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    Bank of America CEO says U.S. consumers and businesses have turned cautious on spending

    Whether it’s households or small- to medium-sized businesses, Bank of America clients are slowing down the rate of purchases made for everything from hard goods to software, the bank’s CEO Brian Moynihan said.
    Consumer spending via card payments, checks and ATM withdrawals has grown about 3.5% this year to roughly $4 trillion, Moynihan said.
    That’s a sharp slowdown from the nearly 10% growth rate seen in May 2023, he said.

    Bank of America Chairman and CEO Brian Thomas Moynihan speaks during the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee oversight hearing on Wall Street firms, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 6, 2023. 
    Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

    U.S. consumers and businesses alike have turned cautious about spending this year because of elevated inflation and interest rates, according to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan.
    Whether it’s households or small- to medium-sized businesses, Bank of America clients are slowing down the rate of purchases made for everything from hard goods to software, Moynihan said Thursday at a financial conference held in New York.

    Consumer spending via card payments, checks and ATM withdrawals has grown about 3.5% this year to roughly $4 trillion, Moynihan said. That’s a sharp slowdown from the nearly 10% growth rate seen in May 2023, he said.
    “Both of our customer bases that have a lot to do with how the American economy runs are saying, ‘You know what? I’m being careful, slowing things down,'” Moynihan said, referring to consumers and businesses.
    The slowdown began last summer and is consistent with the “very low growth” environment of the period from 2016 through 2018, he said.
    Nearly a year after the last Federal Reserve rate increase, consumers and businesses are wrestling with inflation and borrowing costs that remain higher than they are accustomed to. The Fed began efforts to tame inflation by hiking its benchmark rate starting in March 2022, hoping it could slow the economy without tipping it into recession.
    Many economists believe the Fed is on track to pull off that feat, which has helped the stock market reach new highs this year. But consumers are still grappling with higher prices for goods and services, and that has impacted U.S. companies from McDonald’s to discount retailers as Americans adjust their behavior.

    Food shoppers are hitting up more store locations in search of deals, according to Moynihan. “They’re going to three grocery stores instead of two, is one of the stats we see,” he said.
    The now-tepid growth in overall spending is being propped up by travel and entertainment, while “other things have moderated, except for insurance payments,” Moynihan said. Growth in rent payments has slowed, he noted.
    “We’ve got to keep the consumer in the game in the U.S. economy, because [they’re] such a big part of it,” Moynihan said. “They’re getting a little more tenuous, and that is due to everything going on around them.”
    The same is true for small- and medium-sized businesses, the Bank of America CEO said. His company is the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, after JPMorgan Chase. Moynihan and other bank CEOs have a bird’s-eye view of the economy, given their coast-to-coast coverage of households and companies.
    Business owners are saying, “‘I still feel good about my overall business, but I’m not hiring as much. I’m not buying equipment as fast. I’m not making software purchases as fast,'” Moynihan said.
    The bank’s economists believe that inflation will take until the end of next year to get under control and that the Fed will begin cutting interest rates later this year, Moynihan said. The U.S. economy will probably grow at around a 2% level, avoiding recession, he added.

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    Fed’s Williams says inflation is too high but will start coming down soon

    New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams speaks to Economic Club of New York, in New York City, U.S., May 30, 2024. 
    Andrew Kelly | Reuters

    NEW YORK — New York Federal Reserve President John Williams on Thursday said inflation is still too high, but he is confident it will start decelerating later this year.
    With markets on edge over the direction of monetary policy, Williams offered no clear indication of his position on possible interest rate cuts. Instead, he reiterated recent positions from the central bank that it has seen a “lack of further progress” toward its goals as inflation readings have been mostly higher than expected this year.

