Why Foot Locker Is Kicking Itself After Earnings

August 23, 2019 by Chris Lange

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) shares tanked after the firm reported its most recent quarterly results before the markets opened on Friday. However, this was not the only contributing factor to the drop. Industry rival Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) also was given an analyst upgrade seemingly adding insult to injury.

As for earnings, Foot Locker said that it had $0.66 in earnings per share (EPS) and $1.77 billion in revenue, which compared with consensus estimates of $0.67 in EPS and $1.82 billion in revenue. The fiscal second quarter of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.75 on $1.78 billion in revenue.

Second-quarter comparable sales increased by 0.8%, while sales overall decreased 0.4%.

Richard Johnson, president and CEO, commented:

While our results in the second quarter did come in at the low end of our expectations, we saw improvement in our performance as we moved through each month of the quarter,” “We remain deeply connected with sneaker and youth culture, and believe this positive momentum exiting the quarter has us well positioned for the back-to-school period and beyond.  Further, our team continues to make meaningful progress against our long-term strategic imperatives.

Separately, Guggenheim named Nike as a “Best Idea,” noting that concerns over tariffs and market conditions have pushed Nike lower and created a compelling entry point. In the report, the firm specifically said:

While we acknowledge Nike’s current robust multiple, with the current global uncertainty, we believe investors should embrace Nike’s 1) strong recent results (both reported and in constant currency), 2) focus on DTC/digital, 3) supply chain improvements/diversification, and 4) the company’s robust innovation pipeline. Additionally, we believe Nike is one of the best-positioned names in our group to mitigate tariff risk through potential price increases.

Shares of Foot Locker traded down about 11% Friday morning, at $37.24 in a 52-week range of $36.66 to $68.00.

Nike was last seen down about 1% at $82.47 a share. The 52-week range is $66.53 to $90.00, and the consensus price target is $93.45.


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