Kohl’s shares tumble on holiday sales results

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Shoppers enter a Kohl’s store in Peoria, Illinois.

Kohl’s on Thursday reported holiday sales growth that paled in comparison to its results in 2017, sending shares tumbling.

The retailer said sales at its stores and website operating for at least 12 months, on a shifted basis, rose 1.2 percent over the 2018 holiday shopping season. That’s compared with growth of nearly 7 percent during the same time a year before.

Kohl’s shares tumbled more than 6 percent in pre-market trading on the news, as the weaker sales growth wasn’t enough to appease investors, even as Kohl’s raised its full-year profit outlook.

CEO Michelle Gass said the company was pleased with reporting a “very strong holiday” on top of “last year’s exceptional holiday season.” She added the retailer saw double-digit sales growth online this past November and December.

Based on these results, Kohl’s said it now expects fiscal 2018 diluted earnings per share to fall within a range of $5.50 to $5.55, up from a prior range of $5.35 to $5.55. Analysts had been calling for earnings of $5.51 per share, according to FactSet.

Kohl’s said it will share more details about its holiday performance when it reports fourth-quarter earnings on March 5.