    “The honest answer is, I just don’t know,” Williams said during a Q-and-A session with CNBC’s Sara Eisen before the Economic Club of New York. “I do think that monetary policy is restrictive and is bringing the economy a better balance. So I think at some point, interest rates within the US will, based on data analysis, eventually need to come down. But the timing will be driven by how well you achieve your goals.”
    Williams called the policy “well-positioned” and “restrictive” and said it is helping the Fed achieve its goals. Regarding potential rate hikes, he said, “I don’t see that as the likely case.”
    Earlier this year, markets had expected aggressive rate cuts from the Fed this year. But higher-than-expected inflation readings have altered that landscape dramatically, and current pricing is pointing to just one decrease, probably in November.
    “With the economy coming into better balance over time and the disinflation taking place in other economies reducing global inflationary pressures, I expect inflation to resume moderating in the second half of this year,” Williams said. “But let me be clear: Inflation is still above our 2% longer-run target, and I am very focused on ensuring we achieve both of our dual mandate goals.”
    For nearly a year, the Fed has been in a holding pattern, keeping its benchmark borrowing rate between 5.25% and 5.5%, the highest in more than 23 years.

    The Fed is seeking to keep the labor market strong and bring inflation back to its 2% target. Most inflation indicators are near 3% now, and a key reading from the Commerce Department is due Friday.
    Inflation as measured through the Fed’s preferred yardstick — the personal consumption expenditures price index — is expected to come in at 2.7% for April, according to the Dow Jones estimate. Williams said he expects PCE inflation to drift down to 2.5% this year on its way back to 2% in 2026.
    “We have seen a great deal of progress toward our goals over the past two years. I am confident that we will restore price stability and set the stage for sustained economic prosperity. We are committed to getting the job done,” he said.

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    Hiring stays strong for low earners, Vanguard finds

    Hiring has been resilient for workers in lower-paying jobs, according to a new Vanguard analysis.
    Meanwhile, it has waned for higher earners.
    The overall job market has cooled but remains strong. There are signs of a recent pickup, one economist said.

    Pixelseffect | E+ | Getty Images

    For lower-earning Americans, the pace of hiring remains strong, holding steady above its pre-pandemic baseline even as the demand for higher-income workers has waned slightly, according to new data from Vanguard.
    The hire rate for the bottom one-third of workers by income, those who earn less than $55,000 a year, was 1.5% in March, the rate at which it’s largely hovered since September 2023, according to a new Vanguard analysis.

    More from Personal Finance:A.I. on a collision course with white-collar, high-paid jobsSome jobs still seeing relatively big annual raisesHow to spot and overcome ‘ghost’ jobs
    The hires rate gauges the number of new hires against a share of existing employees.
    By comparison, that rate for the lower third of workers by income was lower — hovering between 1.2% and 1.3% — in the months leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, Vanguard found.
    “This is partly a reflection of lower-paying service industries still trying to recover from the COVID shock — a challenge since many of those workers have transitioned to higher-paying opportunities,” Adam Schickling, a senior Vanguard economist, said in the analysis.
    Vanguard is among the nation’s largest 401(k) plan administrators. Its analysis is based on new enrollments in its 401(k) plans.

    High-paying industries take a ‘cautious approach’

    Meanwhile, higher earners have seen hiring decline modestly.
    Workers with incomes of $55,000 to $102,000 saw their hiring rate decline to 0.5% in March from 0.6% in September. And those earning over $102,000 saw a bigger fall, from 0.6% in September 2023 to 0.4% in March, Vanguard said.

    Higher-paying industries are “taking a considerably more cautious approach to hiring relative to the hectic 2021 to 2022 hiring surge,” Schickling said.

    Health-care and hospitality sectors are booming

    Conversely, hiring has boomed in sectors like health care and hospitality, which tend to be lower-paying industries, said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.
    For example, there’s been significant demand for home caregivers, certified nursing assistants, medical technicians, patient transporters and other hospital positions, Pollak said. The health-care field has added more than 750,000 total jobs over the last year, a “huge, huge number” and about triple its pre-pandemic growth, Pollak added.
    She said the pandemic also created a “FOMO economy” that boosted travel spending and, therefore, increased demand for jobs in hotels and other accommodation gigs.
    “And these jobs can’t be automated,” which might insulate such workers from attempts at thinning out staffing that can result from company experimentation with artificial intelligence, she said.

    Data points to ‘a pretty hot 2024’

    The job market has broadly cooled from its scorching pace since 2022 after the U.S. economy reopened.
    The U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates to their highest level in two decades to pump the economic brakes and rein in inflation. It’s unclear when the Fed might reduce borrowing costs.
    However, the labor market remains strong and resilient by many metrics — and may be strengthening, Pollak said.
    “I think a lot of the data points to a pretty hot 2024,” Pollak said. “The slowdown we saw in 2023 has not continued. Things have either stabilized or ticked up.”

