Foot Locker in Race for Survival as It Reports Earnings Friday

The specialty retailer's earnings will give a read on the sector, as will expected earnings from Abercrombie & Fitch.
By U-Jin Lee ,

Two retailers are the main event for earnings on Friday before the open -- Foot Locker (FL) - Get Report and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) - Get Report . Both will give a read on the state of retail.

Foot Locker is of particular interest. Wall Street thinks the footwear company will earn a profit of 94 cents a share on revenue of under $2 billion. This quarter's results are expected to show a growth from last year's quarter. Last year Foot Locker earned 82 cents a share on revenue of $1.73 billion for the period.

Here's why analysts believe the recent quarter will show an earnings increase: The company has a strong portfolio of leading brands that continuously meet consumer demand. Foot Locker has also been investing in remodel its stores, which could lift earnings. One downside is currency fluctuations since Foot Locker brings in a great amount of sales from abroad.

TheStreet's Portfolio Analyst Scott Berman said, "I think we're going to get a deeper look into the entire retail market. So, we get Abercrombie & Fitch and Foot Locker. Now, these companies are a bit more targeted towards a certain group -- Abercrombie & Fitch towards teens, Foot Locker towards shoes, whereas the big department stores that focus on a broad range of apparel did not perform well. So, it'll be pretty interesting to see how these companies do since they're targeted towards specific groups."

On the economic calendar, St. Louis Federal Reserve head James Bullard gives a speech on the economy and monetary policy at 9 a.m. ET in Arkansas.

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