Sears stock higher as retailer narrows losses, says more stores to close
Shares of Sears Holdings Corp. rose more than 7% in the extended session Thursday after the retailer narrowed its second-quarter losses and said it would continue to close stores. Sears said it lost $508 million, or $4.68 a share, in the quarter, compared with a loss of $250 million, or $2.33 a share, in the second quarter of 2017. Sales fell to $3.2 billion, compared with $4.3 billion a year ago, thanks to store closures, the company said. Comparable-store sales fell 3.9% in the quarter, reflecting Kmart same-store sales down 3.7% and Sears comparable-store sales declining 4%. Sears executives “have yet to achieve our goal of returning the company to profitability. We continue to close unprofitable stores, and we are hopeful that we can stabilize our store base at a meaningful level in the near future,” Chief Executive Edward S. Lampert said in a statement. “Our goal is to right-size our store footprint to a solid base from which we can operate and grow profitably, while leveraging our online and Shop Your Way platforms.” One Wall Street analyst covers Sears Holdings stock, according to FactSet, and the provider does not have revenue and earnings expectations compiled for the company. Shares ended the regular trading session down 9%. The stock has lost 66% this year, which compares with advances of 9% and 6% for the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.