Shoe Carnival (SCVL) shares jumped Thursday after the footwear retailer delivered a quarterly earnings and sales beat that showed the company is navigating a softer demand environment better than expected.
The company reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $0.23, topping the analyst consensus of $0.20. Sales came in at $270.73 million, also ahead of the Street's $267.70 million estimate. Comparable-store sales declined 2.1%, but the company highlighted improving sales trends, stronger cash generation, and lower inventory levels.
Quarter In Detail
Shoe Carnival's flagship banner saw net sales fall 2.2% in the quarter, an improvement from trends throughout fiscal 2025. The Shoe Station banner posted a 3.1% decline. Gross profit margin slipped to 33.3% from 34.5% a year ago.
The company ended the quarter with about $129.3 million in cash, a 39% year-over-year increase. Cash flow from operations rose $32.7 million, while capital expenditures fell $2.9 million. Merchandise inventories stood at $417.2 million, down $11.2 million from the same period last year. Shoe Carnival expects inventories to decline by $50 million to $65 million by the end of fiscal 2026 compared to the end of fiscal 2025.
Outlook
Shoe Carnival reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $1.40 to $1.60, compared with the analyst estimate of $1.50. The company also slightly raised its full-year sales outlook to $1.125 billion-$1.147 billion from $1.124 billion-$1.147 billion, versus the Street estimate of $1.131 billion.
SCVL shares were trading up 4.38% at $16.46 at last check Thursday.
