Tags: Retailer | Guess | Williams-Sonoma | Outlook

Retailers Guess, Williams-Sonoma Stun Investors with Weak Outlooks

Wednesday, 27 August 2014 05:56 PM EDT

Shares of Williams-Sonoma Inc., the San Francisco-based seller of cookware and home furnishings, tumbled in late trading Wednesday after the retailer's third-quarter forecast missed analysts’ estimates.

Earnings will be 58 cents to 63 cents a share in the period, the company said in a statement. Analysts had predicted 66 cents on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The forecast raised concerns that Williams-Sonoma isn’t coping with a broader retail slump as well as expected. The company’s same-store sales had exceeded projections in the first quarter, benefiting from a rising housing market. In the most recent period, they grew 5.7 percent, missing the Consensus Metrix estimate of 6.2 percent.

At about 6 p.m. in New York, the stock was down 11.4 percent at $66.35, after trading as low as $65.54 in extended trading. The stock ended the regular session little changed at $74.89. The shares had gained almost 29 percent this year.

Williams-Sonoma wasn’t the only retailer offering a disappointing outlook Wednesday. Guess? Inc., the Los Angeles-based clothing chain, cut its annual profit forecast Wednesday to $1.05 to $1.20 a share. That was down from as much as $1.60.

Guess shares tumbled as much as 12 percent to $22.60 in late trading, but by 6 p.m. the shares had recovered to trade down 7.7 percent at $23.67. During the regular session, the stock fell less than 1 percent to close at $25.64.

The company blamed slow traffic in North America and reliance on promotions to drive sales. That’s “continued to put our brick and mortar stores under pressure,” Guess Chief Executive Officer Paul Marciano said in a statement.

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Shares of Williams-Sonoma Inc., the San Francisco seller of cookware and home furnishings, and Guess? Inc., the Los Angeles clothing chain, tumbled in late trading Wednesday after the retailers issued weak outlooks.
Retailer, Guess, Williams-Sonoma, Outlook
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2014-56-27
Wednesday, 27 August 2014 05:56 PM
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