How Did Sears' Latest Quarter Compare To J.C. Penney's Quarter?

Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SHLD) reported Thursday morning its third-quarter results, which were better than expected but still show no sign of a profitability turnaround.

Sears said it lost $3.11 per share in the third quarter on revenue of $5.03 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to lose $4.06 per share on revenue of $4.95 billion.

Sales at established stores fell 7.4 percent, including a 4.4 percent decline at Kmart and a 10 percent decline at Sears.

Sears CEO Eddie Lampert commented in the earnings report that he remains "fully committed to restoring profitability," and management continues to explore strategic options to "recognize the inherent asset value in a manner that complements our transformation."

Sears Mixed Versus J.C. Penney

Despite Sears' woes over the past few years, the department store still maintains a notable presence in shopping malls, and its quarterly revenue base is still larger than J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE: JCP), which reported revenue of $2.86 billion in its report.

In addition, J.C. Penney's third-quarter revenue print fell short of the $2.96 billion analysts were expecting, and its quarterly loss per share of $0.21 was in line with analysts' expectations.

On the other hand, J.C. Penney's comps fell just 0.8 percent, and its quarterly loss of $0.21 per share is better than Sears' loss of $3.11 per share.

However, unlike Sears, J.C. Penney guided its full-year earnings per share to be positive.

In Thursday's pre-market, Sears shares were down 3.47 percent at $11.70. J.C. Penney showed no pre-market sales.

Image Credit: By Miosotis Jade (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons