What's in Store for Genesco's Earnings?

Tomorrow, Genesco will release its latest quarterly results. With the stock having set new all-time highs throughout the past year, investors are hoping that the good times will continue for quite a while longer.

Genesco is an almost unknown company, as a holding company with several different segments. Many shoppers are more familiar with its brand names, which include the Johnston and Murphy line of dress shoes and luggage and accessories for business shoppers, as well as Lids Sports and Journeys. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Genesco over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

Stats on Genesco

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

How will Genesco's earnings fare this quarter?
Analysts have been bearish on Genesco's short-term earnings outlook, marking down April-quarter estimates by $0.16 per share over the past few months. But they've held steady to a penny higher on their views for the current and next fiscal years, and that's been enough to push the stock up 14% since late February.

Much of the pessimism regarding the just-ended quarter came from Genesco's conference call following its fourth-quarter earnings release in March. In large part because of the strike in the National Hockey League, the company's Lids Sports segment suffered a 10% decline in same-store sales during the fourth quarter, and Genesco believes that the segment will continue to struggle during the first half of this year as well. In addition, both Journeys and Lids could suffer from higher payroll taxes in the U.S., although it's unclear whether consumers will get used to those higher taxes or whether they'll continue to weigh on disposable income in the future.

But the company hasn't given up on its growth prospects. Canada has been an increasingly important market for Genesco, with 30 new stores during the past fiscal year resulting in a total of 127 locations. Similarly, the company's Schuh chain in the U.K. has been growing quickly, with Genesco accelerating plans to open new stores over the past year.

The shoe business has been challenging for both Genesco and its peers. With notoriously fickle consumers following changing fashion trends, style leaderDeckers Outdoor has seen extreme volatility over the past year as customers lost interest in brand offerings like Teva and UGG. Crocs has seen a similar stock-price trajectory, with a late-2012 slump giving way to a big recovery in recent months on hopes that the company's amazing recovery from its near-failure in the mid-2000s can continue.

In Genesco's report, watch closely to see how the late-winter and early-spring months have treated each of its various segments. With the NHL back in action, Lids can hope for a recovery, but one key will be whether the shoe businesses can continue to drive growth into the future.

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The article What's in Store for Genesco's Earnings? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter @DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool owns shares of Crocs. 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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