Foot Locker Tops Q4 Earnings Forecast, Misses on Comp Sales, Revenues

Foot Locker Inc.  (FL) - Get Report posted stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings Friday but weak holiday demand and tough competition in sports clothing markets held back same-store sales growth.

Foot Locker said earnings for the three months ending on February 1 came in at $1.63 per share, up 4.5% from the same period last year and well ahead of the Street consensus forecast of $1.54 per share. Group sales, Foot Locker said, slipped 2.2% to $2.221 billion, just shy of analysts' estimates of $2.24 billion tally. Same stores sales fell 1.6% over the fourth quarter, the company said, compared to the 1% decline forecast from Refinitiv.

Looking into the 2021 fiscal year, Foot Locker said it sees same-store sales rising by a low single-digit percentage rate, with earnings increasing in a low to mid-single digit range.

"While we had leading positions in key on-trend footwear styles, this was not enough to offset softer than expected demand during the compressed holiday season, a very promotional marketplace for apparel, and tougher launch comparisons," said CEO Richard Johnson.  

Foot Locker shares were marked 0.03% lower in pre-market trading immediately following the earnings release to indicate an opening bell price of $33.55 each, a move that would extend the stocks' six-month decline to around 6.1%.