=Foot Locker (FL) reported earnings on Fri 23 Aug 2019 (b/o)

Foot Locker misses by $0.01, misses on revs; comps +0.8%

Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.66 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse thanthe S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $0.67; revenues fell 0.4% year/year to $1.77 bln vs the $1.83 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus.

Second quarter comparable-store sales increased 0.8 percent (vs. estimates for +3.3%). Excluding the effect of foreign exchange rate fluctuations, total sales for the second quarter of 2019 increased 0.8 percent. The Company's gross margin rate decreased to 30.1 percent from 30.2 percent a year ago. SG&A expense rate increased to 22.2 percent from 21.3 percent in the second quarter of 2019, largely reflecting the ongoing investments the Company is making in its digital capabilities and infrastructure.

"In addition to making meaningful investments in our stores and digital capabilities during the quarter, we maintained our disciplined approach to inventory management and are set-up to continue flowing fresh, exciting product offerings for the back-half of 2019," said Lauren Peters, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "We remain optimistic that we can deliver a mid-single digit comparable sales gain for the full year and high-single digit adjusted EPS growth."