What happened
Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN +0.00%) shares were riding higher today in tandem with Macy's (M 3.48%), whose stock jumped after the company posted better-than-expected earnings. The market seems to be taking Macy's report as a good omen for Nordstrom, which reports earnings after the market closes today.
As of 2:57 p.m. EST, Nordstrom stock was up 5.5%, while Macy's shares were flying, up 11.1%.
Image source: Nordstrom.
So what
Nordstrom's gains were a little surprising as fellow department-store chain Kohl's sold off after it posted earnings that were slightly below analyst estimates. Though department-store stocks have a tendency to travel as a herd, their performances often diverge from one another.
As for Macy's, the company actually said comparable sales fell 4% on an owned basis and 3.6% on a licensed one, but earnings were better than expected. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) increased from $0.17 to $0.23, helped by gains in real estate, which beat estimates at $0.19.
Now what
Nordstrom stock dropped last month as the founding family's attempt to take the company private fell apart, but the department-store chain is in a better position than its rivals as same-store sales have been increasing and it's built a strong e-commerce business. Analysts are expecting EPS of $0.64, down from $0.84, and a 1.4% increase in revenue of $3.59 billion when the company reports earnings this afternoon.
