Key Takeaways
- Signet Jewelers exceeded earnings forecasts and gave an upbeat assessment about same-store sales.
- The jewelry store chain’s same-store sales fell, but less than expected, and CEO Virginia Drosos said they were turning positive for the current quarter.
- The stock, which jumped Thursday, is still down in 2024.
Signet Jewelers (SIG) shares jumped Thursday as the jewelry retailer beat profit forecasts and gave an upbeat assessment of same-store sales.
The operator of Zales, Jared, and Kay Jewelers stores posted fiscal 2025 second-quarter diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.25, $0.09 better than the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. Revenue declined 7.6% to $1.49 billion, short of forecasts.
Same-store sales dropped 3.4%, which was better than Wall Street expected. Same-store sales were “turning positive third quarter to date,” according to CEO Virginia Drosos. The company expects them to finish in a range of down 1.0% to up 1.5%. Wall Street expected them to fall 1.2%, according to Visible Alpha data.
In the second quarter, North American sales fell 6.9% to $1.4 billion on fewer transactions. International sales tumbled 15% to $86.5 million, also because of a slide in transactions, plus the previously-announced sale of its prestige watch locations.
Signet predicts current quarter sales of $1.345 billion to $1.380 billion, while the Visible Alpha estimate is for $1.35 billion.
Despite today’s gains, with the stock up some 12%, shares of Signet Jewelers remain lower in 2024.