Staples Shares Fall on Mixed Q2 Earnings

Office supply retailer Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) this morning posted mixed second quarter earnings results and offered an in-line forecast, as the company continues to struggle with online competition.

Framingham, MA-based Staples reported second quarter adjusted net income of $0.12 per share, which was in-line with analyst estimates. Revenue fell 3.7% from last year to $4.75 billion, also in-line with expectations.

Looking ahead, SPLS forecast adjusted Q3 EPS ranging from $0.32-0.35 which could miss analysts’ view of $0.35.

Other notes from the report included:

North American Commercial operating income rose 6% in Q2.
International Operations losses narrowed to $8 million in Q2.
Company will close at least 50 stores in North America in 2016.

From the press release:

“I’d like to thank the entire Staples team for remaining focused and delivering results that were right inline with our expectations during a quarter that included the launch of a new strategic plan and a change in leadership,” said Shira Goodman, Staples’ interim Chief Executive Officer. “We are dramatically changing our mindset and operating model as we execute our 20/20 strategy and reposition Staples for sustainable long-term sales and earnings growth.”

Staples shares fell $0.33 (-3.54%) to $9.00 in premarket trading Wednesday. SPLS stock has fallen about 1.5% since the start of 2016.