UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

For the quarterly period ended October 28, 2017

or

Commission File Number: 001-37849

AT HOME GROUP INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(972) 265-6227

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  ☒ Yes  ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  ☒ Yes  ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  ☐ Yes  ☒ No

There were 60,441,045 shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share, outstanding as of November 28, 2017.

AT HOME GROUP INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. You can generally identify forward-looking statements by our use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “might”, “plan”, “potential”, “predict”, “seek”, “should” or “vision”, or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. In particular, statements about our expected new store openings, our real estate strategy, growth targets and potential growth opportunities and future capital expenditures and our expectations, beliefs, plans, strategies, objectives, prospects, assumptions or future events or performance contained in this report are forward-looking statements.

We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While we believe these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including the important factors described in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2017 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on April 5, 2017, many of which are beyond our control. These and other important factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include:

Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this report are not guarantees of future performance and our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate, may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this report. In addition, even if our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and events in the industry in which we operate, are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this report, they may not be predictive of results or developments in future periods.

Any forward-looking statement that we make in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q speaks only as of the date of such statement. Except as required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise, or to publicly announce any update or revision to, any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this report.

PART I — FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. — CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

AT HOME GROUP INC.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

(Unaudited)

See Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

AT HOME GROUP INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

(Unaudited)

See Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

AT HOME GROUP INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(in thousands)

(Unaudited)

See Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

1.    Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

These condensed consolidated financial statements include At Home Group Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively referred to as “we”, “us”, “our” and the “Company”).

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information in accordance with Article 10 of Regulation S-X. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair presentation of the results of operations, financial position and cash flows for the periods presented have been included.

The condensed consolidated balance sheets as of October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016, the condensed consolidated statements of operations for the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016 and the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016 have been prepared by the Company and are unaudited. The consolidated balance sheet as of January 28, 2017 has been derived from the audited financial statements for the fiscal year then ended included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2017 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on April 5, 2017 (the “Annual Report”), but does not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. These interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements as of and for the fiscal years ended January 28, 2017 and January 30, 2016 and the related notes thereto included in the Annual Report.

The Company does not have any components of other comprehensive income recorded within its condensed consolidated financial statements, and, therefore, does not separately present a statement of comprehensive income in its condensed consolidated financial statements.

Stock Split

On July 22, 2016, the Company’s board of directors approved a 128.157393-for-one stock split of its existing Class A common stock, Class B common stock and Class C common stock and the conversion of such Class A common stock, Class B common stock and Class C common stock into a single class of common stock. All historical share and per share information has been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split and conversion. As of October 28, 2017, the Company’s total authorized share capital is comprised of 500,000,000 shares of common stock and 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock.

Initial Public Offering

On August 3, 2016, our Registration Statement on Form S-1 relating to our initial public offering was declared effective by the SEC pursuant to which we registered an aggregate of 9,967,050 shares of our common stock (including 1,300,050 shares subject to the underwriters’ over-allotment option). We issued and sold 8,667,000 of the shares registered at a price of $15.00 per share on August 9, 2016, resulting in net proceeds of $120.9 million after deducting underwriters’ discounts and commissions of $9.1 million. We also incurred offering expenses of $6.0 million in connection with the initial public offering, which was recorded in additional paid-in capital.

On September 8, 2016, we issued and sold a further 863,041 shares of our common stock pursuant to the underwriters’ partial exercise of the over-allotment option. This exercise of the over-allotment option resulted in net proceeds to us of $12.0 million after deducting underwriters’ discounts and commissions of $0.9 million.

We used the net proceeds from the initial public offering and partial exercise of the over-allotment option, after deducting underwriters’ discounts and commissions, to repay in full the $130.0 million of principal amount of indebtedness outstanding under our $130.0 million second lien term loan (the “Second Lien Term Loan”).

Fiscal Year

We report on the basis of a 52- or 53-week fiscal year, which ends on the last Saturday in January. References to a fiscal year mean the year in which that fiscal year ends. References herein to “third fiscal quarter 2018” relate to the thirteen weeks ended October 28, 2017 and references to “third fiscal quarter 2017” relate to the thirteen weeks October 29, 2016. References herein to “the nine months ended October 28, 2017” relate to the thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 and references to “the nine months ended October 29, 2016” relate to the thirty-nine weeks ended October 29, 2016.

