Why J.C. Penney, Baidu, and Expedia Slumped Today

The stock market soared on Friday, led by generally strong results among the largest technology names in online search, e-commerce, and office productivity software. Major market benchmarks climbed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite posting the largest gain. Meanwhile, favorable economic signs continued to create a positive mood among market participants, but some companies were unable to participate in the rally. J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP), Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), and Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) were among the worst performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so poorly.

J.C. Penney plunged 16% after the retailer provided an update on its third-quarter performance. Penney said that comparable-store sales will rise just 0.6% to 0.8% for the quarter following the company's decision to clear out slow-moving inventory in key areas like women's apparel. CEO Marvin Ellison said that the impact of the move was positive in improving performance, but liquidation acceleration efforts resulted in a substantial boost to cost of goods sold, weighing on profit. Penney expects to lose $0.40 per share to $0.45 per share this quarter, and full-year comps are expected to be flat to down 1%. That change in outlook forced the retailer to reduce its full-year earnings forecast to a barely profitable $0.02 to $0.08 range. All of this makes the holiday season a make-or-break period for Penney, and if it proves less than entirely successful, many will wonder if the retailer will survive 2018 as a going concern.

Image source: J.C. Penney.

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Source: Fool.com