Often, even when an industry is going through tough times, the best companies in the sector will find ways to outperform. Yet despite the strong reputation that Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) has for quality in the department store retail space, the upscale retailer hasn't been able to avoid all the turmoil that its peers have suffered over the past several years.
Coming into Wednesday's second-quarter financial report, investors were hoping that Nordstrom would be able to avoid the worst of the difficulties hitting retail, and they wanted to see it bounce back from a tough period last quarter. Its results weren't exactly pretty, but they were encouraging for those who'd feared far worse. Moreover, even though the company does see the potential for further difficulties ahead, shareholders seemed to have many of their long-term concerns allayed by the report.
Looking at Nordstrom's second-quarter results, you wouldn't necessarily have thought the report was all that good. Revenue fell 5% to $3.87 billion, and that decline was worse than the roughly 3% drop that most of those following the stock were looking to see. Net income fell 13% to $141 million, but the resulting earnings of $0.90 per share was a lot better than the $0.75-per-share consensus forecast among investors.