Earnings Preview: Sears Holdings Corp.

Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) is expected to report Q3 earnings before market open Tuesday, December 2.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for a loss of (49c) on revenue of $10.93B. The consensus range is (73c) - (37c) for EPS, and revenue of $10.89B - $11.55B, according to First Call. The company is currently looking to reduce costs and is dealing with weak sales as a result of decreased consumer spending. Instead of spending at department stores, consumers are flocking to wholesale clubs and discount apparel chains. Additionally, while the holiday season is expected to be difficult for most retailers, it is expected to be particularly troubling for Sears.

Analyst Views

Morningstar analyst Kim Picciola says Sears is in a weaker competitive position heading into the holiday season as they're "so much further" behind rivals such as J.C. Penney (JCP), Kohl's (KSS), Lowe's (LOW) and Home Depot (HD). In an effort to respond to this environment the company recently made the decision to reintroduce layaway and has extended the number of days people have to return an item. Shares in the retailer have fallen over 60% throughout the past year.