=J. C. Penney (JCP) reported earnings on Fri 10 Nov 2017 (b/o)

J. C. Penney beats by $0.10, beats on revs; reaffirms FY18 EPS and comp guidance; Q3 comps +1.7% (ahead of Oct 27 pre-announcement) 

• Reports Q3 (Oct) loss of $0.33 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.43); revenues fell 1.8% year/year to $2.81 bln vs the $2.77 bln Capital IQ Consensus.Co's preannounced range on October 27 of ($0.45) - ($0.40)
• Comparable sales increased 1.7 % for the third quarter, resulting in a positive two-year stack of 0.9 % (guided for 0.6-0.8% on October 27). 
• For the third quarter, cost of goods sold, which excludes depreciation and amortization, was $1.85 billion, or 66.0 % of sales, compared to $1.80 billion, or 62.8 % of sales in the same period last year.
• Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter was $108 million compared to $174 million last year. Inventory at the end of the third quarter 2017 was $3.37 billion, a decrease of 8.8 % compared to the end of the third quarter last year, and down 5.7% on a comp store basis.
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY18, sees EPS of $0.02-0.08, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.06 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; FY18 guidance reaffirmed (guided on Oct 27): Comparable store sales: expected to be -1.0 % to 0.0 %. Cost of goods sold: expected to be up 100 to 120 basis points versus 2016.