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Home Depot meets forecast
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May 16, 2000: 4:30 p.m. ET
Target, Penney top estimates while Staples just hits mark due to online loss
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Retailer Home Depot Inc. posted improved earnings for its fiscal first quarter Tuesday, but was only the fourth component of the Dow Jones industrial index not to beat analysts' estimates in the latest reporting period.
Other major retailers reporting Tuesday including Target Corp. and J.C. Penney Co. beat estimates, although Penney's earnings fell. Office supply dealer Staples Inc. also posted lower earnings but still met forecasts.
Home Depot earned $629 million, or 27 cents a diluted share, for the period ended April 30. While that's up 29 percent from the $489 million, or 21 cents a diluted share, of a year earlier, it only matched the forecasts of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call.
Of the 29 Dow components to report results since early April, Home Depot joins Philip Morris Co. (MO: Research, Estimates), Procter & Gamble Co. (PG: Research, Estimates) and AT&T (T: Research, Estimates) in matching rather than beating First Call's forecasts.
Each of those other companies cited a number of difficulties in the period, but  Atlanta-based Home Depot mentioned no problems in its earnings statement, calling it a strong start to the year.
Revenue rose 24 percent to $11.1 billion from $9.0 billion a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year, a closely watched measure known as same-store sales, grew 7 percent, and purchases per customer gained 3 percent in the period.
Shares of Home Depot (HD: Research, Estimates) were down 3-1/2 to 53 at the close of trading Tuesday.
Troubled J.C. Penney beats forecasts
Troubled J.C. Penney posted a smaller-than-expected earnings decline, and a charge for store closing resulted in a net loss for the period.
The Plano, Texas-based retailer earned $132 million, or 28 cents a diluted share, excluding special charges, primarily for previously announced plans to close stores. First Call forecast a profit of 23 cents a share for the period.
 A year earlier, the company earned $167 million, or 61 cents a share.
With the special charges and items, Penney lost $118 million, or 48 cents a share, in the latest period.
Total revenue at the nation's fifth-largest retailer rose 2.6 percent to $7.7 billion from $7.5 billion a year earlier.
Financier Carl Icahn disclosed a $15 million stake in the company a week ago. Penney's statement did not mention Icahn's recent acquisition. But James E. Oesterreicher, the chain's chairman and CEO who announced retirement plans earlier this month, said in the earnings statement, "We believe that an exploration of strategic alternatives is a logical continuation of our ongoing efforts to focus on our core businesses, while at the same time taking actions to unlock value for our stockholders which is not being recognized in our share price." A company spokeswoman said that is a restatement of an earlier position.
Shares of J.C. Penney (JCP: Research, Estimates) were down 7/16 to 18-5/16 at the close of trading Tuesday.
Growth at core chain lifts Target profits
Target Corp., which passed J.C. Penney last year to become the nation's fourth-largest retailer, beat forecasts with a strong rise in profits and sales at its core chain.
The Minneapolis-based company, formerly known as Dayton Hudson, had net income of $239 million, or 52 cents a diluted share, in the period ending April 29. First Call's forecast called for 49 cents in the period. A year earlier, the company earned $194 million, or 41 cents a share.
Sales rose 8.2 percent to $7.6 billion from $7.0 billion a year earlier, while same-store sales rose a relatively modest 3.0 percent. At the core Target chain, sales rose 11.5 percent and same-store sales rose 4.7 percent. But overall sales and same-store sales fell at its Mervyn's and department store segments.
Shares of Target (TGT: Research, Estimates) were up 7/16 to 71-7/16 at the close of trading Tuesday.
Staples earnings edge up
Staples Inc., the nation's second-largest office supply retailer after Office Depot, saw earnings excluding special charges fall 15 percent, although it did meet the First Call forecast for the period.
The Framingham, Mass.-based company earned $42.7 million, or 9 cents a diluted share, excluding the rebate of an earlier charge for store closings but including the loss from its online sales operations.
In the year earlier period, the company had net income of $50.3 million, or 11 cents a share.
The company reports Staples.com separately because it has created a tracking stock for that division, although it has yet to have an initial public offering of that issue. Excluding both the charge rebate and the online sales loss, the company earned $67.6 million, or 14 cents a share. Including both that loss and the store closing charge rebate, net income came to $47.0 million, or 10 cents a share.
Overall sales rose to $2.6 billion from $2.1 billion a year earlier. Sales at Staples.com (SDOT: Research, Estimates) reached $75.4 million in the quarter, up 545 percent from $11.7 million a year earlier.
Shares of Staples (SPLS: Research, Estimates) were down 1-13/16 to 17-5/16 at the close of trading Tuesday. 
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