    Certain tailwinds seem to be propelling the labor market forward. For one, the “much-anticipated recession” didn’t materialize, and companies that took a wait-and-see approach regarding hiring and business investment now feel more confident about growing again, Pollak said.   
    Additionally, 2024 is the start of “peak retirement,” she said. The largest cohort of baby boomers is poised to reach age 65 between now and 2030.
    This means companies must recruit a big wave of next-generation talent to replace departing workers, Pollak said.
    However, risks remain in the near term.
    Job openings have declined substantially from their pandemic-era peak, though they remain elevated from historic levels. Such a sharp decline in job openings without a corresponding jump in unemployment “is unprecedented, singular, and exceptional” in the post-war era, Nick Bunker, North American economic research director at job site Indeed, wrote earlier this month.
    “But it’s not clear how much longer this miraculous trend can continue,” he wrote.

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    Pending home sales in April slump to lowest level since the start of the pandemic

    Pending home sales in April fell to their slowest pace since April 2020.
    Sales were down in every region of the country, but they fell hardest in the Midwest and West.
    Higher mortgage rates had an effect: The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage ended March at around 6.9% and then took off, hitting 7.5% by the end of April, according to Mortgage News Daily.

    A “sale pending” sign is posted in front of a home for sale in San Anselmo, California, on Nov. 30, 2023.
    Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images

    Signed sales contracts on existing homes dropped 7.7% in April compared to March, the slowest pace since April 2020, according to the National Association of Realtors.
    These so-called pending sales are a forward-looking indicator of closed sales one to two months later. Pending sales were 7.4% lower than in April of last year.

    Sales were expected to be flat compared to March.
    Since the count is based on signed contracts, it shows how buyers are reacting to mortgage rates in real time. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage ended March at around 6.9% and then took off, hitting 7.5% by the end of April, according to Mortgage News Daily.
    With home prices still climbing and supply very low, leading to increased competition, that jump in rates had a huge effect on sales.
    “The impact of escalating interest rates throughout April dampened home buying, even with more inventory in the market,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR. “But the Federal Reserve’s anticipated rate cut later this year should lead to better conditions, with improved affordability and more supply.”
    Sales were down in every region of the country, but they fell hardest in the Midwest and West. The former has some of the most affordable markets in the nation, and the latter has some of the most expensive.

    “The prospect of measurable home price declines appears minimal. The few markets experiencing price declines will be viewed as second-chance opportunities for buyers to enter the market if those regions continue to add jobs,” Yun added.
    Perhaps in reaction to the slow sales pace in April, the share of sellers cutting prices in May hit 6.4%, the highest level since 2022, according to a new report from Redfin. The median asking price also dropped for the first time in six months.
    Active inventory in April was 30% higher than in April 2023, according to Realtor.com, which suggests the summer market could be more active than last year.
    “Though inventory and prices are moving in a more buyer-friendly direction, lower mortgage rates will be crucial in bringing both buyers and sellers back into the market,” said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst with Realtor.com.

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    Foot Locker stock surges 13% as turnaround shows signs of life

    Foot Locker on Thursday posted better-than-expected comparable sales as CEO Mary Dillon’s turnaround plan shows signs that it’s beginning to bear fruit.
    The former Ulta boss said average selling prices increased during the quarter, proving that consumers are willing to pay full price for the right product.
    The sneaker company has been working to reverse an ongoing sales slump by revamping its stores and winning back brands.

    Foot Locker’s turnaround is starting to bear some fruit. 
    The sneaker giant saw comparable sales decline 1.8% during its fiscal first quarter, far better than the 3.1% drop-off that analysts expected, according to StreetAccount. 

