U.S. stock market indexes closed mixed on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 22,349.59. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 1.62 points to 2,502.22 and the Nasdaq Composite index was up 4.23 points to 6,426.92. The dollar index was down 0.23% at 92.23, while the U.S. 10-year bond yielded 2.254% and the German 10-year bond yielded 0.45%.
The Finish Line Inc. (FINL, Financial) shares gained more than 5.5% Friday after the company reported its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2017. The company posted adjusted EPS of 12 cents, in line with analysts' expectations. Revenue of $469.4 million missed estimates by $1.11 million and was down 3.2% from the year-ago quarter.
Sam Sato, CEO of the company was pleased with quarter results due to a very promotional marketplace for athletic footwear. He emphasized that amid headwinds affecting sales and margins, the company managed to mantain expenses and inventories in the right way. The retailer plans for a challenging environment in the near future, with Sato saying, “We are confident that the merchandise, digital, in-store and operational initiatives currently in place will allow us to achieve our current full year outlook and best position the company to deliver increased shareholder value over the long-term.”
Looking forward, the outlook remains unchanged from the last update, in which the scenario is a decrease on sales between 3-5%. Adjusted EPS is now expected to be between 50 cents to 60 cents for the 53-week fiscal year ending March 3, 2018, lower than previous guidance range of $1.12 to $1.23, and compared with adjusted earnings per share of $1.06 for the fiscal year ended Feb. 25, 2017, which was a 52-week year.
For the next quarter, the company expects comparable sales to decrease 3-5% and adjusted loss per share to be between minus 32 to 40 cents, compared with an adjusted loss per share of 24 cents for the same quarter of the prior year.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