Consolidation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of At Home Group Inc. and its consolidated wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of sales and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Seasonality

Our business is moderately seasonal in nature and, therefore, the results of operations for the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the operating results that may be expected for a full fiscal year. Historically, our business has realized a slightly higher portion of net sales and operating income in the second and fourth fiscal quarters attributable primarily to the impact of summer and the year-end holiday decorating seasons, respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation

On January 29, 2017, we adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-09, “Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting” (“ASU 2016-09”). ASU 2016-09 is intended to simplify various aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment award transactions and is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The adoption of ASU 2016-09 also requires all income tax adjustments to be recorded in the condensed consolidated statements of operations, and changes between tax and book treatment of equity compensation to be recognized in the provision for income taxes. We have adopted ASU 2016-09 prospectively and management has elected the accounting policy to continue to estimate the number of awards expected to be forfeited and adjust those estimates when it is no longer probable each period. The adoption of ASU 2016-09 did not have a material impact on our condensed consolidated financial statements during the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” (“ASU 2014-09”). ASU 2014-09 supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in “Topic 605, Revenue Recognition”, and requires entities to recognize revenue in a way that depicts the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period. We completed an initial impact assessment and believe adopting this ASU will not materially impact the timing of revenue recognition. While we do not anticipate the impact of this guidance to be material to the consolidated financial statements, we believe this guidance will impact: (i) our estimated cost of returns, which will be recorded as a current asset rather than netted with our sales return reserves; and (ii) the timing of revenue recognition related to gift card breakage income, which will be recognized in proportion to the historical pattern of redemptions rather than when redemption is considered remote. We expect to adopt this new guidance using the full retrospective method in the first quarter of our fiscal year ending January 26, 2019 (“fiscal year 2019”).

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02 “Leases”, which supersedes ASC 840 “Leases” and creates a new topic, ASC 842 “Leases” (“ASU 2016-02”). Under ASU 2016-02, an entity will be required to recognize right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on its balance sheet and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. ASU 2016-02 offers specific accounting guidance for a lessee, a lessor and sale and leaseback transactions. Lessees and lessors are required to disclose qualitative and quantitative information about leasing arrangements to enable a user of the financial statements to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. ASU 2016-02 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that reporting period, with early adoption permitted. At adoption, this update will be applied using a modified retrospective approach. We are currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2016-02 and we expect that upon adoption we will recognize right-of-use assets and liabilities that will be material to our financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-04, “Recognition of Breakage for Certain Prepaid Stored-Value Products” (“ASU 2016-04”). ASU 2016-04 requires that breakage on prepaid stored-value product liabilities (for example, prepaid gift cards) be accounted for consistent with the breakage guidance in “Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers”. ASU 2016-04 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period, with early adoption permitted. This standard is to be applied either using a modified retrospective approach or retrospectively to each period presented. We completed an initial impact assessment and believe adopting this ASU will not materially impact the timing of revenue recognition. We expect to adopt this new guidance using the full retrospective method in the first quarter of fiscal year 2019.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, “Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments” (“ASU 2016-15”). ASU 2016-15 is intended to reduce the diversity in practice around how certain transactions are classified within the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-15 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period, with early adoption permitted. We have evaluated the impact of ASU 2016-15 and do not believe it will have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements once implemented.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, “Restricted Cash” (“ASU 2016-18”). ASU 2016-18 is intended to reduce the diversity in practice around how restricted cash is classified within the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-18 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period, with early adoption permitted. We have evaluated the impact of ASU 2016-18, and, upon adopting the new standard, we will no longer present the release of restricted cash as an investing activity cash inflow. Instead, restricted cash balances will be included in the beginning and ending cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash balances in the statement of cash flows.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, “Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment” (“ASU 2017-04”). ASU 2017-04 simplifies the measurement of goodwill impairment by removing the second step of the goodwill impairment test, which requires the determination of the fair value of individual assets and liabilities of a reporting unit. Under ASU 2017-04, goodwill impairment is to be measured as the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value with the loss recognized not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. ASU 2017-04 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed after January 1, 2017. The standard is to be applied on a prospective basis. We are currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2017-04 and do not anticipate a material impact to the consolidated financial statements once implemented.

