Rough Christmas Coming for Pier 1

Pier 1's(PIR Quote) third-quarter earnings inched up from a year ago on a 10% rise in overall sales, but the company is struggling with weak traffic in the current quarter and earnings will fall well short of estimates.

The wicker furniture retailer earned $32.2 million, or 35 cents a share, on sales of $482.4 million in the latest quarter, compared with earnings of $31.1 million, or 33 cents a share, on sales of $438.5 million last year. Same-store sales rose 1.6%.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had been forecasting earnings of 35 cents a share on sales of $482.5 million. ...