J.C. Penney Goes Negative

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

J.C. Penney (NYS: JCP) reported earnings on May 15. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 28 (Q1), J.C. Penney missed estimates on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped significantly and GAAP earnings per share dropped to a loss.


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
J. C. Penney logged revenue of $3.15 billion. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for revenue of $3.42 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 20% lower than the prior-year quarter's $3.94 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at -$0.25. The 10 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated -$0.06 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.75 for Q1 versus $0.28 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 37.6%, 290 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -4.8%, 910 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -5.2%, 680 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.49 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.04.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $16.19 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.65.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 570 members out of 797 rating the stock outperform, and 227 members rating it underperform. Among 201 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 149 give J.C. Penney a green thumbs-up, and 52 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on J.C. Penney is hold, with an average price target of $40.07.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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