Retailers showed surprising strength in August sales, as aggressive discounting helped a majority of retailers beat expectations during the key back-to-school buying season. Though underlying weakness in consumer spending remains, the data provides a glimmer of hope that the economy may not be stalled as badly as some had thought.
Overall: Same-store sales +2.5% for the month, a marked improvement from last year's -2.9% and slightly below the +2.7% registered in July.
August same-store sales:
| Company | Symbol | Actual | Consensus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abercrombie | ANF | +6.0% | +5.7% |
| Aeropostale | ARO | -1.0% | +1.3% |
| American Eagle | AEO | +1.0% | +1.1% |
| BJ's Wholesale | BJ | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Bon-Ton Stores | BONT | -4.6% | 0% |
| Cato Corp | CATO | +2.0% | -0.8% |
| Costco | COST | +7.0% | +4.3% |
| Dillard's | DDS | 0% | -0.5% |
| Fred's | FRED | +3.6% | +3.5% |
| Gap Inc | GPS | 0% | -0.5% |
| Hot Topic | HOTT | -3.7% | -6.0% |
| JC Penney | JCP | +2.3% | +1.7% |
| Kohl's | KSS | +4.5% | +2.6% |
| Limited | LTD | +10.0% | +7.3% |
| Macy's | M | +4.3% | +3.7% |
| Nordstrom | JWN | +6.3% | +5.8% |
| Ross Stores | ROST | +5.0% | +3.5% |
| Saks | SKS | +1.0% | +4.0% |
| Stage Stores | SSI | +0.5% | +1.5% |
| Stein Mart | SMRT | +8.5% | 0% |
| Target | TGT | +1.8% | +2.0% |
| The Buckle | BKE | -3.5% | -6.8% |
| TJX Cos | TJX | +2.0% | +2.3% |
| Wet Seal | WTSLA | +1.1% | -3.5% |
| Zumiez Inc | ZUMZ | +9.1% | +7.6% |
Summary: 8 misses and 17 beats
