Kohl’s focused on ‘delivering comparable sales growth’ after Q4 earnings

Kohl’s Corp (NYSE: KSS) is trading up in premarket on Tuesday after reporting better-than-expected financial results for the fourth quarter.

Kohl’s guidance for the full year

Investors are cheering also because the retail chain issued upbeat guidance for the future. $KSS now forecasts net sales to be down 1.0% to up 1.0% on up to $2.70 of per-share earnings in fiscal 2024.

Analysts, in comparison, were at $2.37 a share. Tom Kingsbury – the chief executive of Kohl’s Corp said in a press release today:

We are incredibly focused on delivering comparable sales growth in 2024. Our strategic initiatives are positioned to build momentum and contribute more meaningfully.

The New York listed firm also announced a strategic partnership with WHP Global for Babies “R” Us on Tuesday. $KSS is now up roughly 15% versus its year-to-date low in mid-January.

Notable figures in Kohl’s Q4 earnings report

• Earned $186 million that translates to $1.67 per share
• Had $273 million in loss ($2.49 a share) last year
• Total revenue decreased 1% year-over-year to $5.96 billion
• Consensus was $1.24 a share on $5.77 billion in revenue
• Gross margin as percentage of sales printed at 32.4% – up 937 bps
• Comparable sales were down 4.3% as per the earnings report

Kohl’s ended its fourth quarter with $2.9 billion worth of inventory – down 10% on a year-over-year basis. CEO Kingsbury also said on Tuesday:

Through our collective efforts Kohl’s is becoming more relevant to customers, which strengthens our conviction in our longer-term opportunity.

Last month, Kohl’s announced 50 cents a share of quarterly cash dividend.