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Kohl's shares plunge 15% as retailer gives rough outlook for the year ahead
KSSKohl’s(KSS) CNBC·2025-03-11 12:19

Core Insights - Kohl's reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter, but the stock plummeted due to significantly worse guidance for the upcoming year [1][2] Financial Performance - Fourth-quarter net sales were 5.18billion,downfrom5.18 billion, down from 5.71 billion in the same period of 2023 [5] - Full-year 2024 sales totaled 15.39billion,adecreasefrom15.39 billion, a decrease from 16.59 billion in 2023 [5] - Quarterly comparable sales fell 6.7% year over year, slightly better than the expected 6.8% decrease [5] - Net income for the fourth quarter was 48million,or43centspershare,comparedto48 million, or 43 cents per share, compared to 186 million, or 1.67pershare,inthefourthquarterof2023[6]−Adjustedearningspersharewere95cents,exceedingtheexpected73cents[7]FutureGuidance−For2025,Kohl′sexpectsrevenuetodeclineby51.67 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2023 [6] - Adjusted earnings per share were 95 cents, exceeding the expected 73 cents [7] Future Guidance - For 2025, Kohl's expects revenue to decline by 5% to 7%, compared to Wall Street's estimate of a 1.6% decrease [2] - The company projects comparable sales to fall by 4% to 6%, while analysts anticipated a 0.9% decrease [2] - Earnings per share guidance is set between 10 cents and 60 cents, missing the midpoint Wall Street estimate of 1.23 [2] Management Changes and Challenges - Kohl's appointed Ashley Buchanan as the new CEO, replacing Tom Kingsbury, who led the company for two years [3] - The company has cut nearly 10% of its corporate workforce and plans to close 27 underperforming stores by April [3] - The stock has fallen over 50% in the past year, reflecting broader concerns about consumer confidence and economic conditions [4]