U.S. department store operator Nordstrom (JWN) raised its full-year sales guidance after the Christmas trading season was not as bad as feared, but the Seattle-based retailer stuck to its profit outlook as competition remains fierce.
Stay Ahead of the Market:
- Discover outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks
- Filter, analyze, and streamline your search for investment opportunities using Tipranks' Stock Screener
The company, which in December announced a $6.5 billion take-private deal, reported a net sales increase of 4.9% and a comparable sales increase of 5.8% for the nine-week holiday period ended January 4th, 2025.
Breaking it down, for the Nordstrom banner net sales rose 3.7%, with comparable sales increasing by 6.5%. Meanwhile, Nordstrom Rack, the company’s off-price segment, posted a 7.4% increase in net sales and a 4.3% rise in comparable sales.
“As a result of our efforts to remain competitive in the promotional environment and the strength of our offering, our holiday sales in November and December exceeded the expectations we shared during our most recent earnings call,” said JWN CEO Erik Nordstrom.
JWN Upgrades Fiscal 2024 Outlook
Based on the strong holiday results, Nordstrom updated its Fiscal 2024 outlook. Revenue growth, including retail sales and credit card revenues, is now seen rising 1.5% to 2.5%, up from previous guidance of 1%. And the outlook for comparable sales growth was raised to between 2.5% and 3.5% compared with the prior outlook of 1% to 2% growth. But there was no change to the estimated adjusted earnings for the year of between $1.75 and $2.05 per share.
The company is scheduled to report its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 financial results on March 4th, 2025, after market close. The deal by Nordstrom’s founding family to take the company private is due to complete in the first half of 2025.
Is JWN a Good Buy?
Overall, Wall Street has a Hold consensus rating on JWN stock, based on 10 Holds and three sells. The average JWN price target of $23.20 implies about 3% downside from current levels. Shares of JWN have risen over 37% in the last year.
