Nordstrom shares are down 20% this morning: this is why

Shares of Nordstrom Inc (NYSE: JWN) are down more than 20% this morning after the department stores chain lowered its outlook for the full year. Its Q2 results, however, were better-than-expected.

Key takeaways from Nordstrom Q2 results

• Earned $126 million versus the year-ago $80 million
• Per-share earnings climbed from 49 cents to 77 cents
• On an adjusted basis, EPS came in at 81 cents
• Revenue jumped 12% year-on-year to $4.10 billion
• Inventory was up roughly 10% from last year
• Digital went up 6.30%, making up 38% of total sales

FactSet consensus was 80 cents of adjusted EPS on $3.96 billion in revenue. In the earnings press release, CEO Erik Nordstrom said:

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While our quarterly results were consistent with our previous outlook, customer traffic and demand decelerated significantly beginning in late June, predominantly at Nordstrom Rack.

Including the price action in response to this retail news, Nordstrom shares are now down more than 35% from their year-to-date high in April.

Nordstrom shares down on trimmed guidance

On the downside, however, Nordstrom lowered its expectations for the full financial year related primarily to the slowdown in consumer spending.

It now calls for $2.30 to $2.60 of adjusted per-share earnings on up to 7.0% increase in revenue. According to President Pete Nordstrom:

As we look to the second half of the year, we are aggressively right-sizing our inventory while investing in supply chain and merchandising capabilities that will benefit us in 2023 and beyond.

According to the Seattle-headquartered company, it ended its recent financial quarter with $1.30 billion in liquidity. Wall Street currently has a “hold” rating on Nordstrom shares with upside to $21.65 on average.