Retail

Zumiez Falls Sharply on Missed Guidance

Chris Lange

Published: December 4, 2015 11:05 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 4:28 pm

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) reported its fiscal third-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Friday. The company had $0.36 in earnings per share (EPS) on $204.3 million in revenue, compared to the consensus estimates that call for $0.29 in EPS on $203.5 million in revenue. The same period from the previous year had $0.54 in EPS on $213.3 million in revenue.

In terms of guidance, the company expects EPS in the range of $0.40 to $0.46 and net sales in the range of $226 million to $231 million. Consensus estimates call for $0.63 in EPS on $254.66 million in revenue.

During the quarter, Zumiez repurchased 0.7 million shares for roughly $16.7 million. So far in 2015, the company has purchased 3.0 million shares for a total $77.7 million. The board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $70 million of common stock.

Rick Brooks, CEO of Zumiez, commented on earnings:

We’ve moved quickly to reduce expenses to protect profitability in the face of challenging sales trends, which helped us exceed our bottom line guidance for the third quarter. With the fourth quarter off to a slow start combined with tougher sales comparisons ahead, we believe it’s prudent to maintain a cautious outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2015 and we are focused on managing expenses and inventory levels during this difficult time. Long-term we remain confident that the strategic course we have set for the company will deliver increased shareholder value in the years ahead.

On the books, cash, equivalents and marketable securities totaled $51.1 million, compared to $108.7 million in the same period from the previous year.

Shares of Zumiez were down 4.4% at $13.29 Friday, with a consensus analyst price target of $19.75 and a new 52-week trading range of $11.53 to $41.81.