logo-loader

Higher or lower - are prices right for US retailers?

Last updated: 09:57 17 Aug 2016 EDT, First published: 04:57 17 Aug 2016 EDT

Urban Outfitters shop front
Shares in Urban Outfitters jumped 15% after its second quarter results beat analyst forecasts

Several US retail giants released their quarterly results on Wednesday, and it’s fair to say it was a bit of a mixed bag.

DIY and home improvement retailer Lowe’s Companies, Inc (NYSE:LOW) saw shares tumble by more than 5% after it missed analyst expectations for its second quarter results.

The North Carolina-based firm reported adjusted profit of US$1.37 per share, 5 cents below estimates, while revenue missed forecasts as well.

Lowe’s did see like-for-like sales rise by 2%, although this was half of what analysts were expecting.

Despite matching expectations with its adjusted quarterly profit of 12 cents, Staples, Inc’s (NASDAQ:SPLS) revenue fell slightly below what analysts had forecast.

Sales at the office supply specialist dropped for the 14th quarter in a row, which prompted a 6% dip in the price of the stock.

If any company was the definition of ‘mixed bag’ today, it was the supermarket giant Target Corp (NYSE:TGT).

America’s second-largest discount retailer earned an adjusted profit of US$1.23 per share in the second quarter of this year, above estimates of US$1.12.

Revenue was broadly in line with expectations, although comparable-store sales fell 1.1%, slightly over the predicted 1% drop.

Shares were off nearly 7% in early trading after Target also lowered its like-for-like sales forecasts for the second half of this year.

There was some better news for clothes retailer Urban Outfitters, Inc (NASDAQ:URBN), with shares rocketing up 15% on the back of its results for the three months to the end of June.

The firm posted a profit of 66 cents per share for the period, 10 cents above estimates, while revenue also beat Wall Street forecasts.

Urban Outfitters also saw an improvement in profits as well, thanks primarily due to fewer promotions.

Australian Strategic Materials signs US$600 million LoI

Rowena Smith, CEO and managing director of Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX:ASM, OTC:ASMMF), joins Jonathan Jackson in the Proactive studio to discuss the company’ s Dubbo Project, in Central West New South Wales. This project aims to extract and process critical minerals and rare earth...

3 hours, 58 minutes ago