Gap halts trading of its stock after early release of Q2 results, as the retailer prepares to post sales growth - DAVID RAUDALES DRUK
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Gap halts trading of its stock after early release of Q2 results, as the retailer prepares to post sales growth

 




Gap (GAP) shares halted trading on Thursday after the company shared its earnings release around 9:30 AM ET on its site, then retracted it.

The company did not respond immediately for comment. It was set to report its earnings Thursday after market close.

Gap is expected to report sales growth for the second quarter in a row as it attempts to reinvigorate its brands. Q2 revenue is expected to come in at $3.63 billion, a 2% year-over-year jump, and earnings per share at $0.40, $0.06 higher than a year ago. Same-store sales are expected to grow nearly 3%.

The retailer's stock price has risen by over 6% year to date, compared to its rival Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF), which has seen a share price increase of over 55% since the start of the year.

Old Navy and its namesake Gap brand are expected to drive growth, while Banana Republic sales are expected to come in flat. Its premium lifestyle brand, Athleta, is expected to report falling sales.

CEO Richard Dickson is working on a turnaround of the classic retailer. As part of that, it changed its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange last week.

It's now "GAP" (GAP), rather than a nod to the navigation system "GPS" (GPS), as Brian Sozzi reported.

"We've spent a lot of time driving our strategic priorities, bringing back financial and operational rigor, enabling us to reinvigorate these brands to the extent that we could revitalize them and be part of the cultural conversation," Dickson, a former COO at toymaker Mattel, told Yahoo Finance.

"Great product, great price, great storytelling, great store experiences. These are all fundamentals that we're working really hard to fix."

GAP store at Times Square in New York City, United States of America on July 13th, 2024.  (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
GAP store at Times Square in New York City on July 13, 2024. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images) (NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Many analysts are looking to see if Gap can still succeed in an environment where consumers are strained.

There is "a continued squeeze of the middle-income consumer," Bernstein analyst Aneesha Sherman told Yahoo Finance.

"It's consumers in the middle who are being hit time and time again by a combination of inflation, student loan repayment, credit card debt, the complete wipeout of pandemic savings, and no improvement in the overall sentiment. Those consumers are now looking for value ... and being more choosy."

Read more: 5 smart ways to save money on back-to-school supplies

"We are all working against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty," Dickson said to Yahoo Finance, adding that while Gap is maintaining caution about how consumers are tracking, "there's always winners in every space."

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