Shoppers exit the Nordstrom at the Westfield Topanga mall on August 14, 2023.
Christina House | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
Nordstrom’s holiday-quarter sales topped Wall Street’s expectations on Tuesday, but the retailer gave a muted outlook for the year ahead.
The Seattle-based company said it plans to open new Nordstrom Rack stores and drive higher online and in-store sales in the coming year. Yet it said full-year revenue, including retail sales and credit cards, will range from a 2% decline to a 1% gain compared with the previous year. That forecast includes a more than 1% hit from having one fewer week in the fiscal year.
Nordstrom said it expects earnings per share of between $1.65 and $2.05 for the full year. That would be higher than its most recent fiscal year, which saw earnings per share of $1.51, the retailer said Tuesday.
Shares of Nordstrom fell about 10% in extended trading following the report.
Here’s what the department store operator reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:
- Adjusted earnings per share: 96 cents vs. 88 cents expected
- Revenue: $4.42 billion vs. $4.39 billion expected
Like other retailers, Nordstrom has felt the squeeze from consumers becoming choosier and more price-conscious while dealing with inflation and higher interest rates. It has also struggled with company-specific problems, such as lagging sales at its off-price retailer, Nordstrom Rack, and too much of the wrong inventory, which led to higher levels of markdowns.
In the fiscal quarter that ended Feb. 3, Nordstrom’s quarterly revenue rose about 2% from $4.32 billion in the year-ago period. It attributed approximately $190 million of those sales to having an extra week in the fiscal year.
Nordstrom’s net income rose to $134 million, or 82 cents per share, from $119 million, or 74 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding a supply chain impairment charge and other adjustments, earnings per share were 96 cents.
Net sales for the company’s namesake banner declined 3% in the fourth quarter compared with the year-ago period. That includes a 4.1% lift from the extra week of the fiscal year. The company’s winddown of its Canadian business took a bite out of sales, however, causing net sales to drop by more than 3%. The company announced a year ago that it would shut down its stores and online operations in Canada.
Nordstrom Rack, the company’s off-price brand, was the strongest performer in the holiday quarter. Its net sales rose 14.6%, including a 5.8% boost from the extra week in the year.
In the fourth quarter, women’s apparel, beauty and the active category had the strongest growth year over year.
Online sales dropped 1.7% in the fourth quarter compared with the year-ago period. E-commerce represented 38% of total sales during the quarter, down from 40% in the same period a year earlier, and 36% for the fiscal year, down from 38% in fiscal year 2022.
As of Tuesday’s close, Nordstrom shares are up about 6% over the past year. That’s underperformed the approximately 25% gains of the S&P 500. Nordstrom’s stock closed on Tuesday at $20.90, bringing the company’s market value to about $3.4 billion.
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