Finance & Capital Management

The Kroger Co. has broken its impressive record of 52 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth.    The supermarket giant on Thursday posted an unexpected decline in fourth-quarter same-store sales on Thursday amid ongoing food price deflation and increased competition.   Kroger’s net income fell to $506 million, or 53 cents per share, for the quarter ended Jan. 28, in line with estimates, and down from $559 million, or 57 cents per share, a year earlier.   

Best Buy Corp. came up short on top line growth in its fourth quarter amid problems with product availability. But its income topped expectations, helped by operational improvements and store closures.    The consumer electronics retailer on Wednesday issued a first-quarter forecast that missed Wall Street's expectations. It also detailed the next phase of its turnaround, which includes expanding its in-home advisory program, accelerating growth in Canada and Mexico, and more cost cutting.  

The competitive apparel market and a touch retail climate overall has claimed another victim.    BCBG Max Azria Group LLC on Wednesday announced that it taken “the next step in the restructuring of its brands and operations” by filing for Chapter 11 of bankruptcy protection. Earlier this month, the company revealed plans to close 120 stores as part of its restructuring efforts.   

Publix Supermarkets’ sales and profit rose in the fourth quarter amid continued expansion.      Publix’s net earnings for the fourth quarter rose 4.5% to $544.5 million, from $521.1 million in the year-ago period.   Sales rose 11.1% to $9.1 billion. (The additional week in the fourth quarter of 2016 increased sales by 7.4%.) Same-store sales increased 2.2%.  

American Eagle Outfitters topped earnings expectations amid a strong performance by its Aerie division, but issued a cautious note for fiscal 2017.   For the quarter ended Jan 28, the retailer reported better-than-expected earnings of $54.6 million, or 30 cents per share, down from $81.7 million, or 42 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, the chain has earnings of 39 cents per share, beating consensus analysts estimates by a penny.  

Strengthened by strong holiday performance, a steadily recovering housing market and an increasingly omnichannel approach, Lowe¹s reported fourth quarter net sales of $15.8 billion, up 19.2% from $13.2 billion in the same quarter a year ago.   Net earnings for the quarter swelled to $663 million, up from $11 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.   Comparable sales increased 5.1% in the quarter.  

Higher customer spending and lower costs help drive better-than-expected fourth quarter sales and profit at Dollar Tree.   The discounter’s solid quarterly performance capped a year in which it opened 584 new stores and exceeded $20 billion in sales.    Dollar Tree reported net sales of $5.64 billion for the quarter ended Jan. 28, up 5.0% from $5.37 billion in the year-ago period.  

The final clearance sale is already underway at Macy’s store in downtown Minneapolis.     Macy’s Inc. has officially completed the sale of its Minneapolis property to 601W Companies for $59 million in cash. The store is expected to close this spring.       The department store retailer will record a gain for the property of approximately $47 million in first quarter 2017. The gain was originally anticipated and included in 2017 earnings guidance previously provided by the company.