Q1 2026 Kohls Corp Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Kohl's Corp (KSS) reported its best quarterly performance in over four years, with comparable sales down only 1.1% year-over-year.
- The company demonstrated strong expense discipline and inventory management, resulting in an improved balance sheet.
- Proprietary brands performed well, with a 6% increase in comparable sales, highlighting the strength of Kohl's exclusive offerings.
- Digital sales grew by 4%, driven by strategic investments in modernizing and enhancing the digital experience.
- Kohl's Corp (KSS) successfully stabilized its loyal Kohl's card customer base, achieving a flat comp in the quarter, a significant improvement from the previous quarter.
- Net sales declined by 1.7%, primarily due to a decrease in transactions, with the stores business underperforming.
- The Sephora at Kohl's business underperformed, running down low single digits, with makeup and skincare categories lagging.
- Men's and footwear categories underperformed, with expectations for improvements only in the second quarter.
- The company's guidance reflects a cautious outlook due to the current macroeconomic environment and choiceful discretionary spending by core consumers.
- Higher shipping costs from increased digital sales penetration offset some of the gross margin improvements from proprietary brand sales.
Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the Q1 2026 Kohl's Corporation earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) I will now hand the conference over to Trevor Novotny, Director of Investor Relations. Trevor, please go ahead.
Thank you. Certain statements made on this call, including those regarding our projected financial results, business outlook and future initiatives are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause Kohl's actual results to differ materially from those projected.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, with factors described in Item 1A of Kohl's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and as may be supplemented from time to time in Kohl's other filings with the SEC, all of which are expressly incorporated here by reference.
Forward-looking statements relate to the date initially made, and Kohl's undertakes no
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