NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported an increase in April sales Thursday roughly in line with its most recent guidance, while several other retailers raised earnings guidance on their sales results.
Wal-Mart, the world's No. 1 retailer, saw sales at stores open at least a year, a closely watched measure known as same-store sales, increase 4.4 percent for the four-week period ended April 30. That's off slightly from the 4.6 percent gain it posted in the same period a year earlier. The company said last week that it was expecting an increase at the lower end of its earlier guidance of a 4 to 6 percent increase.
The company had its best gain at its wholesale Sam's Club unit, where same-store sales gained 8.3 percent, while its Wal-Mart unit posted only a 3.6 percent gain.
The company said it now expects May same-store sales to rise 4 to 6 percent. Total sales were $20.8 billion, up 11.7 percent. Shares of Wal-Mart (WMT: down $0.56 to $55.30, Research, Estimates), a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, were slightly lower in early trading Thursday following the pre-market report.
Retail analyst Kurt Barnard said overall sales at Wal-Mart and many other chains were decent considering that an earlier Easter this year made comparisons to the year-earlier period difficult. He said improved earnings guidance at some retailers and the stronger sales gains at higher-end stores are signs of the improving employment outlook.
"We're beginning to see a pickup in the labor situation and it's in the process of lifting confidence of people who are going back to stores and spending money," he said. "They are still doing it very cautiously -- they are not going on buying sprees. But they're looking at merchandise at higher prices than they were willing to pay a year ago.
"Retailers are able to reduce their costs and at the same time they're selling merchandise at better prices with fewer mark downs," he added.
No. 2 general retailer Target (TGT: down $0.52 to $44.19, Research, Estimates), J.C. Penney (JCP: up $0.76 to $34.76, Research, Estimates) and Federated Department Stores (FD: down $1.01 to $47.99, Research, Estimates) all reported same-store sales gains in the 5 percent range. Penney's was one of the retailers raising earnings-per-share guidance, saying it now expects to earn between 30 and 35 cents rather than its earlier target of 20 to 25 cents.
But there were some disappointments as well, as Sears Roebuck & Co. (S: down $1.75 to $38.25, Research, Estimates) and Pier I Imports (PIR: down $1.15 to $19.05, Research, Estimates) reported a drop in same-store sales, with Pier 1 saying it expected a drop in May as well.
But some high-end retailers posted strong same-store sales gains. They included department store chain Nordstrom Inc. (JWN: down $0.19 to $37.22, Research, Estimates), which posted a 10.0 percent increase in same-store sales and speciality retailer Brookstone (BKST: down $0.10 to $19.95, Research, Estimates), which posted a 20.1 percent gain in same-store sales and cut its first-quarter loss guidance to 23 to 24 cents a share rather than its earlier 27-to-30-cents a share estimate. It also raised its full-year earnings-per-share forecasts.
Sharper Image (SHRP: down $0.20 to $28.85, Research, Estimates), another high-end specialty retailer, saw same-store sales fall 3 percent, but catalog sales rose 25 percent while Internet sales increased 36 percent, helping it to post a 20 percent rise in sales overall.
Click here for a look at retail stocks
High-end clothing retailer Talbots (TLB: Research, Estimates) posted only a 0.3 percent same-store sales gain, but that was enough for it to also raise its EPS guidance to between 56 and 58 cents, up from the earlier target of 56 cents and the 51 cents it reported a year earlier.
|
