Gap Posts Holiday Season Loss

And Ulta Beauty grows, but not much.

Steven Lerner 10.Mar.2023

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Gap Posts Holiday Season Loss

Shares of Gap (NYSE: GPS) dropped by 8.20% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the clothing and accessories retailer posted bad financial results.

Financials: Gap reported a loss of 75 cents per share in the past quarter and revenue of $4.24 billion; both were below estimates.

Details: Net sales during the fourth quarter dropped 6% year-over-year, with same-store sales declining by 3% and online sales decreasing by 10%.

Also: Gap also announced that a few executives were departing. The company still hasn't filled its vacant CEO role, but it hopes to do so soon.

Outlook: Net sales during the current quarter are also expected to decline year-over-year.

Stock Price: Gap stock is down 18% in the last 12 months.

Final Thoughts: The previous quarter was the holiday season and it was meant to be a strong shopping period. But Gap fell way short. There are still major leadership questions.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Lion Electric (NYSE: LEV), Target Hospitality (Nasdaq: TH), Embraer (NYSE: ERJ), Buckle (NYSE: BKE), Airsculpt Technologies (Nasdaq: AIRS), Century Casinos (Nasdaq: CNTY), Genius Sports (NYSE: GENI), JinkoSolar Holding (NYSE: JKS).

Notable IPOs Today: N/A.

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: N/A.

Notable Economic Events Today: Unemployment Rate (8:30 a.m. ET), Unemployment Rate (8:30 a.m. ET), Average Hourly Earnings (8:30 a.m. ET), Federal Budget Balance (2:00 p.m. ET).

Oracle Grows, But Still Not Enough

Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) posted mixed financial results in after-hours trading on Thursday, which sent the stock down by 4.05%.

Financials: Oracle reported earnings of $1.22 per share in the past quarter, which was better than expected. But revenue only hit $12.4 billion, which was below estimates.

Growth: NetSuite revenue increased by 23%, Fusion Cloud ERP revenue increased by 25%, Cloud Revenue increased by 45%, and Cloud Infrastructure revenue increased by 55%.

Also: Oracle is also increasing its quarterly dividend by 25%.

Stock Price: The stock is up 13% in the past 12 months, but is about even in the last 30 days.

Final Thoughts: Revenue was the big problem for Oracle in the quarter. The strengthening of the US dollar compared to foreign currencies was also a problem. Oracle hopes that its cloud business can grow, which would please investors.

Ulta Beauty Faces Growth Slowdown

Despite strong financial results, shares of Ulta Beauty (Nasdaq: ULTA) ticked down by 1.77% in after-hours trading on Thursday.

Financials: Ulta Beauty reported earnings of $6.68 per share in the past quarter and revenue of $3.23 billion; both were better than expected.

Details: Net sales increased by 18.2% year-over-year and gross profit increased by 18%. The growth is good but it is slower.

Stock Price: Ulta Beauty’s stock is up 10% in the last 12 months, but is about even in the last 30 days.

Final Thoughts: It appears that growth may have slowed a bit for Ulta Beauty, but this category is still a good place for investors to be because even in a down economy, consumers will spend on beauty.