Spending all day in a Minnesota deer stand or duck blind without seeing anything: Bad.
Owning stock in outdoor sporting goods retailer Gander Mountain
Today the Minneapolis-based firm announced a downgrade in its guidance for the full year, and to call it a downgrade is to be charitable. Previously, the firm had braced investors for $16 million to $21 million in pre-tax income. Today, they slashed that by 50%. The mid-single-digit comps growth? Make that a negative, which is extra disappointing following last year's 11.5% comps growth.
The press release cites weather (ye olde bad excuse No. 1) as the problem but notes that the firm is ahead of schedule, having opened 19 stores so far this year instead of the 15 planned. Of course, if I were a shareholder, I'd be a bit skeptical. After all, today's predicted sales increase for the full year is about the same as the increase in stores. Ideally, you want to see revenue growth in existing locations, not just from pricey expansions.
This is a company that's struggling to grow quickly and making reasonable moves toward profitability. But don't assume that those 30% revenue gains can keep accumulating forever. There's plenty of competition about, from neo-competitor Galyan's, which was swallowed up by Dick's Sporting Goods
All told, today's 25% drubbing looks like a fair response to a very disappointing development. A look at this chart shows you the peril that can await overly enthusiastic investors who jump on IPOs.
For related Foolishness:
- See why Gander got goosed in May.
- Check out other players in the sporting goods game.
- Check in with Cabela's following its hot IPO.
Seth Jayson doesn't miss those long, frozen waits in the tree stand, but he can always use a good walk in the woods. At the time of publication, he had positions in no company mentioned. View his stock holdings and Fool profile here. Fool rules are here.