« Why couldn't a Great Depression occur again? It could. | Main | Watch out for Friday's jobs report »

Mar28
Story Stock- JC Penney (JCP)

Today's story stock is JC Penney Co. (NYSE:JCP). This morning JC Penney slashed its first quarter sales and earnings forecasts and blamed slowing consumer spending for the warning. The statement from JCP said that it expects to earn about 50 cents per share, far lower than the previously projected 75 to 80 cents per share in the first quarter. They also projected that same-store sales will post declines in the "high single-digits." The company also hinted to the fact that it had been holding out hope for strong Easter sales, but even those were very disappointing.jc%20penney.jpg

On the web as well as on the television today the focus seems to be on whether this is a company specific problem or simply a major consumer spending problem that other retailers will also be subject to? Most believe that JC Penney is going to be far from the only retailer with this kind of sales slump. The likelihood of others in JCP's space having to preannounce negative earnings surprises is extremely high in my opinion. With consumer sentiment numbers falling off a cliff, it should come as no surprise that consumer spending could be hurting retailers quite a bit right now.

JC Penney is a company that has had a lot of ups and downs in previous years. In the period from 1998 to 2003 the company slumped drastically and was very frequently behind the curve in the retail space. Around the beginning of 2005 the company brought in some new management which really seemed to get things going nicely. In fact, just last year in February JCP was trading at a multi-year high of $85 a share. In late 2007 and so far this year the company has slumped again, although it would only be fair to point out that most retailers have not performed well at all during this period. As of right now, JCP stock sits just under $38 a share, about the same level it traded at 4 years ago.

JC Penney will not be alone in warning of slowdowns in consumer spending hurting its business, the challenge for them and all the rest of their peers will be to be ahead of the curve when spending begins to pick up again so they can fully benefit.


0 Comments/Trackbacks




submit a trackback

TrackBack URL for this entry:

post a comment

Name, Email Address, and URL are not required fields.





Comment Preview

« Why couldn't a Great Depression occur again? It could. | Main | Watch out for Friday's jobs report »

Advertise

Related Resources

recent comments

    sponsored ads



    subscribe


    Prefer Email?
    Subscribe below-

    Enter your Email:


    Powered by FeedBlitz What's this?

    Current News

    Support This Blog

    blogroll


    business social media

    Use these fast growing business social media sites to promote your business, feature your products, spotlight your business leaders, create links, and drive traffic back to your company site, all for free!

    BIZZlogos - Add your logo - free link to your site
    BIZZphotos - Add photos of your products and people
    BIZZprofiles - Submit your profile and build your online visibility
    BIZZspotlight - Spotlight your business with free links
    BIZZvideos - Videos about businesses, products and business people.
    BIZZbites - "Digg" for Business - Submit your articles and posts

    Know More Media - Finance / Banking / Insurance

    know more media network

    View Network Map

    Network Feed List (OPML)

    Know More Media Network
    Feed


    we support unitus

    PRWeb

    Influencer



    GrowYourFunds is a member of the Know More Media network of business related blogs.

    Here are some current headlines from some of our business publications:

    ProductivityGoal

    CallCenterScript

    AdHurl

    TheBizofKnowledge

    LandingTheDeal

    CustomersAreAlways

    HealthCareVox

    BrainBasedBusiness

    TheInsurancePolicy

    MarketingBlurb