Shares of Express Inc. surged 7.4% in premarket trading Thursday, after the apparel retailer reported a narrower-than-expected fiscal first-quarter loss and revenue that rose above forecasts, as the company experienced an “inflection point” after Easter. The net loss for the quarter to May 1 narrowed to $45.7 million, or 70 cents a share, from $154.1 million, or $2.41 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, the adjusted per-share loss was 55 cents, compared with the FactSet loss consensus of 58 cents. Sales jumped 64.4% to $345.8 million, beating the FactSet consensus of $322.9 million. Same-store sales rose 11%, below the FactSet consensus of 59.1% growth, as ecommerce demand increased over 40% and comparable outlet store sales fell 19%. Gross margin improved to 22.8% of net sales after negative 22.0% a year ago. The company expects same-store sales to improve sequentially throughout the year. The stock has rocketed 615.4% year to date through Wednesday, as it has been caught up in the frenzy surrounding meme stocks, while the S&P 500 has gained 12.0%.
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