    The company also reaffirmed its fiscal year guidance, which projects sales to be between a 1% decline and a 1% gain, compared with a decline of 0.6% that analysts had forecast, according to LSEG. 
    Here’s how the company did compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

    Earnings per share: 22 cents adjusted vs. 12 cents expected 
    Revenue: $1.88 billion vs. $1.88 billion expected

    Foot Locker’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended May 4 was $8 million, or 9 cents per share, compared with $36 million, or 38 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusting for one-time items, including impairments associated with certain store closures and restructuring, among other costs, Foot Locker reported earnings of 22 cents per share.
    Sales dropped to $1.88 billion, down about 3% from $1.93 billion a year earlier. 
    For the full year, Foot Locker expects adjusted earnings per share to be between $1.50 and $1.70, ahead of estimates of $1.57, according to LSEG. 

    The company is expecting comparable sales growth of between 1% and 3%, ahead of the 1.5% growth that analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount. 
    “We had a solid start to the year in the first quarter, which demonstrates that our Lace Up Plan is working,” CEO Mary Dillon told CNBC in an interview. “The reason I feel confident — we’re launching an enhanced FLX rewards program, so we have a lot of opportunity with rewards. We’re launching a revamped mobile app, which we know is a great way to drive customer engagement and commerce and we see growth opportunities … with all of our brand partners throughout the year, including returning to growth with Nike in the holiday quarter.” 

    Dillon, the former CEO of Ulta Beauty, has been working to turn Foot Locker around, but those efforts have taken longer than expected. 
    Sales have consistently fallen as the retailer contends with a low-income consumer who has felt the brunt of inflation more acutely than other shoppers.
    The company is also contending with mercurial brand partners, such as Nike, which has pulled back on the number of new releases to Foot Locker’s stores. In April, Nike CEO John Donahoe acknowledged that the brand went too far when it iced out wholesalers in favor of its own stores and website. Donahoe told CNBC that Nike is “investing heavily with our retail partners” as it goes through its own turnaround effort. 
    Foot Locker’s Champs Sports banner has also been weighing down the overall business, with comparable sales down a staggering 13.4% during the quarter and overall revenue down almost 19%.
    Foot Locker had to rely on promotions to drive sales and has lost Wall Street’s confidence, with shares down about 28% year to date as of Wednesday’s close. 
    However, things are starting to look up for the company. 
    While Foot Locker’s core consumers are still under pressure from inflation, Dillon said the company’s average selling price rose during the quarter, proving that its consumers are willing to pay full price for the right product. 
    “Our consumer … this is a category that is very important to them. So when people have discretionary income, it may be limited, but you’re gonna prioritize where you spend it, right?” said Dillon. “So they’re prioritizing, but I’d say spending with purpose.”
    Dillon has also been working to revamp Foot Locker’s stores, where it still does about 80% of its annual sales. She’s built new, off-mall locations, closed underperforming stores and refreshed existing locations. With these changes, the plan was to entice brands to send their best products and consumers to choose Foot Locker instead of shopping with a brand directly or going to a competitor, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods. 
    In April, the retailer unveiled its “store of the future,” completely revamping the old-school Foot Locker format and serving as a model for its store refreshes. 
    “Instead of a wall of shoes, it’s really a house of brands,” said Dillon. “And I think it’s coming to life in a way that our brand partners are thrilled with. We’ve heard that from everybody.” More

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    Best Buy posts another quarter of sluggish consumer electronics demand

    Best Buy missed Wall Street’s quarterly sales expectations on Thursday as softer demand for consumer electronics persisted.
    However, the retailer beat on earnings per share and stuck by its full-year forecast.
    Best Buy has noticed a pullback in purchases of discretionary items as consumers manage higher costs because of inflation.

    A Best Buy store stands outside of a Brooklyn mall on August 29, 2023 in New York City.
    Spencer Platt | Getty Images

    Best Buy on Thursday missed Wall Street’s quarterly sales expectations but stressed higher profits and lower costs as softer demand for consumer electronics continues. Shares of the retailer jumped almost 10% in premarket trading.
    The retailer beat on earnings per share and stuck by its full-year forecast. It expects revenue to range from $41.3 billion to $42.6 billion for the full year, which would mark a drop from the most recently ended fiscal year when full-year revenue totaled $43.45 billion. The company said comparable sales will range from flat to a 3% decline.

