Children’s Place Inc.’s stock PLCE was down by 12.6% in premarket trading on Thursday after the retailer warned it will miss Wall Street’s fourth-quarter earnings estimate. Children’s Place reported third-quarter net income of $38.5 million, or $3.05 a share, down from $42.9 million, or $3.26 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted profit of $3.22 a share fell short of the FactSet consensus estimate of $3.49 a share. Third-quarter sales fell by 5.7% to $480.2 million, above the analyst estimate of $465.7 million. Children’s Place said contributing factors were higher distribution and labor costs, and pressured consumers. Looking ahead, Children’s Place said it expects fourth-quarter sales of $460 million to $465 million, above the analyst estimate of $436.5 million, and adjusted profit of 25 cents to 45 cents a share, well below the analyst estimate of $1.39 a share. While the company said its Back to School business was strong, its bottom line was impacted by increased expenses as well as its core customer that “remains under significant pressure.”
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.