This morning was the morning for the all-important retail sales numbers. These numbers were widely expected to be quite weak due to warm weather in September and consumers pulling back somewhat on their spending. On the whole, the retail sales numbers were a little weaker than expected. The ICSC-UBS tally of retail sales rose a slim 1.7 percent in September, less than the expected 2.5 percent. There were some individual standouts and some notable laggards, so today I will highlight some of those.
Retail sales standouts
- Zumiez Inc. (Nasdaq:ZUMZ) Same store sales rose 13.9% in September, versus analysts expectations of a 6.6% gain. This company has really been on fire of late. The stock is responding nicely, gaining about 11% today.
- TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) Sales rose 2% in September, versus expectations of just 1.2%. The stock is higher by almost 5%.
- Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS) Same store sales fell 3.2%, versus expectations of a 3.8% decline. The stock is higher by 2.63% thus far today.
- Pacific Sunwear (Nasdaq:PSUN) Sales rose 2.7% versus expectations of 1.1% in September. The stock is higher by 6.48% on the day.
Retail sales laggards
- Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN) Same stores sales rose just 3.2% versus analysts expectations of 4.9%. The company also came out and lowered third quarter estimates to 50 to 53 cents versus previous guidance of 61 to 64 cents. The company has had significant problems with too much inventory.
- J.C. Penney Company (NYSE:JCP) missed same store sales by just 4.5%, but also slashed its estimates for the third quarter to $1 to $1.04 a share, versus estimates for $1.28 a share. The stock is lower by 4.5% today.
- Macy's Inc. (NYSE:M) Same store sales fell 2.7% versus expectations of a decline of 1.0%. The stock is down by 1.01% today.
- Limited Brands (NYSE:LTD) Analysts expected a decline of 1.6% in sales and the actual number was a 4% decline. The stock is surprisingly trading higher by 2.46%, as investors apparently believe LTD is undervalued.
The weather pattern in September was not conducive to sales of such items as sweaters and coats since it was so warm. The department stores such as JCP and M were probably the hardest hit by that weather pattern. So far October is proving to be a cooler month and the forecasts show that the rest of the month will be seasonably cool, so sweaters and coats are likely to sell much better this month.
The retailers have had pretty low expectations, so even some of them that didn't do too well this month are trading fairly well in the stock market. Going forward the retailers are very dependent on the strength of the consumer.
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