    On an earnings call, CEO Corie Barry said Best Buy expects 2024 “to be a year of increasing industry stabilization,” echoing remarks the company first made in February. She said the retailer expects sales trends to “sequentially improve” in the next three quarters.
    But, she added, the retailer still faces many challenges, including persistent inflation, high mortgage rates and a hangover from outsized tech spending during the pandemic.
    Here’s how Best Buy did in its fiscal first quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

    Earnings per share: $1.20 adjusted vs. $1.08 expected
    Revenue: $8.85 billion vs. $8.96 billion expected

    The company’s net income for the three-month period that ended May 4 rose slightly to $246 million, or $1.13 per share, from $244 million, or $1.11 per share, a year earlier. Adjusting for one-time items, including restructuring charges, Best Buy reported earnings of $1.20 per share.
    Net sales dropped to $8.85 billion from $9.47 billion in the year-ago period.

    Best Buy’s sales have been sluggish, as the company deals with the aftermath of roughly two years of unusually high sales during the Covid pandemic. The retailer has been in the middle of a waiting game for the replacement cycle of laptops, kitchen appliances and more to normalize and for the debut of new tech gadgets to push customers to its stores and website.
    Barry said on the earnings call that new devices will help lift excitement and sales. For example, she pointed to new Apple iPads and Microsoft laptops with the company’s Copilot artificial intelligence tool built in. Plus, she said, the company plans to have a series of sales events from July through mid-September focused on students and parents who are shopping for laptops and other items for back-to-school.
    Like other retailers, Best Buy has noticed a pullback in purchases of discretionary items as consumers manage higher costs because of inflation.
    Barry said customers continue to seek value and hold back when it comes to pricier purchases. She said the quarter was more promotional than expected in both the number of deals and size of discounts, with especially high promotions in certain categories like major appliances.
    The company said it saw growth in its services and laptop categories.
    Comparable sales, a metric that includes sales online and at stores open at least 14 months, declined 6.1% compared with the year-ago period. CFO Matt Bilunas said on the company’s earnings call that comparable sales declined 4.5% in February and dropped by 7% in both March and April.
    In the U.S., comparable sales dropped 6.3% and online sales tumbled 6.1% year over year. Even so, online sales accounted for nearly one-third of total U.S. revenue in the quarter.
    The company has looked to newer businesses, including its subscription-based membership program. It relaunched My Best Buy as a three-tier program in late June. The lowest tier of the program is free, but the top tier costs $179.99 per year for perks like round-the-clock tech support, up to two years of product protection and 20% off repairs, among other benefits.
    The Minneapolis-based retailer has also slashed spending. Earlier this year, Barry said the company would lay off workers and cut costs across the business. She did not specify the number of layoffs, but said Best Buy would invest in areas that could drive growth, like artificial intelligence.
    Best Buy said it spent $15 million on restructuring costs during the quarter, primarily related to severance or similar pay for employees who lost their jobs. It said it does not expect to have any other significant charges related to those layoffs, which began in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter.
    As of early February, Best Buy had more than 85,000 employees. That’s down from the nearly 125,000 workers that it had in early 2020 and the more than 90,000 employees it had in early 2023, according to company financial filings.
    The company also said in late February that it would close 10 to 15 stores in the fiscal year, after shutting 24 stores in the previous one.
    Meanwhile Barry said the company is updating the look of stores across the chain. She said the “refreshes” aren’t as costly as full store remodels, which allows the company to improve all locations rather than a limited number.
    It is also leaning on vendors as it trims back its workforce. For example, she said, Samsung is providing more experts in appliance departments across hundreds of Best Buy stores.
    Best Buy on Thursday adjusted its full-year capital expenditures forecast to an estimate of $750 million, down from as much as $800 million.
    Shares of Best Buy closed on Wednesday at $71.90, bringing the company’s market value to about $15 billion. As of Wednesday’s close, the company’s stock is down about 8% year-to-date, trailing behind the S&P 500’s gains of about 10%. More

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    Boeing’s 90 days to hand in a safety plan to the FAA are up. Here’s what to expect

    Boeing’s departing CEO Dave Calhoun and other top leaders are scheduled to meet with the Federal Aviation Administration to present its safety plan.
    The FAA in February gave Boeing 90 days to come up with a quality improvement plan in the wake of a near-catastrophic door plug blowout in January.
    Boeing plans to spell out improvements in employee training, platforms for workers’ concerns and the reduction of out-of-sequence work.

