Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) reported third-quarter 2013 results before markets opened on Thursday. The company posted an adjusted earnings per share loss of $2.88 on revenues of $8.27 billion. In the same quarter a year ago, Sears posted an EPS loss of $2.07 on revenues of $8.86 billion. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters called for an EPS loss of $3.13 on revenues of $8.39 billion.

On a GAAP basis, the EPS loss totaled $5.03, compared with a loss of $4.70 in the same period a year ago.

Sears did not provide guidance in its earnings press release, but the consensus estimate calls for fourth-quarter EPS of $0.22 on sales of $11.09 billion. Analysts apparently believe that the holiday shopping season will put some profit back into Sears. In the fourth quarter of last year, the company posted EPS of $1.12, so even if Sears makes a profit it is pitifully small.

In late October the company said that same-store sales for the third quarter declined by 3.7%, reflecting a drop of 4.8% at its domestic Sears stores and 2.6% at its Kmart stores. As it turned out, sales declined by only 3.1%, comprising a drop of 2.1% at Kmart stores and 4% at U.S. Sears stores. Kmart sales lagged in groceries, drugstore, consumer electronics and toys. Sears stores showed “decreases in most categories” with consumer electronics, lawn and garden, tools, home appliances and apparel being mentioned specifically.

Sears also said in its late October statement that it is evaluating spinning-off or selling its Lands’ End business and its Auto Center business. In its statement the company explained:

We believe separating the management of these two businesses from Sears Holdings would allow them to pursue their own strategic opportunities, optimize their capital structures, attract talent, and allocate capital in a more focused manner while bringing our business unit structure to life outside of the Sears Holdings portfolio.

At the end of the second quarter, the company said it wanted to cut its inventories to $8.1 billion. Domestic inventories totaled $8 billion at the end of the third quarter, and total merchandise inventories have dropped from $9.6 billion last year to $8.6 billion this year.

Debt is higher compared with the total at the end of February 2013, having risen from $3.1 billion to $4.7 billion. The new borrowing “funded our operations, including the loss for the period, seasonal inventory build, pension contributions and capital expenditures.” Sears has $1.7 billion remaining under its existing credit facilities.

Is this better or worse than the report we got Wednesday from J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP)? J.C. Penney posted an adjusted EPS loss of $1.81 on revenues of $2.78 billion. Without providing any specific numbers, the company said it expected same-store sales to improve in the fourth quarter and to be better for the full year. J.C. Penney’s stock rose more than 8% Wednesday.

Sears did not post as large a loss as expected, even though its revenues were light. Like J.C. Penney, the company had some happy talk about how well things are shaping up if not turning around. We could see Sears stock rise today as well, but probably not as much as J.C. Penney did yesterday.

Shares of Sears closed up 0.15% on Wednesday, at $61.70 in a 52-week range of $38.40 to $66.00. The consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $30.00, from just three analysts. No one appears to be paying attention any more.

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