Shares of retail clothier Citi Trends (NASDAQ: CTRN) plummeted in early trading Wednesday, and as of 12:45 p.m. ET remains down 17.8% after the company missed earnings badly this morning.
Analysts had predicted Citi Trends would earn $0.09 per share on nearly $200 million in sales in the second quarter of 2022, but in fact, Citi Trends lost money for the quarter -- $0.31 per share -- and its sales fell short at only $185 million.
Sales for the second quarter plummeted 22% year over year, with same-store sales falling 24.9%. Gross profit margins on those sales contracted by 270 basis points, to just 38.1%. Perhaps most disappointing was the fact that earnings -- which were already expected to be down significantly from last year's $1.36-per-share quarterly profit -- didn't just fall but actually flipped from black to red ink with the $0.31 per share loss.
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Why Citi Trends Stock Cratered 18% Today