    Boeing 737 Max 8 fuselages manufactured by Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kansas are transported on a BSNF train heading west over the Bozeman Pass March 12, 2019 in Bozeman, Montana. 
    William Campbell | Corbis News | Getty Images

    Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun and other top company leaders are scheduled to meet with the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday to present a quality improvement plan showing better staff training and production practices at its factories.
    The FAA ordered the report following a near-catastrophic blowout of an airplane door panel on a new 737 Max 9 earlier this year.

    At the end of February, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker, who is scheduled to join the meeting with Boeing’s leadership on Thursday, gave the company 90 days to come up with a quality improvement plan after the incident on an Alaska Airlines flight in early January.
    Federal safety investigators found that bolts appeared to not have been installed to hold the panel in place before the plane was delivered to Alaska Airlines.
    The FAA also barred Boeing from increasing 737 Max production until the agency was satisfied with Boeing’s quality control improvements. That limitation isn’t likely to be reversed on Thursday.
    The crisis has again tarnished Boeing’s reputation, opened it to more federal scrutiny and forced it to slow 737 Max output. The aircraft delays have meant airline customers like United and Southwest have had to change their growth plans.
    Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West on May 23 said that the company expects to burn cash this year instead of generating it. For the current quarter alone, Boeing expects to use about $4 billion.

    Boeing executives have acknowledged that the 90-day plan won’t turn things around immediately.
    “The 90-day plan … is not a finish line,” West said at an investor conference last week. “We look forward to the feedback that we’ll get after next week.” 
    Boeing’s update Thursday is expected to detail its improvements to staff training, such as simplified instructions for mechanics and tool availability, as well as the reduction of so-called traveled work, where required tasks on the planes are done out of sequence.
    The manufacturer is also set to explain more about its factory “stand-downs,” in which it paused work to have conversations about potential improvements on production lines with employees. The manufacturer implemented those brief work pauses in the months after the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout.
    Calhoun, who said he would step down by the end of the year, told staff in April that the company has received more than 30,000 “ideas on how we can improve” and that “speak up submissions” — concerns raised by staff — and comments were up 500% over 2023.

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    Kohl’s stock plummets 20% after massive earnings miss

    Kohl’s posted a quarterly loss and missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations for the first quarter.
    The retailer also also lowered its forecast for the full year.
    The company noted strength in its Sephora shop-in-shop partnership. In March, Kohl’s struck a similar partnership with Babies R Us.

    Shoppers walk in front of a Kohl’s store in Mount Kisco, New York.
    Scott Mlyn | CNBC

    Kohl’s shares plummeted more than 20% in premarket trading Thursday after the company posted a surprise loss per share, coming in well below Wall Street’s expectations for a slight profit.
    Here’s how Kohl’s did in its fiscal first quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

    Loss per share: 24 cents vs. a profit of 4 cents expected
    Revenue: $3.18 billion vs. $3.34 billion expected

    Kohl’s reported a net loss of $27 million, or a loss of 24 cents per share, compared with a year-ago profit of $14 million, or 13 cents per share.
    Net sales decreased 5.3% to $3.18 billion compared with the year prior, with comparable sales down 4.4%.
    The company also lowered its 2024 guidance. It now expects full-year net sales to decline between 2% and 4%. Wall Street analysts polled by LSEG had been expecting its 2024 sales guidance to reflect a 0.2% gain.
    Kohl’s expects full-year diluted earnings per share in the range of $1.25 to $1.85 — far lower than the $2.34 per share expected, according to LSEG.
    “We recognize we have more work to do in areas of our business,” CEO Tom Kingsbury said in a release. “We are approaching our financial outlook for the year more conservatively given the first quarter underperformance and the ongoing uncertainty in the consumer environment.”

    Kingsbury noted positive trends in the women’s category and continued strong growth in the retailer’s Sephora shop-in-shop partnership. Kohl’s announced in March that it would add similar in-store outposts of Babies R Us to about 200 locations.
    “We continue to have high conviction in our strategy and believe that our key growth initiatives, including Sephora, home decor, gifting, impulse, and our upcoming partnership with Babies ‘R’ Us, will contribute more meaningfully going forward,” he said.
    This story is developing. Please check back for updates. More