Kohl’s Tumbles on Surprise Loss, Lowered Guidance

Kohl’s Corp. (KSS) shares tumbled Thursday after the retailer reported an unexpected net loss for the first quarter and lowered its guidance for the full year.

Revenue fell 5% year-over-year to $3.38 billion, missing analyst expectations of $3.54 billion. Kohl’s said regular-price sales increased 2.4% year-over-year, but were offset by a large drop in clearance sales that represented a more than 600-basis-point hit to comparable sales, which decreased 4.4%.

While analyst estimates compiled by Visible Alpha only expected Kohl’s to post a small profit of $2.41 million, or 2 cents per share, the retailer reported a net loss of $27 million, or 24 cents per share. In the first quarter of 2023, Kohl’s made $14 million in profit, or 13 cents per share.

Kohl’s first-quarter results “did not meet our expectations and are not reflective of the direction we are heading with our strategic initiatives,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tom Kingsbury said.

Earlier this month, the retailer declared its quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share, the tenth consecutive quarter at that mark.

Kohl’s Lowers Guidance Amid ‘Ongoing Uncertainty’

Kohl’s also lowered its full-year guidance, as Kingsbury said the company is opting to be conservative in its outlook considering “ongoing uncertainty in the consumer environment.”

For the fiscal year, Kohl’s now projects net sales to decrease from 2% to 4%, down from its last earnings report projecting a 1% decrease to a 1% increase.

In addition to lower sales, Kohl’s also projects smaller profits for the year, with an EPS range of $1.25 to $1.85, down from the $2.10 to $2.70 range it guided last quarter. The new range is also below the $2.10 per share analysts had projected for the year.

Kohl’s stock plummeted 27% as of 10 a.m. ET Thursday to $19.92, its lowest point since October.