Earnings have been a mixed bag for retailers this year, but it seems mall retailer Express always knows how to make a mess. Let’s see what the company did this time… 🙄
Its adjusted loss per share of $9.83 was worse than the $7.18 expected, while revenues of $454.1 million came in shy of the $471.2 million consensus estimate. Executives don’t expect the sales picture to improve, forecasting fourth-quarter revenues of $565 to $590 million. That’s well below the $633 million Wall Street anticipated.
A 10% YoY increase in e-commerce sales helped boost results and offset a 16% YoY decline in retail stores’ comparable sales. Comparable outlet sales also fell 13% YoY. Gross margins were another issue, falling by 370 bps YoY, driven by higher promotional activity and royalty expenses. The company is reducing costs, but not quickly enough to offset weak sales. 🔻
Investors remain rightfully concerned about the retailer’s ability to turn itself around in this challenging environment. Despite vigorous promotional activity, it’s been unable to drive revenues to the extent management and analysts hoped. 😬
$EXPR shares fell 12% on the day and remain stuck below broken support near $11.50. Technical analysts suggest the stock remains in a long-term downtrend until it breaks above that level. 📉
