Why DSW Is Tripping Despite Earnings Beat

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 4:06AM EST · Published Aug 30, 11:10AM EDT

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Why DSW Is Tripping Despite Earnings Beat — © Thinkstock

DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW) reported its fiscal second-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Tuesday. Though the company beat estimates across the board, this was not enough for investors. On the bottom line, DSW looked very strong, but this was still a far cry from last year, also contributing to slumping comparable sales. Cash reserves were practically halved over the past year in an attempt to bolster the share price with its repurchase plan, although the stock is actually down 7% from last year (excluding Tuesday’s move).

The company said that it had $0.35 in earnings per share (EPS) on $658.9 million in revenue, compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of $0.30 per share and $658.7 million. In the same period of last year, DSW posted EPS of $0.42 and $627.21 million in revenue.

Comparable sales decreased by 1.2%, compared to last year’s increase of 1.8%.

In terms of guidance for the fiscal full year, the company expects to have EPS in the range of $1.32 to $1.42, which compares to 2015 EPS of $1.54. Consensus estimates call for $1.36 in EPS for fiscal 2016.

The board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend payment of $0.20 per share. The dividend will be paid on September 30 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 16.

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Roger Rawlins, CEO of DSW, commented on earnings:

We are on track to deliver our outlook for the full year and we’ve made progress on a number of initiatives to drive sales and improve our financial trajectory. We’ve positioned fall inventories conservatively to chase the trend of the business and after conducting a comprehensive assessment of DSW’s cost structure, we’ve identified actions, most of which will benefit 2017, with approximately $25 million in annualized cost savings. We are committed to getting back to sustained earnings growth while planting the seeds for long term success.

On the books, DSW cash, short-term and long-term investments totaled $244 million at the end of the quarter, versus $471 million in the same quarter last year.

Shares of DSW were traded down over 9% at $23.65 Tuesday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $23.55 and a 52-week trading range of $18.51 to $30.70.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.