The upcoming week will focus on retail earnings for the S&P 500. Twelve of the 21 companies in the index scheduled to report earnings are retailers. As of today, which retail sub-industries in the S&P 500 have reported or are projected to report the highest earnings growth and lowest growth for the first quarter?
Of the 13 retail sub-industries in the S&P 500, eight have reported or are expected to report earnings growth, led by the Internet Retail sub-industry. Five of the retail sub-industries have reported or are expected to report a year-over-year decline in earnings, led by the Department Stores sub-industry.
The Internet Retail sub-industry reported the highest earnings growth of all 13 retail sub-industries at 143.1%. Four of the five companies in this sub-industry reported earnings growth for the quarter, led by Amazon.com ($1.07 vs. -$0.12).
The Home Improvement Retail sub-industry is projected to report the second highest earnings growth at 12.2%. Both companies in this sub-industry are predicted to report double-digit growth in EPS for the quarter. The mean EPS estimate for Home Depot for Q1 is $1.35, compared to year-ago EPS of $1.16. The mean EPS estimate for Lowe’s Companies for Q1 is $0.85, compared to year-ago EPS of $0.70. Home Depot is scheduled to release results on May 17, while Lowe’s Companies is scheduled to release results on May 18.
On the other hand, the Department Stores sub-industry reported the largest year-over-year decline in earnings of all 13 retail sub-industries at -47.8%. All three companies in this sub-industry reported a year-over-year decline in EPS of more than 25% for the quarter: Macy’s ($0.40 vs. $0.56), Kohl’s ($0.31 vs. $0.63), and Nordstrom ($0.29 vs. $0.66).
The Hypermarkets & Super Centers sub-industry is projected to report the second highest year-over-year decline in earnings of all 13 retail sub-industries at -14.1%. In this sub-industry, Costco has already reported results for Q1, while Wal-Mart Stores has yet to report results. The mean EPS estimate for Wal-Mart Stores is $0.88, compared to year-ago EPS of $1.03. Wal-Mart Stores is scheduled to release results on May 19