2.    Fair Value Measurements

We follow the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820 (Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures”). ASC 820 establishes a three-tiered fair value hierarchy that prioritizes inputs to valuation techniques used in fair value calculations.

ASC 820 requires us to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. If a financial instrument uses inputs that fall in different levels of the hierarchy, the instrument is categorized based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value calculation.

The fair value of all current financial instruments approximates carrying value because of the short-term nature of these instruments. We have variable and fixed rates on our long-term debt. The fair value of long-term debt with variable rates approximates carrying value as the interest rates of these amounts approximate market rates. We determine fair value on our fixed rate debt by using quoted market prices and current interest rates. 

At October 28, 2017, the fair value of our fixed rate mortgage due August 22, 2022 was $6.3 million, which was approximately $0.2 million above the carrying value of $6.1 million. Fair value for the fixed rate mortgage was determined using Level 2 inputs.

3.    Sale-Leaseback Transactions

In August 2017, we sold six of our properties in Hoover, Alabama; Lafayette, Louisiana; Moore, Oklahoma; Olathe, Kansas; Orange Park, Florida; and Wichita, Kansas for a total of $62.6 million resulting in a net gain of $15.4 million. Contemporaneously with the closing of the sale, we entered into a lease pursuant to which we leased back the properties for cumulative initial annual rent of $4.2 million, subject to annual escalations. The lease is being accounted for as an operating lease. The net gain on the sale of the properties has been deferred and is included in deferred rent liabilities in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The gain will be amortized to rent expense on a straight-line basis through the lease term, or September 2032.

In September 2016, we sold three of our properties in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Kissimmee, Florida; and O’Fallon, Illinois for a total of $30.6 million resulting in a net gain of $16.9 million. Contemporaneously with the closing of the sale, we entered into a lease pursuant to which we leased back the properties for cumulative initial annual rent of $2.1 million, subject to annual escalations. The lease is being accounted for as an operating lease. The net gain on the sale of the properties has been deferred and is included in deferred rent liabilities in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The gain will be amortized to rent expense on a straight-line basis through the lease term, or September 2031.

In August 2016, we sold four of our properties in Broomfield, Colorado; Corpus Christi, Texas; Jenison, Michigan; and Buford, Georgia for a total of $32.6 million resulting in a net gain of $14.2 million. Contemporaneously with the closing of the sale, we entered into a lease pursuant to which we leased back the properties for cumulative initial annual rent of $2.2 million, subject to annual escalations. The lease is being accounted for as an operating lease. The net gain on the sale of the properties has been deferred and is included in deferred rent liabilities in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The gain will be amortized to rent expense on a straight-line basis through the lease term, or July 2031. Approximately $3.7 million of the proceeds from the sale were used to pay off a note payable related to the Corpus Christi property.

4.    Accrued and Other Current Liabilities

Accrued and other current liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):

5.    Revolving Line of Credit

Interest on borrowings under our $350.0 million senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility (“ABL Facility”) is computed based on our average daily availability, at our option, of: (x) the higher of (i) the Federal Funds

Rate plus 1/2 of 1.00%, (ii) the bank's prime rate and (iii) the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus 1.00%, plus in each case, an applicable margin of 0.25% to 0.75% or (y) the bank's LIBOR rate plus an applicable margin of 1.25% to 1.75%. The effective interest rate was approximately 3.30% and 2.10% during the thirteen weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016, respectively and approximately 2.80% and 2.20% during the thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016, respectively.

In June 2016, we amended the agreement governing the ABL Facility to exercise the $75.0 million accordion feature which increased the then-available aggregate revolving commitments from $140.0 million to $215.0 million and increased the sublimit for the issuance of letters of credit from $10.0 million to $25.0 million. The other terms of the ABL Facility were not changed by the amendment.

