Retail Comps May Have Topped Expectations, But Guidance Looks Concerning

Retail companies did not feel the love during the holiday season and traders are reacting to the news Thursday.

Retailers issued same-store sales for the month of December earlier. According to Retail Metrics, retailers on average saw comps rise 3.6 percent versus the analyst consensus of a 3.3 percent rise. Certainly reflecting the seasonally warm winter in the US, one notable aspect of this morning's results was a large number of quarterly warnings with the monthly sales results. StreetInsider's Retail Sales category shows six companies raised guidance while five lowered guidance.

Below are some highlights:

• bebe stores (Nasdaq: BEBE) reported sales rose 9.9 percent to $141.1 million as comps were up 9.6 percent for the month.
  
  
• The Buckle (NYSE: BKE) reported sales rose 12.4 percent to $182 million as comps were up 8.9 percent for the month.
  
  
• The Gap (NYSE: GPS) reported sales fell roughly 1 percent to $1.98 billion as comps were down 4 percent for the month.
  
  
• Hot Topic (Nasdaq: HOTT) reported sales fell 1.5 percent to $107.5 million as comps were up 1.2 percent for the month.
  
  
• The Limited (NYSE: LTD) reported sales rose 4.4 percent to $1.87 billion as comps were up 7 percent for the month.
  
  
• Ross Stores (Nasdaq: ROSS) reported sales rose 14 percent to $1.15 billion as comps were up 9 percent for the month. Guidance raised.
  
  
• Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) reported sales rose 4.7 percent to $453 million as comps were up 5.8 percent for the month.
  
  
• TJX Cos. (NYSE: TJX) reported sales rose 8 percent to $3.3 billion as comps were up 8 percent for the month.
  
  
• Urban Outfitters (Nasdaq: URBN) reported sales rose 11 percent to $577 million as comps were up 3 percent for the month.
  
  
  • American Eagle (NYSE: AEO) reported sales rose 15 percent to $887 million as comps were up 12 percent for the months of November and December.
    
    
  • Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO) reported sales fell 5 percent to $683 million as comps were down 4 percent for the month. Guidance lowered.
    
    
  • Bon-Ton (Nasdaq: BONT) reported sales fell 1.1 percent to $505 million as comps were down 0.7 percent for the month. Outlook lowered.
    
    
  • Costco (Nasdaq: COST) reported sales rose 9 percent to $10 billion as comps were up 7 percent for the month.
    
    
  • Dillard’s (NYSE: DDS) reported sales rose 3 percent to $1.11 billion as comps were up 4 percent for the month.
    
    
  • Fred’s (Nasdaq: FRED) reported sales rose 1 percent to $213 million as comps were down 0.4 percent for the month.
    
    
  • JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) reported sales fell 2.3 percent to $2.89 billion as comps were up 0.3 percent for the month. Outlook lowered.
    
    
  • Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) reported sales rose 1.7 percent to $3.25 billion as comps were down 0.1 percent for the month. Outlook lowered.
    
    
  • Macy’s (NYSE: M) reported sales rose 6.6 percent to $4.93 billion as comps were up 6.2 percent for the month. Guidance raised.
    
    
  • Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) reported comps were up 11.3 percent for the month.
    
    
  • Stage Stores (NYSE: SSI) reported sales rose 2.9 percent to $274 million as comps were up 1.9 percent for the month.
    
    
  • SteinMart (Nasdaq: SMRT) reported sales fell 0.2 percent to $166 million as comps were flat for the month.
    
    
  • Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) reported sales rose 2.6 percent to $10.1billion as comps were up 1.6 percent for the month. Guidance lowered.
    
    
  • Wet Seal (Nasdaq: WTSLA) reported sales of $79.6 million as comps were down 3.7 percent for the month.
  Notably, the SPDR Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT) closed the session up 0.5 percent.

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