Kohl’s Falls Flat on Holiday Quarter Update

February 4, 2016 by Chris Lange

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) slumped in Thursday’s session following a financial update for its current fiscal year. The numbers fell well below what analysts had expected.

The company reported that fourth-quarter comparable sales increased 0.4% and fiscal 2015 comparable sales increased 0.7%. Total sales increased 0.8% for the fourth quarter and 1.0% for fiscal 2015.

Kohl’s now expects its fiscal 2015 diluted earnings per share (EPS) to be $3.95 to $4.00, down from its previously stated guidance of toward the low end of $4.40 to $4.60.

Consensus estimates call for $4.30 in EPS on $19.27 billion in revenue for this fiscal year.

The change in guidance is a result of lower than planned sales for the quarter and significantly lower than planned gross margin. Gross margin was affected by the origin and timing of the sales ,in addition to the competitive promotional environment, which resulted in higher-than-expected markdowns on both year-round and seasonal merchandise.