Foot Locker treads new territory on Wall Street

Following a record performance in 2015, Foot Locker has become the newest member of the S&P 500 index, which bodes well for the performance of the company’s share price.



After the close of trading on Friday, April 1, Foot Locker will replace oil and gas equipment services provider Cameron International as the newest constituent in the S&P 500 index, according to a statement by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a part of McGraw Hill Financial. A spot on the S&P 500 index opened up after Cameron was acquired by Schlumberger Ltd.



Foot Locker was previously part of the S&P MidCap 400 index, however its addition to the higher profile S&P 500 could be a boon for the company’s investors as inclusion in the index creates increased demand for shares on the part of funds that track the performance of the broad-based index.



The move follows what was a record year for the operator of nearly 3,400 athletic footwear and apparel stores. The company opened 111 stores and closed 151 stores and produced a 7.9% same-store sales increase during the fourth quarter and a full year comp increase of 8.5%. That enabled the company to grow full year sales by 3.6% to a record $7.4 billion.



"In 2015, we continued to deliver outstanding financial performance across channels, geographies, banners, and product categories. We began the year by introducing a revised strategic framework and priorities, as well as elevated long-term financial objectives,” President and CEO Richard Johnson said at the time. “Building on those leadership positions, we believe we can continue to elevate our financial performance in 2016 by generating a mid-single digit comparable sales gain and another double digit percentage increase in earnings per share.”