The U.S. stock market opened higher on Thursday, with the three main indexes in green. Among today's biggest movers is a retailer.
Shares of Guess Inc.(GES, Financial) were up approximately 16% in morning trading on the back of the company reporting better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter. EPS of 19 cents beat expectations by nine cents and revenue of $573.7 million beat estimates by $14.65 million and is up 5.3% year over year. In constant currency, net revenue increased 4.9%.
Moreover, the operating margin inched up 130 basis points and operating profit grew 49% from the prior-year quarter. Operations in Europe and Asia were good, with revenues growing 20% and 17% respectively. The principal reasons for this growth were new store openings, wholesale growth and positive comp sales. Americas retail revenues decreased 11.2% (10.8% in constant currency), Europe revenues increased 20.1% (18.8% in constant currency) and Asia revenues increased 17.5% (17.1% in constant currency).
Further, the company has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 22.5 cents per share. The current dividend yield is 7.28%.
The company’s expectations for the third quarter include EPS between eight cents and 11 cents and revenue growth in the range of 4% to 6%.
Gainers
Signet Jewelers Ltd. (SIG, Financial), Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR, Financial), Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO), PVH Corp. (PVH), Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA), Tiffany & Co. (TIF, Financial), TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) and Macy's Inc. (M, Financial).”‹
Losers
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL), Conagra Brands Inc. (CAG), Campbell Soup Co. (CPB), Kellogg Co. (K, Financial), Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ, Financial), ConocoPhillips (COP, Financial), Intuit Inc. (INTU), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) and SCANA Corp. (SCG, Financial).
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded higher. The FTSE 100, German DAX, French CAC 40 and IBEX 35 gained more than 0.5%.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and India’s BSE Sensex closed in green territory while China’s Shanghai Composite Index and Japan’s Nikkei closed down.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