In June 2017, we entered into the Sixth Amendment to the agreement governing the ABL Facility in order to, among other things, modify the definition of the borrowing base to include certain assets of a newly formed subsidiary guarantor.

In July 2017, we entered into the Seventh Amendment to the agreement governing the ABL Facility (the “ABL Amendment”) which increased the aggregate revolving commitments from $215.0 million to $350.0 million, and increased  the sublimit for the issuance of letters of credit from $25.0 million to $50.0 million and the sublimit for the issuance of swingline loans from $10.0 million to $20.0 million. In addition, the maturity of the ABL Facility was extended to the earlier of July 27, 2022 and the date that is 91 days prior to the maturity date (as such date may be extended) of the term loan entered into on June 5, 2015 under a first lien credit agreement (the “First Lien Agreement”), certain pricing thresholds were adjusted, and certain covenant restrictions were loosened. While the revolving credit loans outstanding under the ABL Facility will continue to be secured by substantially all of our assets with a first priority lien on ABL priority collateral and a second priority lien (as between the ABL facility lenders and the term loan facility lenders) on all non-ABL priority collateral, real property will no longer form part of the collateral under the ABL Facility. The other terms of the ABL Facility remain substantially the same.

As of October 28, 2017, approximately $185.2 million was outstanding under the ABL Facility, approximately $0.5 million in face amount of letters of credit had been issued and we had availability of approximately $86.8 million. As of October 28, 2017, we were in compliance with all covenants prescribed in the ABL Facility.

6.    Long-Term Debt

Long-term debt consists of the following (in thousands):

On June 5, 2015, our indirect wholly owned subsidiary, At Home Holding III Inc. (“Borrower”), entered into the First Lien Agreement, by and among the Borrower, At Home Holding II Inc. (“At Home II”), a direct wholly owned subsidiary of ours, as guarantor, various lenders and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent. The First Lien Agreement provides for a $300.0 million term loan (“First Lien Term Loan”), which amount was borrowed on June 5, 2015. The First Lien Term Loan will mature on June 3, 2022, and is repayable in equal quarterly installments of approximately $0.8 million for an annual aggregate amount equal to 1% of the original principal amount of $300.0 million. The Borrower has the option of paying interest on a 1-month, 2-month or quarterly basis on the First Lien Term Loan at an annual rate of LIBOR (subject to a 1% floor) plus 4.00%, subject to, after a qualifying initial public offering, a 0.50% reduction if the Borrower achieves a specified secured net leverage ratio level, which was met subsequent to our initial public offering during the fiscal year ended January 28, 2017.

On June 5, 2015, the Borrower also entered into a second lien credit agreement (the “Second Lien Agreement”), by and among the Borrower, At Home II and Dynasty Financial II, LLC, as administrative agent, collateral agent and lender. The Second Lien Agreement provided for the Second Lien Term Loan (together with the First Lien Term Loan, the “Term Loan Facilities”), which amount was borrowed on June 5, 2015. The Second Lien Term Loan had a maturity date of June 5, 2023 and did not require periodic principal payments, with the total amount outstanding, plus accrued interest, due at maturity. The Borrower had the option of paying interest on a 1-month, 2-month or quarterly basis on the Second Lien Term Loan at an annual rate of LIBOR (subject to a 1% floor) plus 8.00%.

During the fiscal year ended January 28, 2017, we used the net proceeds from our initial public offering and the exercise of the over-allotment option, after deducting underwriters’ discounts and commissions, to repay in full the $130.0 million of principal amount of indebtedness outstanding under our Second Lien Term Loan (the “Second Lien Repayment”).

On July 27, 2017, the Borrower entered into a First Amendment to the First Lien Agreement to permit the incurrence of additional indebtedness pursuant to the ABL Amendment and to make certain technical changes to conform to the terms of the ABL Amendment.

7.    Related Party Transactions

In connection with the initial public offering, the management agreement with our controlling shareholder, AEA Investors LP (“AEA”), an affiliate of our controlling shareholder, and affiliated co-investors including Starr Investment Holdings, LLC (“Starr Investments” and, together with AEA, the “Sponsors”), was terminated as of August 3, 2016 and the Sponsors no longer receive management fees from us. Following the initial public offering, the Sponsors own approximately 84% of our outstanding common stock.

