Why Kohl’s Earnings Weren’t Good Enough

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 30, 5:12PM EST · Published Aug 20, 11:00AM EDT

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Why Kohl’s Earnings Weren’t Good Enough — © hattiesburgmemory / Wikimedia Commons

When Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS | KSS Price Prediction) released its fiscal second-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Tuesday, the retailer said that it had $1.55 in earnings per share (EPS) and $4.43 billion in revenue. Consensus estimates had called for EPS of $1.53 on $4.2 billion in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had $1.76 in EPS and revenue of $4.57 billion.

During the latest quarter, comparable sales decreased 2.9% year over year. Comparable sales were up 3.1% in the same period of last year.

The board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on the common stock of $0.67 per share. The dividend is payable September 25, 2019, to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 11.

Looking ahead to the fiscal full year, Kohl’s affirmed its guidance calling for EPS in the range of $5.15 to $5.45. Consensus estimates call for $5.23 in EPS and $19.05 billion in revenue for the full year.

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Michelle Gass, Kohl’s CEO, commented:

We are pleased to report that our business strengthened as we progressed through the second quarter. Comparable sales were better than the first quarter and improved during the period, turning positive during the last six weeks of the second quarter with 1% growth. This positive trend has continued into August driven by a successful start to the back-to-school season. We are confident that our upcoming brand launches, program expansions, and increased traffic from the Amazon returns program will incrementally contribute to our performance during the balance of the year and beyond.

Shares of Kohl’s traded down about 4% to $46.23 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $43.33 to $83.28. The consensus price target is $60.00.

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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.