Shares for Nordstrom Inc. are popping on the heels of second-quarter earnings results that show the department store chain continues to be the industry standard amid digital disruption.
The stock gained as much as 13 percent in after-hours trading on Thursday — immediately following the release — and remained up nearly 10 percent to $57.43 as of 9:45 a.m. ET today.
The retailer said its sales for the period ended Aug. 4 climbed 7 percent to $4.07 billion, besting analysts’ estimates of $3.96 billion. Meanwhile, profits were 95 cents per diluted share, handily topping market watchers bets for 84 cents per diluted share.
Those results were driven by strength in its off-price division, where comparable sales rose 4 percent, as well as by digital revenues, which were up 23 percent during the quarter. During the first day of its popular Anniversary Sale, Nordstrom said it achieved record digital demand.
“We continued to see a heightened shift of customers shopping online during the anniversary,” co-president Blake Nordstrom told investors during the call. “Digital sales accounted for more than 40 percent of our event. On the first day of Early Access for our Nordstrom cardholders, we had our biggest day ever online, exceeding our previous record by 80 percent at 10 times our average daily demand.”
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Overall, comparable sales were up 4 percent with a gain of 4.1 percent at full-line stores, where kids’ apparel and beauty were the top sellers.
The better-than-expected results led the company to raise its outlook for the year. Nordstrom now expects to earn between $3.50 and $3.65 per share for fiscal year 2018 versus its prior range of $3.35 to $3.55. Its same-store sales could gain as much as 2 percent. Net sales are predicted in the range of $15.4 billion to $15.5 billion, compared with the previous range of $15.2 billion to $15.4 billion.
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