Earnings at Express Can’t Hold Up Weak Q4 Guidance

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 5:14PM EST · Published Dec 1, 12:05PM EST

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Earnings at Express Can’t Hold Up Weak Q4 Guidance — © Thinkstock

When Express Inc. (NYSE: EXPR) reported its fiscal third-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday, the company said it had $0.15 in earnings per share (EPS) and $506.1 million in revenue. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters called for EPS of $0.13 and $497.08 million in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had $0.31 in EPS and revenue of $546.62 million.

Comparable sales (including e-commerce sales) decreased 8%, compared to a 6% increase in the third quarter of 2015. In the same time, e-commerce sales increased 15% to $96.3 million.

In terms of guidance for the fiscal fourth-quarter, the company expects EPS to be in the range of $0.26 to $0.30, with comparable sales in the negative to low digits. The consensus estimates are $0.55 in EPS and $719.62 million in revenue for the current quarter.

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On the books, Express cash and cash equivalents totaled $101.9 million, up from $91.2 million at the end of the third quarter of 2015. So far in fiscal 2016, the company has repurchased $51.5 million worth of common stock.

David Kornberg, president and CEO of Express, commented:

Our third quarter performance was highlighted by sales and earnings in line with our guidance and progress made addressing the areas noted for improvement during our second quarter call. This progress included refocusing our brand projection and marketing to be more consistent with our core demographic and additional steps taken to drive customer acquisition and retention. Notably, while mall traffic challenges continued to impact our store performance, we achieved a double digit increase in e-commerce sales.

He added:

We expect the holiday season to remain challenging as mall traffic and a highly promotional retail environment continue to be headwinds. That being said, we believe our focus and execution against our key priorities, which include driving improved profitability through a balanced approach to growth, elevating our brand and customer experience, investing in the growth and development of our associates and achieving the benefits from our systems implementations, will position our Company to create shareholder value over the long term.

Shares of Express were down about 22% at $10.43 on Thursday. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $13.62 and a 52-week trading range of $10.38 to $21.57.

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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.