Resources

August 28, 2014 Dollar General made the case for the superiority of its Family Dollar takeover bid with the release of second quarter results that revealed consistency as well as some deceleration in sales and profit growth. Sales at the company’s more than 11,500 stores increased 7.5% to slightly more than $4.7 billion due to... Read more »

August 25, 2014 Sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 2.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 412,000 units in July, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.  Sales Numbers for June were revised up 16,000 to 422,000. “We are somewhat... Read more »

August 14, 2014 Walmart met low second quarter sales and profit expectations it set for itself, but significantly lowered its full year outlook due to a tepid third quarter sales forecast and increased e-commerce and health care costs. Total company sales increased 2.8% to $119.3 billion while same store sales at U.S. stores and Sam’s... Read more »

August 22, 2014 Although same-store sales at Gap were flat in the second quarter, the company reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, buoyed by strong sales at Old Navy, and raised its full-year profit forecast as a result. Net profit rose to $332 million in the quarter from $303 million a year ago. Revenue increased 3%... Read more »

August 21, 2014 Describing second quarter earnings as “unacceptable,” Sears Holdings chairman and CEO Edward Lampert added that his company’s transformation is continuing and online sales are growing. The company reported second quarter net loss of $573 million, compared with a loss of $194 million in the same quarter last year.  Revenues decreased $858 million... Read more »

August 20, 2014 Staples chairman and CEO Ron Sargent said that the company has more work to do to stabilize its retail business, following a 20% decline in net income to $81.88 million for the second quarter, from $102.53 million in the prior year. Sargent added that the company will continue taking steps toward improving... Read more »

August 15, 2014 Despite an increase of 1% in comparable store sales, Dillard’s CEO William T. Dillard II expressed disappointment in the company’s bottom line performance. The company’s net sales for the 13 weeks ended August 2 were $1.475 billion, compared to net sales of $1.480 billion for the 13 weeks ended August 3, 2013. ... Read more »

August 21, 2014 The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.9 percent in July to 102.2, following a 0.6 percent increase in June, and a 0.6 percent increase in May. “The LEI improved sharply in July, suggesting that the economy is gaining traction and growth and should continue at a strong... Read more »

August 21, 2014 Dollar Tree delivered its 26th consecutive quarter of positive comparable store sales growth in the second quarter, but profit declined 2.6% thanks to increased freight costs and investments in higher-value products. Consolidated comparable store sales increased 4.5% on a constant currency basis.  Adjusted for the impact of Canadian currency fluctuations, the comparable... Read more »