As the Q3 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the department store industry, including Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) and its peers.
Department stores emerged in the 19th century to provide customers with a wide variety of merchandise under one roof, offering a convenient and luxurious shopping experience. They played an important role in the history of American retail and urbanization, and prior to department stores, retailers tended to sell narrow specialty and niche items. But what was once new is now old, and department stores are somewhat considered a relic of the past. They are being attacked from multiple angles–stagnant foot traffic at malls where they’ve served as anchors; more nimble off-price and fast-fashion retailers; and e-commerce-first competitors not burdened by large physical footprints.
The 4 department store stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.
While some department store stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 3.6% since the latest earnings results.
With stores located largely in the Southern and Western US, Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) is a department store chain that sells clothing, cosmetics, accessories, and home goods.
Dillard’s reported revenues of $1.45 billion, down 3.5% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, and overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
Dillard’s Chief Executive Officer William T. Dillard, II stated, “While retail sales declined 4%, we focused on gross margin, reporting a respectable 44.5% of sales, while working on expense control. We reported cash and short-term investments of over $1.1 billion after repurchasing $107 million in stock. We are looking forward to welcoming our customers and serving them this holiday season.”
The stock is up 31.2% since reporting and currently trades at $509.77.
Is now the time to buy Dillard’s? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Known for its exceptional customer service that features a ‘no questions asked’ return policy, Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) is a high-end department store chain.
Nordstrom reported revenues of $3.46 billion, up 4.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.3%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ gross margin estimates.
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