We were previously obligated to pay management fees of approximately $2.6 million annually to AEA. We recognized approximately $0.1 million and $1.4 million of management fees and reimbursed expenses during the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended October 29, 2016, respectively.

We were also obligated to pay management fees of approximately $0.9 million annually to Starr Investments. During the thirteen weeks ended October 29, 2016, we recognized an immaterial amount of management fees to Starr Investments. We recognized approximately $0.5 million of management fees during the thirty-nine weeks ended October 29, 2016.

Merry Mabbett Inc. (“MMI”) is owned by Merry Mabbett Dean, who is the mother of Lewis L. Bird III, our Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President. During the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016, Ms. Dean, through MMI, provided certain design services to us, including design for our home office, as well as design in our stores. In addition, through MMI, we purchased certain fixtures, furniture and equipment that is now owned and used by us in our home office, new store offices or in the product vignettes in the stores. During the thirteen weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016, we paid MMI approximately $0.2 million and $0.1 million, respectively, for fixtures, furniture and equipment and design related services. During the thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016, we paid MMI approximately $0.4 million and $0.1 million, respectively, for fixtures, furniture and equipment and design related services.

8.    Income Taxes

Our effective tax rate for the thirteen weeks ended October 28, 2017 was 35.6% compared to 44.8 % for the thirteen weeks ended October 29, 2016. Our effective tax rate for each of the thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016 was 37.2%. The effective tax rate for each of the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 differs from the federal statutory rate primarily due to the impact of state and local income taxes, a strategic restructuring that impacted deferred tax assets, excess tax benefits realized as well as a release of the valuation allowance for state net operating losses. The effective tax rate for each of the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended October 29, 2016 differs from the federal statutory rate primarily due to the impact of state and local income taxes, the release of unrecognized tax benefits and the nondeductible interest expense related to the debt extinguishment upon repayment of the Second Lien Term Loan.

9.    Commitments and Contingencies

Litigation

We are subject to claims and lawsuits that arise primarily in the ordinary course of business.  It is the opinion of management that the disposition or ultimate resolution of such claims and lawsuits will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

10.    Earnings Per Share

In accordance with ASC 260, (Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”), basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period including the dilutive impact of potential shares from the exercise of stock options and restricted stock units. Potentially dilutive securities are excluded from the computation of diluted net income (loss) per share if their effect is anti-dilutive.

The following table sets forth the calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016 as follows (dollars in thousands, except share and per share data):

For the thirteen weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016, approximately 12,422 and 8,044,578, respectively, of stock options were excluded from the calculation of diluted net income (loss) per common share since their effect was anti-dilutive. For the thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016, approximately 974,802 and 1,090,324, respectively, of stock options were excluded from the calculation of diluted net income (loss) per common share since their effect was anti-dilutive.

11.    Stock-Based Compensation

On August 14, 2017, we granted restricted stock units covering, in the aggregate, 178,880 shares of common stock of the Company to certain employees under the At Home Group Inc. Equity Incentive Plan (the “2016 Equity Plan”). Non-cash stock-based compensation expense associated with the grant will be approximately $4.0 million, which will be expensed over the requisite service period of four years.

ITEM 2. — MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of our operations should be read in conjunction with the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes of At Home Group Inc. included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and with our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2017 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on April 5, 2017 (the “Annual Report”). You should review the disclosures under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in the Annual Report, as well as any cautionary language in this report, for a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis. All expressions of the “Company”, “us”, “we”, “our”, and all similar expressions are references to At Home Group Inc. and its consolidated wholly-owned subsidiaries, unless otherwise expressly stated or the context otherwise requires.

