GameStop Corp. reported a steep decline in holiday sales.  The company’s sales from continuing operations for the nine-week holiday period ending January 4 plunged -27.5% to $1.83 billion.Comparable store sales fell - 24.7% during the same period. George Sherman, GameStop’s chief executive officer, said that accelerated decline in new hardware and software sales coming out of black Friday and throughout the month of December was well below the company’s expectations.

GameStop shares slumped by double digits during after-hours trading Tuesday, after the company reported bottom-line that  missed analysts' expectations. For the quarter ended Nov. 2,  the video game retail company’s net loss came in at  -$1.02 a share, narrower than the year-ago quarter’s loss of -$4.78.Adjusted loss  from continuing operations was -49 cents a share, compared with earnings of 49 cents a year earlier.  Analysts were expecting earnings of 11 cents a share . GameStop’s revenue declined -26% to $1.44 billion, missing analysts’ estimate of $1.62 billion. For the full-year, the company projects  adjusted earnings of 10 to 20 cents a share, which is  below the Street’s expectation of $1.21 a share. CEO George Sherman mentioned that the company is on track to achieve its $200 million annualized operating-profit improvement goal by 2021.  

Ulta Beauty’s third-quarter earnings surpassed expectations,  on the back of sales of celebrity-led product lines. The beauty/skincare retail company reported earnings of $2.25 a share for the latest quarter, compared to $2.13 expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Revenue increased to $1.68 billion from $1.56 billion a year ago, but was slightly below analyst estimate of $1.69 billion. Same-store sales growth came in line with analysts’ expected +3.2%. The company has cited celebrity cosmetics-brands like those from Kylie Jenner and YouTuber James Charles for boosting demand at its stores. For the full-year, Ulta narrowed its earnings guidance to a range of $11.93 to $12.03 per share- from its prior forecast of $11.86 to $12.06 per share.

Shares of Ulta Beauty climbed Tuesday, after a board member increased stake in the cosmetics company. Ulta's stock price jumped +5.5%,  on news  of company board member Charles Heilbronn buying nearly a quarter million shares, thereby  upping the stake in the company to 2 million shares (as reported by Bloomberg).In a series of  transactions from Sept. 26-30, Heilbronn bought Ulta shares worth $87 million (243,849 shares)  through Mousseluxe SARL, which oversees the fortune of Chanel owners Alain and Gerard Wertheimer.

Lumber Liquidators shares declined Friday, after news of its founder pulling back from plans to buyout the home-improvement company. In an interview with Bloomberg, Tom Sullivan indicated that he had been working on a transaction, but had to re-think the plan after  perceiving that the company's stock price had gotten too high and the company had declined to engage in discussions. Last month, Lumber Liquidators reported second-quarter results that fell short of analysts' expectations, amidst the 25% tariff on imports from China that posed headwinds to the company's margins.It now expects same-store sales to be flat for the year, and forecasts low-single digits growth in revenue. According to a SEC filing on Friday, during the time span of about a month, Sullivan, bought stock for an average price of $7.88 a share, and then sold 1.25 million shares this week at an average of $11.68.

Ulta Beauty shares plummeted close to -30%  Friday, after the company lowered its fiscal- full-year outlook and also missed earnings expectations. The chain of stores selling cosmetics and hair & skincare products reported net income of $2.76 per share which, although higher than the year-ago quarter’s $2.46, fell short of the Street estimate of $2.80. Revenue for the quarter increased +12% year-over-year to $1.7 billion, which was in line with expectations.  Comparable sales (which in this case includes stores open at least 14 months and e-commerce sales) increased +6.2%.

Williams-Sonoma’s fiscal-second-quarter earnings came in higher than what analysts had expected. For the quarter ended Aug. 4, the e-commerce home-furnishing/kitchenware retailer reported adjusted earnings of 87 cents per share, compared to the Bloomberg estimate of 83 cents.Non-GAAP operating margin expanded +10 basis points to 6.9%.  Net revenue in the quarter rose +7.5% year-over-year to $1.37 billion, beating the Bloomberg estimate of $1.31 billion. Williams-Sonoma experienced comparable brand revenue growth of 6.5%, on the back of accelerating comparable growth for West Elm and Pottery Barn to 17.5% and 4.2%, respectively. Looking ahead, the company has predicted full-year non-GAAP diluted earnings-per-share of $4.60 to $4.80.

Five Below shares declined during extended trading, after the company’s second-quarter revenue missed analysts' expectations. For the quarter ended Aug. 3, Five Below’s net sales increased +20% year-over-year to $417.4 million, falling short of analysts’ estimates of $421.1 million.Anderson said the company opened 44 new stores in 21 states, and is on track to finish the year with 150 new stores. Looking ahead, Five Below has forecasted third-quarter net sales to range between $369 million and $374 million based on opening 55 new stores and assuming a 2% to 3% increase in comparable sales.

Discount retailer Five Below (Nasdaq: FIVE) is set to report second quarter earnings results on August 28 and analysts expect the company to earn $0.50 on revenue of $421.16 million.This means that if estimates are accurate, earnings will increase by 10% and revenue will increase by 21.1%. The company has been able to grow earnings by 36% per year over the last three years and sales have grown by an average of 24% per year during that same time period.

