Yep, ARO, Not ZUMZ, Was the One
Posted by Tiernan Ray
O! What bitter fortune!
A week after teen apparel retailer Aeropostale (ARO) did just “Okay” in the results of February same-store sales (up 7% versus the expected 4%) and Zumiez (ZUMZ) beat estimates handily (the top performer in same-store sales), the two stocks have switched places this afternoon.
Aeropostale is up $1.13, or 4% after hours, at $28.18, and Zumiez is off $1.95, or 10%, at $18.30.
ARO beat EPS estimates for Q4, it reported, and forecast Q1 above estimates; Zumiez, however, beat but forecast Q1 below expectations.
Kudos to my colleague Alex Eule, who picked ARO as the better buy than Zumiez following that March 4 same-store report. (See “Barron’s Take: Nothing Sells Like Teen Spirit,” March 4, 2010.) Alex’s other pick, The Buckle (BKE), also beat Q4 estimates this morning. Nice, Alex.
ARO said Q4 sales rose 16% to $801 million, beating the average $798 million estimate, yielding profit per share of 99 cents, 4 cents better than expected.
This quarter, the firm sees 39 cents to 40 cents per share, ahead of the average 37-cent estimate.
Zumiez, on the other hand, reported revenue up only 5.5%, at $132.4 million, ahead of the average $131.3 million estimate, while profit per share came in at 29 cents, versus 27 cents expected.
This quarter, Zumiez forecast a whopping 9-cent to 11-cent loss per share, whereas analysts have been expecting a 1-cent loss.
Nor was Pacific Sunwear (PSUN) the one: the stock is down 85 cents, or 15%, at $4.90 after the company beat Q4 revenue estimates, reporting $293 million versus $274.5 million expected, but forecast a loss per share this quarter of 50 cents to 60 cents, whereas analysts have been expecting a loss of just 15 cents.
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