Shares of Foot Locker plunge 16% as earnings miss Wall Street estimates

Pedestrians walk past a Foot Locker store in New York.

Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Shares of Foot Locker plummeted by more than 16% in morning trading Friday after the shoe retailer reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street profit and revenue estimates.

The company is under pressure as shoe companies, like Nike, are bypassing retailers altogether by selling directly to their customers. Foot Locker is heavily dependent on its relationship with brands like Nike, which alone accounted for roughly 66% of its sales in fiscal 2018, according to analyst estimates. The majority of its stores are also located in malls, even as as shoppers eschew them for online shopping.

The broader shoe industry is facing its own challenges as President Donald Trump has threatened to levy more tariffs on footwear imported from China. It is one of more than 170 shoe retailers, including Nike, Under Armour and Adidas that recently sent a letter to the White House asking Trump to back down.

Here's what the company reported for the quarter ended May 4 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on average analysts' estimates compiled by Refinitiv:

• Adjusted earnings per share: $1.53 vs. $1.60 expected
• Revenue: $2.08 billion vs. $2.11 billion expected

On an unadjusted basis, Foot Locker reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $172 million, or $1.52 per share, up from $165 million, or $1.38 per share a year earlier.

Net sales rose 2.62% to $2.08 billion, missing expectations of $2.11 billion.

Foot Locker spent $1.8 million to repurchase 32,100 shares during the quarter — less than analysts expected. As a result, the company said it now expects its earnings per share to be "up high-single digits" for the year, rather than double-digit growth.

For the first quarter, Foot Locker earned $1.53 a share, excluding the impact of pension costs and other items, falling short of the $1.60 a share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

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