SEATTLE _ With sales and profit figures that met or beat Wall Street expectations, Nordstrom fared far better than its fellow fashion retailers with its first quarter earnings. But that didn't stop its stock from falling Thursday, as analysts were disappointed in weaker-than-expected same-store sales and the grim performance of the Seattle retailer's peers.
Nordstrom met Wall Street analysts' sales expectations of $3.35 billion revenue for the quarter that ended April 29. Earnings per share were 37 cents. Excluding certain non-recurring items, earnings per share came to 43 cents _ far above the 27 cents Wall Street analysts had expected.
Still, the upscale retailer's comparable or same-store sales _ a measurement of sales growth at stores open at least a year and a key metric in the retail industry _ declined 0.8 percent overall.
The company's brick-and-mortar stores showed comparable sales declines, with full-line U.S. stores faring the worst, falling 6.4 percent compared to the year-ago period. That marks the seventh quarter in a row that Nordstrom's full-line stores have shown sales declines.
At Nordstrom Rack, comparable sales declined 0.9 percent.
The company's online sales were far more robust, with sales at Nordstrom.com up 10.9 percent, and those at Nordstromrack.com/HauteLook up 19.1 percent.
After falling 7.6 percent before the earnings announcement due to other retailers' downbeat reports, Nordstrom shares were down about 2 percent more in after-hours trading.
Earlier, its shares had closed Thursday at $46.21, down $3.80, after Macy's, Kohl's and Dillard's all reported sales drops for their most recent quarters and results that fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Macy's shares plunged about 13 percent after the company reported that overall sales had dropped 7.5 percent since a year ago, while sales at stores open at least a year fell 5.2 percent. Both its sales and profits failed to meet analysts' forecasts.
Kohl's shares were down about 6 percent after the company reported overall sales that dropped 3.9 percent and comparable sales that dipped 2.7 percent. Kohl's profits did top Wall Street estimates, however.
Dillard's shares were down about 13 percent after it posted a sales decline of nearly 6 percent and a comparable sales drop of 4 percent. Its profits did beat Wall Street expectations.
