an increase of $37 million, or 6%, compared with $626 million in the same period last year. 

Comparable-store sales, which are based on year-over-year merchandise sales, increased 5.8% during the quarter. This increase follows a 7.9% rise in the same period last year. 

Framingham, Mass. -- TJX Cos. reported that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 42% to $475.3 million, from $334.4 million a year earlier. The owner of Marshalls, HomeGoods and T.J. Maxx also announced plans to repurchase up to $1.3 billion of stock this fiscal year.

For the quarter, sales rose 6% to $6.7 billion. Same-store sales increased 7%.

"We enter a new fiscal year with considerable momentum in our business and are off to a very strong start in 2012," said CEO Carol Meyrowitz.

Cincinnati -- Macy’s net income in the three months ended Jan. 28 rose a better-than-expected 12% to $745 million as the chain, buoyed by strong holiday and online sales. The company has now seen net income rise in three straight quarters.

ATLANTA — Boosted by mild temperatures and spring-like selling conditions throughout much of the country, Home Depot saw sales rise nearly 6% in the fourth quarter.

The home improvement giant reported fourth-quarter sales of $16.0 billion, up 5.9% from the same quarter last year. Comparable store sales were positive 5.7%, and up 6.1% in the United States.

"We had a strong finish to 2011, and with favorable weather, our business delivered results that exceeded our expectations," said CEO Frank Blake. 

Atlanta -- The Home Depot Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 32% to $774 million, compared with a profit of $587 million in the year-ago period. The retailer noted that mild weather throughout parts of the United States gave homeowners the chance to work on homes projects in the winter.

New York City -- Barnes & Noble reported that its net income for the 13 weeks ended Jan. 28 fell 14% to $52 million, compared with $60.6 million as rising costs offset higher sales for both physical and digital books. The company also said it will introduce a cheaper Nook Tablet, with eight gigabytes of memory for $199. (Its current device sells for $249.)

Revenue rose 5% to $2.44 billion. Revenue from Nook e-readers and its digital catalog rose 38% to $542 million. The company estimates it now has a 27% to 30% share of the U.S. e-book market.