Zumiez Inc (NASDAQ:ZUMZ)
Zumiez, the sports oriented retailer of sporting related goods for men and women reported their second quarter earnings on Thursday September 7, 2017. While the company did lose two cents per share, there were many areas where there were improvements made related to their sales and earnings.
Zumiez Numbers
Sales increased 7.8% to $192 million dollars. Comparable same-store sales increased 7.4% in the quarter. The company issued upbeat guidance for the upcoming third quarter as well. They are now projecting sales to range between $236 and $240 million dollars. Shares have traded in a 52-week range from a low of $11.43 to a high of $26.55.
Shares closed the regular trading session at $13.20 which was up a nickel, however in the after-market session shares closed at $14.90 which was up $1.70 or 12.88%. There is a tremendous amount of short interest that will have to be dealt with when trading opens on Friday morning.
Short interest lies at 20.44% which is considered an enormous amount of shares shorted in the open market. It is levels of short interest like this that can keep a stock running higher and higher as the shorts need to cover their shares or receive margin calls.
Company Comments
Rick Brooks, Chief Executive Officer of Zumiez Inc., stated:
Our business outperformed our expectations during the second quarter highlighted by a 4.7% comparable sales increase. I am extremely pleased with how well our teams continue to execute in the current environment.
Our intense focus on serving our consumer with differentiated assortments and great service is fueling market share gains and strengthening our leadership position in the industry. We will continue to invest in our people and omni-channel capabilities while tightly controlling expenses as we look to consistently drive profitable growth and increased shareholder value over the long-term.
ZUMZ Charts
The above price chart shows the intraday action on Thursday on the left and on the right is the aftermarket session shaded in grey.
The above price chart shows the daily price history going back to the beginning of May of 2017. Shares had basically traded in a slightly downtrend pattern. However, this will likely change on Friday as shares will likely open up much higher after the stronger-than-expected earnings were announced.
Company Profile
Zumiez Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of apparel, footwear, accessories, and hardgoods for young men and women. Its hardgoods include skateboards, snowboards, bindings, components, and other equipment.
As of January 28, 2017, the company operated 685 stores, including 603 in the United States, 48 in Canada, 29 in Europe, and 5 in Australia under the names of Zumiez, Blue Tomato, and Fast Times.
It also operates zumiez.com, blue-tomato.com, and fasttimes.com.au e-commerce Websites. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Lynnwood, Washington.