Kohl's
Before the market opens on Thursday, Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) is expected to issue second quarter earnings. Reuters

Before the market opens on Thursday, Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) is scheduled to report second quarter earnings of $1.06 per share on revenue of $4.31 billion, compared with earnings of $1.00 per share on revenue of $4.21 billion in the same period a year ago, according to analysts polled by Reuters.

U.S. Economist Stephen Guilfoyle spoke with the International Business Times from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange about retail sales data in July and earnings expectations for retailers, such as Kohl's and Wal-Mart.

“The middle to low-end consumer has struggled over this time, so that’s the Wal-mart and the Kohl’s,” Guilfoyle said. “Future guidance is going to be very important with these names, but I think the high-end consumer is doing considerable better than the medium to low-end consumer. Those people have not seen wage pressure to the upside in a long time, and they’re not as heavily invested, so they haven’t seen the gains in real-estate or the stock market that others have seen. So I think the Wal-mart and Kohl’s earnings will be very interesting.”

While luxury retailers such as Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street estimates, teen retailers like American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) have struggled on weak sales.

“Look at consumer credit that came out last week. We saw an increase of say 11 billion dollars. Only half of that or so was on discretionary goods, which means the average American consumer is spending money on credit, is borrowing money, just to maintain their standard of living,” said Guilfoyle.

Economists look to consumer spending as an important gauge for the U.S. economy, since it accounts for nearly two-thirds of gross domestic product (GDP).

“This is an ongoing problem and it’s specifically why those teen retailers [are struggling] because the teens don’t have jobs and they need to borrow. A lot of them can’t get credit just yet because they don’t rate, and their parents need to borrow just to maintain their standard of living. So that’s why those teen retailers and low end retailers may be struggling. We have to see further,” he added.

On Wednesday, shares of Kohl's Corporation edged up 0.02 percent to close at $50.84 per share.

Also on the earnings calendar for Thursday, retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) report second quarter results.

Walmart