Finish Line shares sink following underwhelming earnings report

Jb Reed | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Employee Vanessa Suriel, foreground, assists customer Matthew Kaiser as he purchases new shoes at a Finish Line store in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Finish Line shares are tumbling again after the retailer reported second-quarter financials on Friday morning that underwhelmed the Street.

The retailer’s stock was down nearly 5 percent in early trading Friday after falling more than 11 percent at one point.

“Our second quarter results were shaped by a very promotional marketplace for athletic footwear,” said Sam Sato, Finish Line’s CEO.

“With industry headwinds weighing on our sales and margin trends, we remain disciplined in managing our expenses and inventories,” Sato added. Finish Line is “planning for a challenging retail environment in the near-term,” he said.

Finish Line reported a comparable sales decline — concerning to analysts and investors — of 4.5 percent during the second quarter. The retailer said it continues to expect same-store sales to fall between 3 to 5 percent for both the third and fourth quarters of 2017.

Quarterly net income came in at $2.8 million, or 7 cents per share, down from $22.1 million, or 53 cents a share, one year ago.

Revenue was $469.4 million, a drop of 3.3 percent from last year.

As of Thursday’s market close, Finish Line shares have fallen more than 60 percent over the past 12 months.

Earlier this year, the retailer’s stock plummeted after it trimmed its outlook for the full year amid disappointing sales volume.

Around that same time, the CEO of rival Dick’s Sporting Goods said that his sector of retail was in “panic mode.” The remarks immediately sent shock waves across the broader sporting goods space.

Shares of other sporting goods stocks, including Under Armour, Nike, Foot Locker, Hibbett Sports and Big 5 Sporting Goods, have all taken hits over the past few weeks, as negative sentiment around the industry grows.

The threat of Amazon, which continues to make competitive price cuts and ink deals with certain athletic and apparel brands, remains on every company’s mind.