Foot Locker Earnings Slump Pushes Shares to Multiyear Low

Photo of Chris Lange
By Chris Lange Updated Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Foot Locker Earnings Slump Pushes Shares to Multiyear Low

© Thinkstock

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) reported its fiscal second-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Friday. The stock hit a multiyear low in early trading indications, following a huge whiff on this earnings report.

The shoe retailer said that it had $0.62 in earnings per share (EPS) and $1.7 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.90 in EPS and revenue of $1.8 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.94 and $1.78 billion in revenue.

Total sales decreased by 4.4% in the second quarter, while comparable-store sales fell by 6.0%. At the same time, the gross margin rate decreased to 29.6% of sales from 33.0%.

During the second quarter, the company opened 24 new stores, remodeled or relocated 38 stores and closed 19 stores. By the end of the quarter, Foot Locker operated 3,359 stores worldwide.

[nativounit]

The company did not offer any guidance in the earnings report, but consensus estimates are $1.21 in EPS and $1.95 billion in revenue for the current quarter.

On the books, Foot Locker cash and cash equivalents totaled $1.04 billion at the end of the quarter, up from $945 million at the end of the same period last year.

Richard Johnson, board chair and chief executive of Foot Locker, commented:

While we believe our position in the market for premium sneakers remains very strong and our customers continue to look to us for compelling new athletic footwear and apparel styles. sales of some recent top styles fell well short of our expectations and impacted this quarter’s results. At the same time, we were affected by the limited availability of innovative new products in the market.  We believe these industry dynamics will persist through 2017, and we expect comparable sales to be down three to four percent over the remainder of the year.

Shares of Foot Locker closed Thursday at $47.70, with a consensus analyst price target of $65.05 and a 52-week range of $44.59 to $79.43. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was down about 20% at $38.40 in early trading indications Friday.

[wallst_email_signup]

Photo of Chris Lange
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.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618