Nasdaq: Red flags raised on retail earnings reports

Published: May 21st, 2014
Written by: Editorial Team

Retail reports attract a lot of attention as consumer spending is very important when assessing the overall economy.

Some of the large retailers, such as Wal-Mart, were ready to report earnings last week. The results were a mixed bag, but the results offered investors sufficient to be cautiously optimistic, Nasdaq says.

Wal-Mart reported losses on both top and bottom lines. It showed earnings per share of $1.10 and revenues of $114.96bn. The consensus reached EPS of $1.14, on $116bn revenue. The company’s EPS forecast is $1.15 to $1.25 which is under the $1.28 forecast by analysts.

Kohl has also shown disappointing figures for its last quarter.

Nordstrom has shown an increase in earnings. It showed EPS of $0.72. Its revenues increased by 6.5%, while same-store sales increased 3.9% to the same period last year.

JWN stock is currently trading at a 52-week high since the publication of the report.

Consumers are still showing caution and this may affect many retailers.

It is recommended that a bearish approach to the market should be taken. Hedging and diversification is the order of the day on retailers right now.

Read recent Malls Money issues →