GameStop shares plunged nearly 30% in premarket trading Wednesday after the retailer announced it would eliminate its dividend as video game sales continue to decline and put pressure on its business.

Tiffany & Co. beat earnings estimates for the first quarter, but took a beating on same-store sales. For the three months ending April, the luxury jewellery company’s earnings came in at $1.03 per share, surpassing analysts’ estimates by 2 cents.The company’s total revenue fell -3% to $1 billion – a level lower than what analysts expected. Looking ahead, Tiffany projects 2019 earnings per share to increase by a "low single digit" percentage from last year, thereby lowering its forecast from a prior estimate of a "mid single digit" advance.

Once embattled electronics retailing giant Best Buy Inc. has been dodging death for some time now, but the question is, for how long? The company expects to grow same-store sales in 2019 amidst threats from tariff increase and concerns over consumer spending. For years, Best Buy had watched customers walk its floors and test out products they would then buy online for lower prices, often from Amazon.It is now trying to test options where consumers would return to stores to buy products instead of buying them cheaper from e-commerce sites like Amazon (AMZN). Under the current CEO, that trend is changing and the company boasts of retaining some of the customers who walked its floors.

Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods surged after the company reported quarterly earnings that beat forecasts and raised its full-year outlook.Climbing 18% over last year, the retailer’s stock was up 6.2% initially and was again 2.1% in premarket trading. Key highlights of the quarter include: net income of $57.5 million, or 61 cents per share versus $60.1 million or 59 cents a share a year earlier; increase in sales by 0.6% to $1.92 billion higher than expected $1.9 billion; expected adjusted full-year earnings of $3.20 to $3.40 up from previous range of $3.15 to $3.35; flat overall same-store sales compared to a drop of 2.5% a year earlier; and online sales increased by 15%. Dick’s same-store sales growth is expected to recover in the second quarter as it continues to elevate its product assortment with key brands such as YETI.

Best Buy forecast estimate-beating Q2 sales and profit on Thursday as more and more customers opted for the electronic retailer’s tech support services and continue shopping on its website and app. The company clocked in better-than-expected profit in Q1 but shied away from disclosing full-year estimates keeping in mind the potential impact of U.S-China dispute, especially the latest imposition of tariffs on $200 billion worth Chinese goods. Post the announcement, shares of the company rose 2.1% in premarket trade.Key highlights of the Q1 include 40 points gross profit expansion to 23.7%, 14.5% rise of domestic online sales to $1.31 billion accounting for 15.4% of total quarterly revenue, 1.1% same-store sales rise versus an expected 0.9% increase, earnings per share at $1.02 versus estimated 86 cents per share.

The fourth-quarter earnings of Pier 1 Imports Inc PIR 26.25% fell far below analyst expectations. Read More...

At Home Group is reportedly looking at options, including a sale of the retail chain. Citing anonymous people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that the home décor retail company has tied up with Bank of America to explore possibilities and engage with potential buyers.The laggard performance of the company’s shares is apparently making it an acquisition target, as hinted by the anonymous sources (according to Reuters).   

Office Depot’s estimate for its first quarter revenue and operating income falls short of analysts’ expectations. The office supplies company anticipates its quarterly revenue to come in at  $2.76 billion, which is lower than the $2.82 billion level analysts were expecting.The company indicated that it is working on improving the situation by reorganizing its customer-facing organization and realigning the sales team to identify new opportunities. According to Office Depot, its business solutions division faced headwinds from paper and paper-related cost increases.

In fact, it is now safe to say that 2018 was the worst year for the company who is now struggling to keep its physical stores relevant in the age of cloud gaming. In line with its poor performance, analysts’ price target now ranges between $5 - $12, as more and more gaming moves to streaming and other online models has made the need of physical stores redundant. Analysts cite a variety of reasons for the company’s sales decline.The major problem seems to be its shift to the market place that had some negative implications like declining hardware sales; continued declines in the usually profitable pre-owned games category; and too-slow growth in the collectibles segment. The company’s expertise is also in question now: used games, and whether it remains relevant in a changing video gaming and distribution practices.

Analysts of Buckingham Research Group, as well as KeyBanc Capital Markets, maintain an optimistic stance on Five Below with a price target lifted from $135 to $145. Five Below’s earnings have demonstrated a consistent growth across all relevant metrics remarkable of which were an EPS of $1.59 versus an estimated $1.57 per share, and comparable store sales of 4.4% versus an estimate of 4.2%.However, management's full-year 2019 EPS guidance of $3.00 to $3.07 fell short of consensus estimates of $3.13, but factors such as multiple transitory cost pressures justly explained the drop. Analysts further add that as long as Five Below continues to show strong unit economics, positive comps, and unit growth, investors are safe to maintain their optimistic stance on the company’s shares. The company’s quarterly results also reveal that it is not just restricted to toys and games that account for its broad-based momentum.

The home goods retailer's revenue, however, failed to match up to expectations. The company’s SEC filing revealed that it raked in quarterly adjusted earnings of 96 cents a share, which surpassed analysts’ estimates of 76 cents.But revenue of $433 million fell short of analysts' expectations of $438 million. For its fiscal first quarter 2020, the company predicts that its same-store sales would decline in the range of -1% and -5%.