We operate on a fiscal calendar widely used by the retail industry that results in a given fiscal year consisting of a 52- or 53-week period ending on the last Saturday in January. In a 52-week fiscal year, each quarter contains 13 weeks of operations; in a 53-week fiscal year, each of the first, second and third quarters includes 13 weeks of operations and the fourth quarter includes 14 weeks of operations. References to a fiscal year mean the year in which that fiscal year ends. References herein to “fiscal year 2018” relate to the 52 weeks ending January 27, 2018 and references herein to “fiscal year 2017” relate to the 52 weeks ended January 28, 2017. References herein to “the third fiscal quarter 2018” and “the third fiscal quarter 2017” relate to the thirteen weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016, respectively. References herein to “the nine months ended October 28, 2017” and “the nine months ended October 29, 2016” relate to the thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 and October 29, 2016, respectively.

Overview

At Home is the leading home décor superstore based on the number of our locations and our large format stores that we believe dedicate more space per store to home décor than any other player in the industry. We are focused on providing the broadest assortment of products for any room, in any style, for any budget. We utilize our space advantage to out-assort our competition, offering over 50,000 SKUs throughout our stores. Our differentiated merchandising strategy allows us to identify on-trend products and then value engineer those products to provide desirable aesthetics at attractive price points for our customers. Over 70% of our products are unbranded, private label or specifically designed for us. We believe that our broad and comprehensive offering and compelling value proposition combine to create a leading destination for home décor with the opportunity to continue taking market share in a highly fragmented and growing market.

As of October 28, 2017, our store base is comprised of 144 large format stores across 33 states, averaging approximately 110,000 square feet per store. Over the past five completed fiscal years we have opened 77 new stores and we believe there is significant whitespace opportunity to increase our store count in both existing and new markets.

Trends and Other Factors Affecting Our Business

Various trends and other factors affect or have affected our operating results, including:

Overall economic trends. The overall economic environment and related changes in consumer behavior have a significant impact on our business. In general, positive conditions in the broader economy promote customer spending in our stores, while economic weakness results in a reduction of customer spending. Macroeconomic factors that can affect customer spending patterns, and thereby our results of operations, include employment rates, business conditions, changes in the housing market, the availability of credit, interest rates, tax rates and fuel and energy costs.

Consumer preferences and demand. Our ability to maintain our appeal to existing customers and attract new customers depends on our ability to originate, develop and offer a compelling product assortment responsive to customer preferences and design trends. If we misjudge the market for our products, we may be faced with excess inventories for

some products and may be required to become more promotional in our selling activities, which would impact our net sales and gross profit.

New store openings. We expect new stores will be the key driver of the growth in our sales and operating profit in the future. Our results of operations have been and will continue to be materially affected by the timing and number of new store openings. The performance of new stores may vary depending on various factors such as the store opening date, the time of year of a particular opening, the amount of store opening costs, the amount of store occupancy costs and the location of the new store, including whether it is located in a new or existing market. For example, we typically incur higher than normal employee costs at the time of a new store opening associated with set-up and other opening costs. In addition, in response to the interest and excitement generated when we open a new store, the new stores generally experience higher net sales during the initial period of one to three months after which the new store’s net sales will begin to normalize as it reaches maturity within six months of opening, as further discussed below.

Our planned store expansion will place increased demands on our operational, managerial, administrative and other resources. Managing our growth effectively will require us to continue to enhance our store management systems, financial and management controls and information systems. We will also be required to hire, train and retain store management and store personnel, which together with increased marketing costs, can affect our operating margins.

A new store typically reaches maturity, meaning the store’s annualized targeted sales volume has been reached, within six months of opening. New stores are included in the comparable store base during the sixteenth full fiscal month following the store’s opening, which we believe represents the most appropriate comparison. We also periodically explore opportunities to relocate a limited number of existing stores to improve location, lease terms, store layout or customer experience. Relocated stores typically achieve a level of operating profitability comparable to our company-wide average for existing stores more quickly than new stores.

Infrastructure investment. Our historical operating results reflect the impact of our ongoing investments to support our growth. We have made significant investments in our business that we believe have laid the foundation for continued profitable growth. We believe that our strong management team, brand identity, upgraded and automated distribution center and enhanced information systems, including our warehouse management and POS systems, enable us to replicate our profitable store format and differentiated shopping experience. In addition, we have implemented a merchandise planning system and an inventory allocation system to better manage the flow of inventory for each store and corresponding customer base. We expect these infrastructure investments to support our successful operating model over a significantly expanded store base.

