1-800-flowers.com misses December quarter targets

1-800-flowers.com announced this morning that it will miss analyst estimates for the December quarter. The company expects EPS "below management's expectations, albeit slightly  above prior year [sic] on a comparative, tax-adjusted basis". Last year's tax-adjusted EPS was $0.12, and the consensus estimate for this year's December quarter is $0.15.

The cause?

Revenues were OK, at $230 million versus the consensus estimate of
$228 million. But marketing expenses were higher than expected and
negatively impacted earnings.

FLWS' online business grew by 18% year over year, driven by
customers buying later during the quarter than last year. Telephone
orders were down slightly. Full press release here.

One year chart below.