By Neil J Kanatt

(Reuters) -TJX Cos maintained its annual forecasts on Wednesday and flagged an impact from U.S. tariffs, while resilient consumer demand for off-price goods amid an uncertain economy drove a quarterly sales beat for the TJ Maxx parent.

Fears of a potential recession and accelerating inflation triggered by tit-for-tat tariffs imposed by countries across the globe have pushed shoppers toward discount retailers as they rethink their spending patterns to save more money.

Investors and analysts have said off-price retailers such as TJ Maxx, which rely on expansive sourcing strategies and inventory management, mostly from middlemen in the U.S., could largely sidestep any direct hit from the new China tariffs in the near term and gain market share from department stores.

But deteriorating U.S. consumer sentiment amid ever-changing trade policies has started to show its effect.

TJX said its second-quarter forecast includes an incremental negative impact from tariff costs on the merchandise it had committed to when additional tariffs were announced.

The company expects comparable sales to grow 2% to 3% during the current quarter, compared with analysts' estimate of a 2.98% growth, according to data compiled by LSEG. It forecasts earnings per share between 97 cents and $1, shy of the $1.03 estimate.

For fiscal 2026, TJX said the forecast assumes that it can offset the significant incremental pressure it has experienced and continues to expect from tariffs.

It expects annual comparable sales to be up 2% to 3% and earnings per share to be in the range of $4.34 to $4.43. Analysts estimate 2.99% sales growth and $4.49-per-share profit.

"They (TJX) are typically conservative in their forward guidance and therefore we would not expect them to deviate amid the uncertainty these days," said Simeon Siegel, analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

TJX's shares were down about 2.5% in early trading.

Net sales were at $13.11 billion for the first quarter, compared with the estimate of $13.01 billion.

It earned 92 cents per share for the quarter ended May 3, ahead of the 91-cent estimate.

(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)