Investors cannot seem to get enough J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) stock Wednesday morning. The company reported what can only be called awful results, missing on both earnings per share and revenues. But there was plenty of happy talk, and that seems to have carried the day.

J.C. Penney said that same-store sales would improve in the current quarter from a negative comparison of 4.8% in the third quarter, but stopped short of saying the improvement would lead to a positive comparison. That was a smart thing to leave out.

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) reports third-quarter results before markets open Thursday morning, and the company is expected to post an earnings per share loss of $3.13 on revenues of $9.39 billion. Sears has already said it is considering spinning off its Lands’ End and auto center stores, which would leave it with, what exactly? Its underperforming Sears and Kmart stores, and lots of real estate. In the third quarter a year ago, Sears posted a same-store sales drop of 2%, and there is no reason to expect that to improve much.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has already announced a price-match program for the holiday season, and even though the two stores are not direct competitors and brand overlap is probably quite small, which store is likely to get the most traffic? From here, it looks like the smart money should probably be on Walmart.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), which has announced that it will open late on Thanksgiving evening, posted same-store sales growth of 3.5% in the third quarter and said that second half 2013 same-store sales would rise 2.5% to 4%. That does not indicate a real positive outlook for the fourth quarter, but it is more upbeat than J.C. Penney’s.

TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) Tuesday said same-store sales for the third quarter rose 5%, but it left its fourth-quarter earnings per share guidance unchanged in a range of $0.77 to $0.80. That is a decidedly cautious stance to take going into the biggest shopping season of the year, when discount retailers like TJX’s TJ Maxx and Marshall’s stores are expected to do better than department stores like J.C. Penney and Macy’s.

J.C. Penney’s stock got a decent bump Wednesday morning, but it is having little effect on the other retailers’ stocks. Perhaps the short sellers who hold more than 26% of J.C. Penney’s stock are covering their bets this morning.

Shares of J.C. Penney were up more than 9% in mid-morning trading Wednesday, at $9.52 in a 52-week range of $6.24 to $23.10.

Sears shares were up 0.8% at $62.07, in a 52-week range of $38.40 to $66.00.

Walmart shares were down 0.1%, at $79.15 in a 52-week range of $67.37 to $79.96.

Shares of Macy were up 0.5%, at $50.64 in a 52-week range of $36.30 to $51.24.

Shares of TJX Companies were up 0.4%, at $63.36 in a 52-week range of $40.98 to $63.93.

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