Pricing strategy. We are committed to providing our products at everyday low prices. We value engineer products in collaboration with our suppliers to recreate the “look” that we believe our customer wants while eliminating the costly construction elements that our customer does not value. We believe our customer views shopping At Home as an in-person experience through which our customer can see and feel the quality of our products and physically assemble a desired aesthetic. This design approach allows us to deliver an attractive value to our customers, as our products are typically less expensive than other branded products with a similar look. We employ a simple everyday low pricing strategy that consistently delivers savings to our customers without the need for extensive promotions, as evidenced by 80% of our net sales occurring at full price.

Our ability to source and distribute products effectively. Our net sales and gross profit are affected by our ability to purchase our products in sufficient quantities at competitive prices. While we believe our vendors have adequate capacity to meet our current and anticipated demand, our level of net sales could be adversely affected in the event of constraints in our supply chain, including the inability of our vendors to produce sufficient quantities of some merchandise in a manner that is able to match market demand from our customers, leading to lost sales.

Fluctuation in quarterly results. Our quarterly results have historically varied depending upon a variety of factors, including our product offerings, promotional events, store openings and shifts in the timing of holidays, among other things. As a result of these factors, our working capital requirements and demands on our product distribution and delivery network may fluctuate during the year.

Inflation and deflation trends. Our financial results can be expected to be directly impacted by substantial increases in product costs due to commodity cost increases or general inflation which could lead to a reduction in our sales as well as greater margin pressure as costs may not be able to be passed on to consumers. To date, changes in commodity prices and general inflation have not materially impacted our business. In response to increasing commodity prices or general inflation, we seek to minimize the impact of such events by sourcing our merchandise from different vendors, changing our product mix or increasing our pricing when necessary.

Refinancings. In June 2015, we entered into a $300.0 million senior secured first lien term loan facility and a $130.0 million senior secured second lien term loan facility. The proceeds of these term loans were used to refinance and redeem in full our 10.75% senior secured notes due 2019 (the “Senior Secured Notes”), which reduced our overall cost of capital. In addition, we used net proceeds from our initial public offering and partial exercise of the over-allotment option to repay in full the $130.0 million of principal amount of indebtedness outstanding under the senior secured second lien term loan facility, which further reduced our cost of capital and debt service obligations. For more information, please see “—Liquidity and Capital Resources”.

How We Assess the Performance of Our Business

In assessing our performance, we consider a variety of performance and financial measures. The key measures include net sales, gross profit and gross margin, and selling, general and administrative expenses. In addition, we also review other important metrics such as Adjusted EBITDA, Store-level Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income.

Net Sales

Net sales are derived from direct retail sales to customers in our stores, net of merchandise returns and discounts. Growth in net sales is impacted by opening new stores and increases in comparable store sales.

New store openings

The number of new store openings reflects the new stores opened during a particular reporting period, including any relocations of existing stores during such period. Before we open new stores, we incur pre-opening costs, as described below. The total number of new stores per year and the timing of store openings has, and will continue to have, an impact on our results as described above in “—Trends and Other Factors Affecting Our Business”.

Comparable store sales

A store is included in the comparable store sales calculation on the first day of the sixteenth full fiscal month following the store's opening, which is when we believe comparability is achieved. When a store is being relocated or remodeled, we exclude sales from that store in the calculation of comparable store sales until the first day of the sixteenth full fiscal month after it reopens. In addition, when applicable, we adjust for the effect of the 53rd week. There may be variations in the way in which some of our competitors and other retailers calculate comparable or “same store” sales. As a result, data in this report regarding our comparable store sales may not be comparable to similar data made available by other retailers.

Comparable store sales allow us to evaluate how our store base is performing by measuring the change in period-over-period net sales in stores that have been open for the applicable period. Various factors affect comparable store sales, including:

Opening new stores is an important part of our growth strategy. As we continue to pursue our growth strategy, we anticipate that an increasing percentage of our net sales will come from stores not included in our comparable store sales calculation. Accordingly, comparable store sales are only one measure we use to assess the success of our growth strategy.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

Gross profit is determined by subtracting cost of sales from our net sales. Gross margin measures gross profit as a percentage of net sales.

