Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of 1-800-Flowers (FLWS 2.62%) wilted today, finishing down 10% after the market was unimpressed with the company's earnings report.
So what: The flower-delivery specialist matched estimates on the bottom line with a net loss of $0.07 a share, but missed on the top line as revenue grew 2.9% to $123 million. Analysts had expected $124.4 million. Sales of gourmet food and gift baskets increased 15.1%, but sales in the consumer floral segment, which makes up the bulk of its business, declined 1.7%. CEO Jim McCann sounded pleased with the quarter, saying, "The revenue growth we achieved in our first quarter bodes well for the current quarter, which includes the key holiday season."
Now what: This was far from a terrible report for 1-800-Flowers as it signed up 375,000 new e-commerce customers in the quarter, and management stuck with full-year guidance of mid-single-digit revenue growth and better earnings-per-share growth. Also of note, the previous quarter is the company's slowest of the year so the loss was to be expected. Still, the stock had nearly doubled over the course of the year and was perhaps due for a pullback on anything less than a strong earnings report.
