Kohl’s Stock Drop: What Does It Mean For The Retailer?

Kohl’s (KSS) may not be immune from the so-called retail apocalypse as the retailer saw its share prices dip 28.3 percent over the first six months of 2019 after it faced a challenging first-quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Share prices for the company declined after the first few weeks of May, which was followed by a significant 20 percent decrease over three trading days after it released its Q1 earnings report on May 20, Motley Fool reported.

"The year has started off slower than we’d like, with our first quarter sales coming in below our expectation,” Michelle Gass, CEO at Kohl’s, said. “We are actively addressing the opportunities that impacted our first quarter sales and we have strong initiatives that will enhance our sales performance in the second half.”

To combat its slowed sales, Kohl’s has expanded its partnership with Amazon, allowing returns at all of its 1,110 store locations as of July 1. Beyond, the agreement with Amazon, the retailer has also joined forces with designer Jason Wu and sports apparel licenser Fanatics, as well as increasing its adaptive apparel product line across its kid’s clothing brands.

In Q1, Kohl’s revenue declined 2.9 percent year-over-year to $4.087 billion with comparable sales decreasing by 3.4 percent for the same time period. Over the first part of the year, Kohl’s share prices remained flat, the news outlet reported.

The company saw its adjusted earnings fall 8 percent to $98 million as it repurchased stock over the last year, dropping 5 percent on a per share basis to $0.61. Kohl’s was reportedly estimated to have a per-share growth earning of 5 percent versus the earnings price.

Kohl’s said it does expect share prices to reach $5.15 to $5.45, which is a decrease from earlier estimates of $5.80 to $6.15.

Shares of Kohl’s stock were up 1.44 percent as of 10:57 a.m. EST on Thursday.