Cost of sales consists of various expenses related to the cost of selling our merchandise. Cost of sales consists of the following: (1) cost of merchandise, net of inventory shrinkage, damages and vendor allowances; (2) inbound freight and internal transportation costs such as distribution center-to-store freight costs; (3) costs of operating our distribution center, including labor, occupancy costs, supplies, and depreciation; and (4) store occupancy costs including rent, insurance, taxes, common area maintenance, utilities, repairs and maintenance and depreciation. The components of our cost of sales expenses may not be comparable to other retailers.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) consist of various expenses related to supporting and facilitating the sale of merchandise in our stores. These costs include payroll, benefits and other personnel expenses for corporate and store employees, including stock-based compensation expense, consulting, legal and other professional services expenses, marketing and advertising expenses, occupancy costs for our corporate headquarters and various other expenses.

SG&A includes both fixed and variable components and, therefore, is not directly correlated with net sales. In addition, the components of our SG&A expenses may not be comparable to those of other retailers. We expect that our SG&A expenses will increase in future periods due to our continuing store growth. In addition, any increase in future stock option or other stock-based grants or modifications will increase our stock-based compensation expense included in SG&A. In particular, the one-time bonus grant of stock options to certain members of our senior management in connection with our initial public offering is expected to result in incremental non-cash stock-based compensation expense of approximately $20.0 million, which is being expensed over the derived service period that began in the third quarter of fiscal 2017 and continuing over the following eight quarters.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is a key metric used by management and our board of directors to assess our financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA is also the basis for performance evaluation under our current executive compensation programs. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA is frequently used by analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in our industry. In addition to covenant compliance and executive performance evaluations, we use Adjusted EBITDA to supplement generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) measures

of performance to evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies, to make budgeting decisions and to compare our performance against that of other peer companies using similar measures.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) before interest expense, net, loss from early extinguishment of debt, income tax provision (benefit) and depreciation and amortization, adjusted for the impact of certain other items as defined in our debt agreements, including certain legal settlements and consulting and other professional fees, costs associated with new store openings, relocation and employee recruiting incentives, management fees and expenses, stock-based compensation expense, impairment of our trade name and non-cash rent. For a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see “—Results of Operations”.

Store-level Adjusted EBITDA

We use Store-level Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure of our performance, which represents our Adjusted EBITDA excluding the impact of certain corporate overhead expenses that we do not consider in our evaluation of the ongoing operating performance of our stores from period to period. Our calculation of Store-level Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure of operating performance of our stores and may not be comparable to similar measures reported by other companies. We believe that Store-level Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure to evaluate the performance and profitability of each of our stores, individually and in the aggregate, especially given the level of investments we have made in our home office and infrastructure over the past four years to support future growth. We also believe that Store-level Adjusted EBITDA is a useful measure in evaluating our operating performance because it removes the impact of general and administrative expenses, which are not incurred at the store level, and the costs of opening new stores, which are non-recurring at the store-level, and thereby enables the comparability of the operating performance of our stores during the period. We use Store-level Adjusted EBITDA information to benchmark our performance versus competitors. Store-level Adjusted EBITDA should not be used as a substitute for consolidated measures of profitability of performance because it does not reflect corporate overhead expenses that are necessary to allow us to effectively operate our stores and generate Store-level Adjusted EBITDA. For a reconciliation of Store-level Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see “—Results of Operations”.

Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted Net Income represents our net income (loss), adjusted for loss on extinguishment of debt, initial public offering related non-cash stock-based compensation expense, transaction costs related to our initial public offering and the registration of shares of our common stock on behalf of our majority stockholders and losses incurred due to the modification of debt. We present Adjusted Net Income because we believe it assists investors and analysts in comparing our performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance.  For a reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income to net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see “—Results of Operations”.

Results of Operations

The following tables summarize key components of our results of operations for the periods indicated, both in dollars and as a percentage of our net sales: