Back in March, I discussed the wild ride for investors in Children's Place
For June, comps at Children's Place fell 4% after last year's 15% jump. This time around, the company struggled across the board, with its namesake stores reporting a 4% drop in comps and its Disney locations falling by 3%. I guess the one bit of solace for investors is that its quarterly comps were flat despite the most recent figures.
Unfortunately, the rest of the news only gets worse. As a result of its dropping sales, Children's Place lowered its earnings outlook for the second quarter. It now expects to lose $0.94 to $0.98 per share, well below analysts' expectations of a $0.59 per-share loss.
As of this writing, competitor Gymboree
After its stock fell nearly 12% Monday, Children's Place now trades at levels not seen in more than a year. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a value. The company is obviously having difficulties, and there's no evidence yet that a turnaround will be possible anytime soon. We already know the second quarter is one it will want to forget, but we'll have a much better indication about its ability to recover with the busy back-to-school season just around the corner. If students don't flock to its stores, it's no place I'd want to be.
For more on the kiddie retailers, check out:
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Fool contributor Mike Cianciolo welcomes feedback and doesn't own any of the companies in this article.